Disclaimer: Uh…what am I supposed to say???…Something about not owning…Answering machine clicks in "the author is temporarily unavailable due to lack of memory. Please refer to the first word in this document. Thank you."
Author's Note: I understand that most of you are confused at this various moments of this story. I apologise for the inconvenience and am trying to make these most recent chapters (Chapter 13 and onwards) more clear. Thanks!
Last Time:
- Meeting with the 'Parents'
The Jenkins made their way out of Voltaire's office and heading down the corridor.
"We lost her," Casey said, "It's over. We didn't complete over promise to Chris."
Robert took her hand, "It's not over, and Chris still has Alyssa."
They both drew into a hug and were suddenly separated as two teenagers confronted them.
"You!" All four of them shouted at the same time.
"I mean, hello Mrs Jenkins," Liz started, "I understand you were the parents of Holly – we're her best friends – Rose and myself, Alyssa."
Alyssa! Robert thought, No wonder she looked so familiar. After all she is Holly's sister. What am I going to say?
"Hello, dear," Casey replied, "Yes, we were."
Rose couldn't hold it within her any longer, "Why on earth have you got Holly? Holly's father isn't dead is – "
"Robert! Casey!"
Liz turned around and gasped.
Chapter 21- An Explanation sounds good
"Dad?!" Liz gasped and shouted, "You know these people?"
Christopher Skinner's eyes grew wide as he annotated the scene before him, "Oh shit."
"Liz?" Chris started, "Liz? What on earth are you doing here and who's your friend?"
Chris nodded over to where Rose was standing defiantly.
"I am Rose O'Grady. The daughter of Cassandra Elms and - " Rose answered for him.
Chris butted in, "Cassandra?! Cassandra Elms?! That's my wife!"
Rose smirked, "Well, duh comes to mind. However she did have a child with her lover before she married you in case you didn't know."
"Yeah, thanks," Chris replied sarcastically, "I didn't know – but thanks for brightening up my day. How could Cassandra have done this to me? I thought she loved me?"
"Look," Rose said gently, "Before you start getting mad and stuff – "
"And who did she have sex with anyway?" Chris suddenly asked.
"Uh, my father," Rose said, "Kieran O'Grady. He's the bloke who takes care of me."
Rose suddenly knew she had made a mistake by telling Chris the last bit of information because Chris was in uproar.
"WHAT!" Chris burst out, "Well, Great! Rose, tell your father that there will be a little visit soon – FROM CASSANDRA'S HUSBAND!"
"Rose," Liz put a hand on her shoulder, "Go. Warn him. I'll stay here and sort out this mess with my father."
She glared at her father and then watched Rose dash off.
"Well, dad," Liz started, "First things first, how do you know Holly's adoptive parents?"
"How did you – " Robert began.
"I'm waiting for an answer father!" Liz yelled.
"Robert is my brother and Casey is his wife," Chris answered.
It was time for some serious explaining.
- Spying on My Beloved
Draco held his wand steady as he appeared outside in the damn world. His soul kept telling him to back inside and kill his father but his mind was forced to do as his father pleased since it was under the Imperious Curse. A man, probably another Death Eater, came towards him and handed him a brief case, nodded and left.
Shaking his head, he concentrated hard and disapparated from the spot.
In a few moments Draco apparated to his destination – The Russian School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and found himself in the Repton Common Room.
"Perfect," He heard his mouth say – he was being corrupted by this spell!
Brushing himself down, he headed off towards the girl's dormitories. He knew the spell that was placed on the stairs so he took out a potion from the brief case labelled Thought Based Polyjuice Potion. It said it would last for at the very least ten minutes and if he thought of being his normal self again, it would do so.
He opened the bottle and drank ten gulps. He could feel the rumbling inside him. The warmth and heat began to melt away his flawless skin. He thought hard on what he wanted to be.
Two minutes later, he had completed the transformation. He smirked as he saw his chest. Adjusting his black cloak, he climbed the stairs.
Luckily the stairs did not fall away beneath him.
He recognised a dormitory that had the symbol of the Exchange Students from Hogwarts.
"This is it."
- Hermione
Without meaning to, Hermione wished that she was in her dormitory and suddenly screamed.
This was because the wand had begun to glow softly and shot out a whirl of glittering orbs around her making her sort of apparate into her dorm.
"Weird," Hermione thought. She let go of the wand as if it was a hot ember, "I haven't even learnt to apparate."
- Outside the dorm
Draco flicked a strand soft auburn hair out of his eyes and knocked on the door.
He heard the soft scamper of footsteps hurry towards the door and it opened revealing his beloved Hermione in his view.
"Um," Hermione started, "Hi, is there a problem? If you're looking for someone, you got the wrong dorm – I'm the only person who stays here."
Of course, Draco thought, Pansy Parkinson was somewhere else in the world, working for Lord Voldemort, and Lavender Brown had been missing for quite a while now.
"I didn't get the wrong place," Draco said in an enchanting feminine voice, "I came here to see you Hermione."
Hermione had a quizzical look on her face but sighed, "Sure, come in."
She led the way inside. Drawing up chair for the mysterious girl she asked, "So, we haven't properly introduced ourselves – I'm, as you probably know, Hermione Granger."
The girl who sat before Hermione had clear silvery-blue eyes but something made Hermione feel that there was a tightly shut door behind them. The girl also had auburn hair tumbling softly over her forehead and cheeks.
Hermione thought that the expression set upon the girl's face looked distinctly familiar, and though the girl looked quite average, she was naturally pretty.
The girl smiled and shook her head, "Hermione Granger…I'm surprised you haven't noticed yet – but of course, looking at this body…"
One of Hermione's eyebrows shot up, "What are you talking about?"
"My love," The girl began. The girl in front of Hermione suddenly started to melt, the flawless skin turned to tanned unblemished skin, and the hair grew into the skull.
"It is me," Draco finished, "Draco Malfoy."
- So Start Explaining!
Christopher Skinner took a long look at his daughter.
"Robert, Casey, I'm afraid that I'll have to talk to you later," Chris turned away from them and took Liz's hand, leading her towards an empty classroom.
"Dad," Liz started.
"Yes."
"I know that Holly and I have the same father but does that mean – "
"NO!" Chris shouted, "No," he then added gently.
"You see, Holly was your older sister – by blood," Chris began, "She was born during the war between You-Know-Who and us pure bloods who were fond of muggle borns, and the muggle borns themselves."
Liz sat down behind a desk as Chris took a seat on the desk itself.
"Cassandra and I were afraid for her and sent her to my brother, Robert, and his wife, here in Russia," Chris continued, "Of course, as the war seemed to be settling, Cassandra and I thought of having another child – this was because of Robert's wife."
Liz looked puzzled, "Why? What was wrong?"
"She could not have children, so she and Robert were given permission by us to adopt Holly," Chris answered.
"I see," Liz replied, "But then what?"
"Well, a few days after you were born," Chris took in a deep shuddering breath, "A few days after you were born…You-Know-Who targeted our home. Cassandra and I ran upstairs – she being the auror told me to run with you and get out of there. I obviously disagreed, but under her gaze – woah – I just obeyed her. I got outside with you safely in my arms when I heard Cassandra scream. That was when I knew she had passed away."
Liz looked into her father's eyes and saw a glisten of tears form in them, "Dad…I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what!" Chris shouted, "It's not your fault."
"But then why the change of name?" Liz had only that question in mind.
Chris sighed, "We had to stay on the run. It was no longer safe for us because I knew that You-Know-Who would one day hunt us down. So I decided that we would move to Russia and live in the same neighbourhood as Robert. I also changed our surname to Skinner as an extra precaution."
"I understand now," Liz's voice began to crack, "Oh Dad, I'm so sorry I doubted you. I love you, Dad."
Liz jumped into her father's arms and hugged him, she had never been so sad in all her life.
Author's Note: Well, there's the explanation, and now you know how Rose, Alyssa and Holly are related.
Hope you enjoyed that chapter, and stay in touch with a review!
