Ch 3

18 years later

The sun was shining brightly in the sky when she finally opened her eyes. Closing them again against the blinding light she flipped over, not wanting to get out of bed. Her alarm clock went off a moment later, a voice coming across in a chipper disposition, "Good morning everyone. Today is March 17, and what a beautiful day it is in sunny Nevada. Highs today will be in the mid 60's." Slamming her hand down to stop the offending noise she sighed 'Shouldn't I be able to sleep in on my birthday? Oh yeah, I promised Mom and Dad I would be up before they went to work.', resigning herself to the fact that she had to get up. Pulling herself out of bed she showered and dressed quickly. As she stepped out of her bedroom pulling her hair up into a messy bun with her wand, she was surprised to see both her mom and dad sitting in the living room.

They both looked nervous as she stepped farther into the room. She noticed that her mom was holding her baby blanket, running her fingers over it gently. Curiosity crossed her features, "Mom what's wrong?"

Her mom started, not hearing her enter the room. "Victoria, have a seat," she said nervously, dropping the blanket into her lap.

Still not fully understanding what was going on she crossed the room and took up a chair. Waiting impatiently for her parents to explain their strange behavior, fear creeping into her chest with each moment.

Her mother looked up at her, fear and a bit of sadness showing clearly in her eyes, "Victoria, there's something that your father and I need to tell you."

Victoria nodded but said nothing, still waiting for them to explain.

Her father took her mother's hand, giving her silent comfort and knowing that she couldn't say what needed to be said he started, "Honey, you know your mother and I love you very much." He paused and watched her nod in agreement, "Well you're of age now and we think it's time to tell you this." He paused again, taking a deep breath, "Victoria you were adopted."

She sat completely still for a moment, it was as if she didn't move what she heard wouldn't be true. After a moment the reality of the situation crashed down on her. Anger started to bubble up inside her, but the need for answers surpassed her rage. She looked at them finally, "Why?"

"Why what?" Her mother asked kindly.

"Why everything?!" Victoria shouted jumping up from her seat, unable to control the explosion of emotions inside her. "Why did you tell me now? Why did you adopt me? Why did my parents give me away? Why didn't you tell me about this before?"

"We wanted to wait until we thought you were ready." Her father started gently.

"So you chose to ruin my birthday!?"

"We thought that you had a right to know. You're an adult now, in the muggle world as well as the magical one." He answered talking softly, trying to get her to calm down.

"You could have told me last year, or any year for that matter." She stated indignantly, flopping back down.

He nodded, "You're right, we could've. We just didn't feel that you were ready then."

"Oh, but I'm ready now?"

He smiled gently, "We think you are."

She sat silently seething for a minute. Finally she looked up, "Do you know who my real parents are?"

"No," he answered, looking slightly ashamed, "we never found out who they were. All we know about them is that they're from England."

"Did you know I was a witch when you adopted me?"

"Yes, both of your parents are magical."

She nodded not speaking. "How did you find me?"

"We went through the Federal Bureau of Magical Cooperation; they set us up with the Ministry over there. When we saw you we were instantly in love."

She sat for what seemed like forever. She didn't look at them, she didn't move, she didn't speak, she could barely breathe. She felt completely lost. Everything that she knew was a lie. She could hardly stand to think about it. She got to her feet, still not glancing their way, "How could you lie to me all this time?" she asked not waiting for an answer and retreated to her room.

Sitting on her bed, the tears started to fall down her face. These people that supposedly loved her had been lying to her for 18 years. She couldn't stand to face them right now. She couldn't forgive them for not telling her. She laid down on her bed and let her tears soak the pillow until she fell asleep.

She woke up a few hours later. Clouds had started to block the harsh sun that had been streaming through her window earlier. The weather outside seemed to echo her feelings as the rain fell gently against her window.

With each drop of rain another thought seemed to enter her mind. 'Who are my parents? Why did they give me away? Where are they now? Are they in jail? Are they bad people, or are they good? Do they still think about me?' She knew that she couldn't answer any of this, but it didn't stop the thoughts from coming.

She finally stopped asking herself these useless questions and realized that she should have known a long time ago. Her hair was a beautiful raven black, while both of her parents were blond. Her parents eyes were both brown and her's were a brilliant blue. She was always the best at Transfiguration and Potions, while her parents didn't know a bezor from a beetle and couldn't transfigure their way out of a wet paper bag. She preferred to read about anything she could get her hands on, while her parents wouldn't pick up a book to save their souls. She sat and thought a long while, thinking of all of the things that should have tipped her off. She finally came to conclusion; she knew what she had to do.

When she emerged from her room, the moon had come out and the living room sat in semi-darkness, the only light was that cascading in from the full moon. Beyond she could hear her mother clanking about in the kitchen, and her father setting the dining room table. She slowly walked into the kitchen, this time it was she who didn't know how to tell her parents something. She knew it wasn't going to be a happy conversation, but she also knew that she would never be happy if she didn't know. Bracing herself, she sat down at the table, her parents immediately joining her. They'd been waiting for her to come out all day, but decided to give her the space she required. She didn't know any way to say what she needed to other than to be blunt. So taking a deep, steadying breath, she started, "I need to find my parents," then wincing as she heard how it sounded, "my biological parents."

Her mother couldn't look at her, her eyes filling with tears. Victoria tried to make the blow easier, "I know that you both love me, and I love you more than you can possibly know, but I need to do this. I need to do this for me. To find out who I really am."

Her father took her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze, "You need to do what makes you happy."

She nodded smiling and returned to her room. She knew that she couldn't stand to be in this house any longer than she had to be. It was true that she loved her parents, but she still resented the fact that they had lied to her. She was determined to find her real parents no matter how long it took. She had very little information to go on, but she knew one thing she was going to England.

…

A/N: Welcome to our new character. From here on out we're basically going to be following her journey. Now don't get me wrong other characters will definitely be joining her on the way but for the most part it's about her.