A/n: Hey guys! I'm back! Sorry this chapter took so long, but I went to Europe for a month with no internet or computer. How I'm still alive is a modern miracle! That and I've been swamped by nasty teachers and exams since I got back, not to mention all the pressure they're placing on us to choose subjects and courses for year 11. Personally, I just want to survive year 10 before I even start thinking about year 11. Thanks to everyone who read this story and I hope I won't disappoint you with this chapter. This is set four years later on Jennifer's 7th birthday. Enjoy!

Chapter 2: Happy Birthday My Baby.

Jenifer's eyes slowly fluttered open as the soft glow of the morning sun penetrated her curtains and crept across the room. For a minute her eyes squeezed shut again, trying desperately to regain the peace sleep bought her but to no avail. Sighing, she forced her heavy lids open and her stiff legs from the warmth of her covers.

"SURPRISE!" Jenifer jumped back with a start as her bedroom door was flung open, the chorus of her family filling the room.

"W-what is this?" The tiny girl held her heaving chest, trying to regain control of her breathing as her family filled in, complete with balloons, cake and presents.

"You've forgotten?" Alice Princeton entered with two small boys, one bouncing on each hip as she walked over to her daughter, pressing her lips lovingly to her daughter's unruly black curls. "Happy Birthday my baby." The words were barely a whisper, just loud enough for the two of them to hear, their little secret. Jenifer smiled, seating herself back on the mattress where her siblings had already begun piling her presents. A smile spread across her tiny face as she took in the setting. A small pang echoed in her chest, puzzling her. She had been expecting it, but that never made it any less confusing. It always happened on her birthday, and Christmas, though she was never sure why. She always felt there was something missing...someone missing.

"Well, aren't you going to open them?" Samantha asked, noticing her little sister's discomfort. Jenifer quickly snapped back to reality, shooting a quick smile at her onlooking siblings before grabbing the nearest box and slowly ripping the wrappings from it.

By the end, a small pile of assorted clothes and toys lay piled on the end of Jenifer's bed and the faces of the younger children were smeared with chocolate frosting.

"Well," Alice sighed, hauling herself to her feet. "I'd better get this lot cleaned, changed and down for the naps." A chorus of 'we're not tired Mummy!' and collective groans issued from the small gathering of the floor.

Alice smiled, ushering the children out with the help of Samantha. "Would you mind giving me a hand sweetheart?" Sam smiled sweetly and nodded.

"Sure Mum. I'll be right there. I'll just quickly tidy up in here and I'll meet you in the bathroom. Okay?" Alice smiled and shot her daughter a grateful glance before hurrying out of the door.

Samantha turned to her sister, not wasting any time to get to her point.

"Jen, there's something I have to give you, but you can't ask questions. You must hide them straight away and never tell anyone you have them. Do you understand?" Sam grabbed her sister's shoulder, sinking to look her in the eye.

"Sam, you're scaring me. What's going on?" Jenifer began to back away from her sister, scrambling backwards until her back was pressed firmly against the wall. Sam walked forward, grabbing her sister to hold her in place.

"I'm sorry Jen. I never meant to scare you, but this is important. You can't tell anyone, especially Mum and Dad. Can you do that for me?" Jen shook her head refusing to look her sister in the eye.

"Leave me alone! I won't lie to them! You're scaring me! Let me go!" Sam took a step back, pulling a 12" black wooden stick from the folds of her dress.

"Muffliato." The air shimmered slightly, forming a dome over the room before fading into nothing. "Jen, I'm sorry to have to say this, but you don't have a choice."

Jen pressed herself further into the wall. This wasn't like Sam. In a way, she was there, but not there. Her usually kind features had morphed into something hard and arrogant, while her eyes shone with a manic light.

"Jen, I know how you feel. You feel like something's missing, like it's there but slips away just before you can catch it. I'm offering you answers; the truth. We're living in a dream. I'm giving you the chance to wake up, discover reality, but you have to trust me." Sam's features softened as she bent to look her trembling sister in the eye. "I love you Jennifer, like a sister, and you know I wouldn't do anything to hurt you. All it takes is one little potion." Sam unbaled her fist, offering the contents to Jennifer with a reassuring smile. In her palm lay a small glass flask, about the size of a bottle of nail polish, its eerie neon blue glow filling the small room.

Jen slowly reached out her hand, taking the flask between her finger and thumb and rolling it gently as she examined the contents.

"You promise? It won't hurt? It'll just give me answers, right?" Sam smiled genuinely and took her sister in her arms, her golden curls bobbing slightly as she shook her head.

"I promise sweetie. You must drink that at exactly 5 minutes to midnight. When that clock strikes 11:55, I need you in bed and drinking that or it won't work. Can you do that?"

"But, my bed time's 7:30." Jennifer looked up at her older sister with innocent eyes. Sam chuckled, waving the stick once again, causing Jennifer's newly acquired clothing and toys to float away to their appropriate homes.

"Not tonight it isn't. Happy birthday baby."

~O~

Jennifer sat in bed, the small flask in her lap the only light penetrating the darkness of the room. 11:50. Jen yawned, struggling to keep her heavy eyelids from falling closed. Sam had said this would give her answers, but how could it? It was just a strange little vile of blue liquid. At first she had been so sure it would work, but as the minutes dragged by on her count down.

11:51. Jen thought back. Only an hour ago had she began to doubt what Samantha had told her...About half an hour that, Jennifer had to rely on pure desperation to see her through. It had to work. She needed answers and there was no other way she would ever get them.

11:52...What was that thing Sam was doing earlier? Memories of clothes flying around the room, folding themselves neatly into draws, toys competing for space on shelves floated through her head. It was like...magic. But it couldn't be, could it? Magic was only in Fairy Stories.

11:53. What was that shimmer that Sam had made around the room? How had she done it? With her stick? But how? Sticks didn't make magical purple shimmers. Sticks didn't make objects fly around the room. It just wasn't possible. Her parents had never indulged their children in fantasy. They had never taught them to believe in Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny, not even the tooth fairy. Magic was never mentioned, never talked about, but until that moment, Jennifer had never questioned why.

11:54. Time seemed to standstill as Jennifer glued her eyed on the clock. In one minute, she would know the answers; the answers to the feelings of sadness and loss, the answer to the dreams of people she knew but had never met before. This tiny vial was the answer to everything.

~O~

11:54. Sam reached for her wand, casting a silent muffilato charm about herself as she gently eased her bedroom door open and crept down the hall to Jennifer's bedroom. Drawing her wand, Sam cast another muffilato charm over her sister's room. She knew from experience that this would be painful, and tonight, they could not afford to be interrupted.

Carefully, Sam pushed the door forward, meeting the frightened eyes of her younger sister.

"It's ok. I'm just here to make sure you are. I'll sit with you the whole time. I promise, I won't let anything happen to you." Jen nodded and popped the cork from the phial.

11:55. Jennifer shot one last desperate look at her sister before chucking back the contents of the flask, wincing slightly at the sour taste. For a tense minute nothing happened, the two just sat in utter silence; staring, waiting.

The drowsiness hit Jen like a ton of brick, sending her body back onto the bed like a lead wait. Sam smiled. Now all she had to do, was wait.

~O~

Jennifer found herself standing in the middle of a dark room. Well, she could only assume it was a room. The blackness was so dense it gave the impression of infinity stretching out before her. A small spotlight from somewhere above her illuminated a small circle in which she stood.

With a small 'pop' another circle of light appeared across from her. Inside the circle stood a pale, dishevelled woman, her unruly black curls falling manically about her face and spilling over her rag dress.

Jennifer could only stare. This woman seemed so familiar. The woman smiled warmly at Jen, stepping forward so she could stand directly in front of her. Jen gasped as she took in the curls, her fingers automatically grasping to inspect her own.

"Do you know who I am?" The woman's voice echoed eerily in the blackness. Jen shook her head, not trusting her voice. The woman sighed, resting her hand on Jen's curls. "Rennervate." Jennifer gasped as her mind suddenly came into sharp focus, something buried deep inside her painfully snapping. Memories flooded through her; memories from that night, birthday's, Christmases.

"Aurora?" Her head snapped up.

"That's my...but...my name is...who am I?" Aurora fell in a heap on the ground a small sob escaping her throat. "You...who are you?"

The woman knelt next to her, a hand resting on the child's back. "You are Aurora Druella Lestrange, and I am you mother."

"But...how?" Bellatrix sighed.

"The minster didn't like us, didn't like what we stood for. He sent his men to our house. They killed your father, kidnapped you and locked me away. You've been living a dream Aurora. You are not a filthy muggle as they have lead you to believe. You are a pureblood witch, the only heir to the Lestrange fortune. They used you, experimented on you. But that's all over now. Now, you will take your rightful place and you will avenge the injustice that the Ministry has dealt our family."

"As you wish mother." The words left Aurora's mouth before she even had time to consider them and what they meant. Her mouth continued to move spilling out more words she had no control over. "But how?"

"All will be explained to you when you return. The potion will not last much longer and you still have much to do this night." Bellatrix pressed a brief kiss to her daughter's forehead before turning to leave. "Oh and Aurora? Happy birthday my baby."

~O~

Jennifer shot upright in her bed, her forehead covered in sweat and an ear-splitting scream breaking the silence. Sam sat on her chair, a small smile on her face. Jennifer's head spun. That had been one crazy dream. The woman had been there again. She couldn't be her mother. It just wasn't possible. Her name was Jennifer, not Aurora.

"I trust your meeting went well." Jen jumped, shooting her sister a puzzled look. "My potion worked like a charm, didn't it?"

"P-potion? You mean, that was real?"

"Yes. I suppose some introductions are in order. It's nice to meet you Aurora. My name is Amelia Carrow. Welcome to the real world."

Well, how was that? And once again, I'm sorry for the delays. Please review, I'm dying to know what you think! Thanks for reading guys!