Disclaimer: OK, you really should know by now that nothing but Bryn belongs to me.

Chapter 24 - Explanations From Beyond The Grave: My life, my history, my genes. Bryn was finding it hard to breathe. Her hands shook as she reached for the leather-bound book at the top of the papers inside. Her mother had always kept a journal, and if this one was in here, it probably held all the answers Bryn needed. Bryn had already read the other journals, and they were carefully edited. Julia - or Jazlyn - hadn't written about any memories in the journals she'd kept practically in plain sight.

She opened the book and a folded piece of parchment fell out. Instinct told her to unfold that before reading the journal. It was a letter, in the thin, slanting script she recognized as her mother's. Bryn's eyes blurred for a moment; she blinked to clear them, and then began reading.

Dear Bryn,

If you're reading this, then you've figured out that the necklace is the key. That's why I told Xiao to give it to you when you turned 17. You see, I didn't want to tell you the truth when you were younger. I was afraid I couldn't convince you of the truth about your father, when the entire wizarding world believed him to be a murderer.

I know you're probably confused, but I have to start from the beginning. In this case, that means telling you that my real name is Jazlyn Temaida, not Julia Sayre. As you know, I went to Hogwarts, in Britain. What you don't know is that in my 7th year, I befriended a group of my fellow Gryffindors (the Hogwarts counterpart to Jades like you), a group of boys in my year who called themselves the Marauders. The group was made up of 4 boys; James Potter, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, and Sirius Black. They were there for me, the first people who ever would. You know a lot of people teased me for shyness; well, I was worse when I was younger. My family were pureblood manic, much like Xiao and Ailin's relatives, and they disliked me greatly.

So, I became friends with the Marauders. This was the year that really set our futures in motion. James began to go out with a girl in our year, Lily Evans, who he would later marry. Remus, well, he didn't find love that year, but I think he finally learned to accept himself a bit more. (Why he hadn't before is his business, and you don't need to know.) Peter began to be shut out more and more, which had what I believe were disastrous consequences, though almost no one would agree with me.

As for Sirius and I... James and Lily weren't the only new couple that year. Sirius came from a background like mine, and at bottom, we were a lot alike. When we all left school, James and Lily got married. Sirius and I thought about it, but we decided to just live together. At least at first.

I'm sure you've figured out by now that Sirius is your father. We had just gotten engaged when I found out I was pregnant, and we got married a few months after you were born. By then, Lily was pregnant with her and James' son, Harry. They stood for you as godparents, and your father and I did the same for Harry.

The night Harry's parents were murdered, your father didn't come home. I didn't know what had happened until I read it in the papers. The article said he had killed 13 people; 12 Muggles, and Peter Pettigrew. I didn't believe it. Even harder to believe was Remus' saying that he'd betrayed James and Lily to Voldemort. I knew Sirius was no Death Eater, and I remembered an argument we'd had once. I was convinced that Peter was the one who we should suspect, and Sirius believed it was Remus. I defended Remus to Sirius, and then found myself defending Sirius to Remus.

You have to understand, I had no proof. Something about Peter had always bothered me, but pure instinct will sway no court, unfortunately. And I couldn't risk them suspecting me of Death Eater involvement. I had you to worry about. But don't blame yourself; Sirius would have agreed with me. He loved you, wanted to take you everywhere - though I drew the line when we wanted to give you a ride on his flying motorbike.

So I came to America, after giving you a memory potion. I know you'll hate that, but you had such a clear memory, even at two. I didn't want you remembering. I couldn't bear to change your first name; it was my mother's middle name. So I changed my name completely, hoping to make the connection less obvious. I wanted you to be free of the shadow your father's name would cast. But I couldn't take your father out of you. Your brilliance, and your talent for mischief remind me of him constantly, just as your ability to think things through and avoid recklessness in general is from me.

I had planned to tell you myself when you came of age, but obviously I won't be around then. So I used this letter to do so from beyond the grave. I only hope you can forgive me for the web of lies I wove around our lives.

Love,

Mom

Bryn closed her eyes when she was done reading. "It's like you're a sister to me," Harry had said. He was almost right. His parents had been her godparents; her parents had been his. They practically were related.

She had known there was a secret, always. The theories among the people at Xiao's shop, where her mother had worked, were numerous. They thought Julia - Jazlyn - was a rape victim, a widow, or perhaps escaping from an abusive relationship. There had been all kinds of theories, but none of them had come close to the truth. Sirius Black. He was her father, and if she was right, the man calling to her from the Abyss. Two questions with one answer.

She dug deeper into the chest. There were photographs, each labeled. One showed a group of waving adult wizards, and was labeled as the Order of the Phoenix. The original one, Bryn guessed. So her mother and father had fought in the first war. It was ironic that she would be drawn into the second one. Blood will tell, she mused.

A gold-embossed sheet of parchment was her own birth certificate. Ambryn Shalimar Black. Shalimar. She'd never known her middle name; had always assumed she didn't have one.

Her father. He was trapped in the Abyss, and she could help. And now she knew why no one wanted to tell her the rest of the story; who wants to tell a girl who'd already lost her mother that her father was as good as dead, not knowing that said girl could rectify the situation?

Bryn sighed. It was all so much to take in right now. But she did know one thing; she would get her father out. She had to.

A/N: Well, I hope that satisfied everyone. There will be more soon, I promise.