A/N: Sorry about the screw-up with the second chapter-Im not sure what happened, but here's the real chater!

PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!

Prologue Part 2: In which Orchid finally meets her mother, and receives many shocks of a lifetime

As soon as the elevator doors dinged open, Orchid saw a woman, probably in her mid twenties, turn around to look in her direction. The first thing Orchid noticed was her hair-soft, loose flames swinging in an arc as she spun around. Their eyes met and locked; green against hazel, but Orchid knew at once that this was her mother. Maybe it was the tears that immedietely filled the woman's eyes that tipped her off, or maybe it was the curve of her smile that seemed so familiar.

"Just like James, his eyes, his hair...just like James." The woman said in a soft, British accent, and held out her arms to the teenage girl before her.

Orchid stayed where she was. She didn't know where her mother got off comparing her to some random guy, and expecting her to rush into her arms after nearly 16 years of abandonment, but she wasn't going to give in.

She knew all too well the price of loving too quickly, loving too fast. She'd been adopted as a toddler by the Mendellsohns, after three years of being shuttled back and forth between different families and the orphanage. Always, Orchid was so eager to please, eager to love, but sooner or later there'd be an accident. Flying light fixtures, a far-too-long-and-elastic dog's tail. Orchid really didn't know how it happened, but always there'd be a cracking point for the prospective parents, and she'd be sent back like a broken appliance.

When the Mendellsohns took her in, little Orchid used all her self-control to stay out of trouble. By the time the accidents started happening again, it was too late for the Mendellsohns: they'd already legally adopted her. But Orchid paid for their mistake every day. Dovey Mendellsohn never beat her daughter, but she did slap Orchid, or dig her nails into her flesh when she displeased her. Fred Mendellsohn just ignored her. Screaming fights were often, and Orchid lived in a perpetual state of being grounded. Orchid didn't know much about normal families, but she knew it wasn't supposed to be like this.

"I take it you're the woman who first put me up for adoption?" Orchid asked sullenly.

The woman choked, the smile vanishing from her pretty face.

"O Merlin. What have I done?"

"That's a good question." Orchid sneered. " What did you do?"

"My baby girl,...Orchid, I never wanted to give you up. It broke my heart to do that!...Oh God...how do I explain this to you?...You probably don't even know...no, you've been with muggles all your life...you wouldn't know..."

Orchid looked quizzicly at the woman. Is she insane? What the hell is she going on about?

Suddenly, the woman seemed to snap back into the present world, and spoke briskly to Orchid.

"Listen. Orchid. I have a lot to tell you. It's extremely important, and maybe it will help you understand why your father and I had to give you up. I don't want any interruptions until I am finished. And then you may ask questions-I'm sure you'll have plenty-and at the end, I will give you a choice. Okay?"

Orchid thought a moment. What did she have to lose? This could be interesting. The Mendellsohn's knew where she was, and weren't expecting her until late.

"Ok."

"Ok. First, the easy part. My name is Lily Evans Potter, and I am your mother...Your real mother. Your father is James Potter, and you have a twin brother Harry."

Lily began to pace the small floorspace of the tower, occasionally glancing up anxiously at Orchid.

"Everything I am about to tell you is going to be a tremendous shock for you, I know. I've been through something like it anyway. But I swear to you, that it is completely true! "

Here, the woman took a deep, shaky breath, and continued, her hands waving from side to side like a schoolteacher trying to explain a difficult math problem to her students. "There are many ways to divide human beings in this world. One of them is the division of magical people and non-magical people. Wizards and muggles."

Orchid couldn't help but snort at this. Yup, definitely off her rocker. But Lily shot her a vexed look as she kept up her little speech.

"You are a witch-a female wizard. You, your brother, and your father, and all of his family are of wizarding blood. I myself am a witch, but was born a muggle-non-magical."

Orchid continued to listen as the woman (Lily. Her mother.) talked about the careful separation between wizards and muggles, and about some demented, power-crazy wizard who was trying to take over the world through terror. Orchid didn't understand about half of it, but she had long since learned that it was always best to pretend she did anyway. Smile and nod. While her mother told her story, Orchid watched for signs of similarities between the two of them. And lunacy. At first glance, they didn't look too similar, but then Lily had said Orchid looked like her father. They did have the same nose though, and the tendency to have scatterings of light freckles across the nose and cheeks.

Despite the fact that Orchid didn't believe Lily's story (fairy tale, more like), her heart was beating madly against her chest in the hopes that Lily Evans Potter really was her biological mother, and that she would take her away to England, or wherever it was she lived. As long as she got to give the Mendellsohns the slip for good, Orchid was knew she'd be happy.

"...It was into this atmosphere that you and Harry were born." Orchid perked her ears up at this. Finally, I get to hear my story!

"While I was still pregnant with the two of you, there was a prophecy made. We only heard bits and pieces of it, but it amounted to this: A child would be born in the month of July (your birth-month) whom Voldemort would mark as his equal. Eventually one of them would have to kill the other. We were terrified for the two of you, so we didn't tell anyone about your births immedietely...except for two of James's best friends, who were your godfathers.

We didn't know which one of you was in the prophecy, so we decided it would be best to separate you, and give at least one a chance."

"Why me then?" Orchid broke in.

"I thought I asked for no interruptions?" Lily raised her eyebrow. "We probably would've sent both of you off, but we thought there was that chance that maybe, just maybe, one of you would be our last hope. Maybe one of you would grow up to finally destroy Voldemort. You have to understand, the whole world was so desperate that we were willing to take that chance.

The only problem was choosing. You were sickly as an infant, and we didn't think you could survive an encounter with the world's most powerful wizard. So we chose to send you away. James brought you to an American orphanage. The farther from Voldemort, the better. And we placed powerful wards over you, and erased the record of your birth. In England, you were never born. But here you are, strong and beautiful!"

Lily's eyes glimmered again with tears at this statement, and had to pause to compose herself.

"Sadly, things didn't go exactly to plan. A year later, the three of us were in hiding from Voldemort. That Halloween night, we were betrayed, and Voldemort came to the house. First...he killed your father...he then proceeded upstairs to where I was with Harry. He told me to get out of the way...so he could kill Harry...I refused. And he killed me. He then tried to kill Harry too, but something happened, and the spell backfired. Voldemort was destroyed-not killed-but destroyed."

Up until that moment, Orchid had been enthralled with the sad tale, and, maybe, she'd found herself wanting to believe it. But here, she had to interrupt.

"WHAT? What do you mean, 'he killed you'? You're standing here right now, aren't you? You're insane, woman!"

Lily sighed, here came the part she had dreaded most. " Yes, I am standing here, but I am also dead. I was sent here by the Fates, the mistresses of life and death. You needed to know who you were and what you must do. Since most of the wizarding world doesn't know you exist, and the only person who does is unable to come, they thought it would be best if I came and told you. And I agreed. I wanted to see you so badly!...You must believe me!...Here, try to touch me."

She extended her arm, and Orchid hesitated before reaching out her hand to touch her, but her fingers slipped right through as if nothing was there. Orchid gasped, and looked up into her mother's face. Shit! I can't touch her. So I guess she's not so crazy, but maybe I am. "It-it's true, then?" She whispered. Lily nodded.

"Wha-where-where is my brother then?" She asked.

"He is living with my muggle sister and her husband and child, in England. He goes to a magical boarding school, and will be entering his sixth year there." Lily paused before continuing. "You will be joining him there shortly."

Orchid looked up sharply. "What?" Lily couldn't help but notice (happily) the excited note in her daughter's question.

"About a year ago, Voldemort rose up again. He is gaining power again quickly. Harry knows that he is "The Chosen One"-as much as he hates knowing it. He will have to kill Voldemort. But his godfather has just died, and he is feeling alone and depressed.

But more importantly, there has been another prophecy. It says that while Harry must be the one to kill Voldemort, he cannot accomplish it alone. He needs his other half. Only a whole man can expect to defeat the final horcrux. He must know all the faces of love to defeat hate...and so on, and so forth...

You then, Orchid, must be reunited with your twin to save our world."