ENIGMA

Plot, new characters, new magical terms and abilities etc. are my intellectual property. If you want to borrow then please kindly ask. JK Rowling's characters and Wizarding Universe are all uniquely hers.

Summary: AU: What if everything we ever read in JK Rowling’s books was real – including the people characterised? What would you do if you found yourself caught up in that reality knowing what was to come? SS, RL, OC

Authors Note: It has been mentioned in the story but now I am noting it here. I am a fan of Diana Gabaldon’s ‘Outlander’/’Cross Stitch’ series and definitely was influenced by that in writing this story – i.e. the Standing Stones and traveling through time. But I also love Philip Pullman’s ‘His Dark Materials’ series and the tv programme ‘Sliders’ and the alternate universes alongside ours idea comes from there no doubt.


Fantasy/Drama

This story is rated R/M.

ENIGMA

Chapter 022: People are People

Jessica hadn’t seen Remus since she moved out of his house. True to form, he continued to be the good guy – and the easiest way for him to do that was to avoid her. Something she had always instinctively felt about him was confirmed: he was never going to be a man who could make her happy in the way that she needed him to. His continual avoidance of issues would only create problems were they to get deeply involved.

He’d said something once, all those weeks ago. In a rare moment of what appeared on the surface to be absolute unguardedness he’d murmured ‘Just once I’d like to know what it’s like to be with a woman who really loves me.’ It was one of the last things he’d said to her, ironically enough. Once again, Remus had avoided the real issues at hand and then when he decided to be bothered it was under a passive-aggressive cloud of martyrdom.

As Jessica sat brooding in her flat, looking over the hills of Bath in the general direction where northern England and Scotland lay beyond, she knew with absolute certainty that she wasn’t meant to be the life partner of the werewolf and she couldn’t play his game.

She also couldn’t find it in herself to give a damn anymore.

Dumbledore had been very astute when he pointed out how symbiotic she and Severus were. Both of them had spent the better part of their lives running from their own truth; and both of them had paid a very high price for it as individuals and as partners. Severus used anything and everything as an excuse to run and never give anyone who might really care for him a chance, and Jessica ran when the truth became too intolerable to bear.

Memories from that fateful night at Hogwarts and the ensuing aftermath assaulted Jessica’s mind and she burst into a hard crying jag. Everything was just one big mess, just as it had been in her own world. No matter where she ended up, it just didn’t feel like she would ever be able to make herself happy let alone anyone else.

xxxOOOxxx

‘That was a very brave and wonderful thing you did for Harry, Jessica,’ Dumbledore intoned several days later.


He’d dropped in on her unexpectedly around dinner time. Jessica found that she was very happy to see him, even if she was rather taken aback. It was strange seeing him in anything but wizarding robes. He wore an impressive berry-coloured velvet suit with a sparkly fez of a hat and was nothing less than warm and cheerful as she showed him around every inch of the two-story flat.

They’d had quite a bit of idle chatter about her plans for the remainder the summer. She definitely wanted to see more of England – Cornwall was a distinct possibility or Devon. However, deep down she wondered what the real reason was for the Headmaster to be here like this. She couldn’t imagine that he was the sort for light social calls.

‘I couldn’t sit by and let him cope all by himself. Somebody needed to help him and it may as well be me since nobody else was going to do anything.’

The Headmaster sighed. There was no point in offering up feeble excuses; Jessica was very right in her attitude and actions, he supposed. But the situation with Harry Potter was deeply complicated, and there had never been easy answers.

‘So I was right after all; your life here with us is filled with purpose,’ he said quietly. ‘You know – you are giving Harry something I could have never given him, not with my status in our world…’

‘And what’s that?’

‘A sense of what it might have been like to have a parent. He looks up to you as a mother figure. He couldn’t have chosen better in my opinion.’

A lump rose in Jessica’s throat and her eyes filled with tears.

‘He’s not a substitute for… I just… I know what he’s going through and how hard it is for him. I wanted to make a difference as much as I could. If it were up to me I’d take him away from those awful people – but I know why he has to go back to them and be able to call that place his home until he comes of age. I just want you to understand that I don’t have some sort of wish-fulfillment going on!’

‘I know, child. I know,’ Dumbledore said firmly as he grasped her hands in his. ‘Such a thing has never occurred to me, not once.’

Jessica nodded as she removed one of her hands to wipe away her tears away and blow her nose. She cared deeply about Harry and all the other students she’d grown fond of, but none of them could ever take the place of the son she had loved so much – and lost.

‘What did you make of the Dursleys?’

‘If it were up to me I’d blast them all into next year!’

Jessica didn’t mince words as she outlined just how loathsome Harry’s relatives were.

‘I daresay they are rather problematic.’ Dumbledore replied with a knowing look in his eyes.

‘Problematic? That’s a gross understatement if I ever heard one, Headmaster.’

‘Please; do call me Albus. We have come too far to stand on such ceremony with each other. Is there anything else you want to talk to me about, Jessica?’

For the briefest of moments she wanted to ask about Severus. She had wondered if he thought about her at all, even if it was to despise her memory. For him to feel that was better than feeling nothing at all.

‘Have you no pride, you stupid cow?’ she scolded herself inwardly.

‘No,’ she said aloud, looking down into her iced fruit punch.

‘Not even the use of magic at the Dursley home?’

‘Ahh – that… Why didn’t you tell me about what you were up to?’ Jessica asked.

‘Tell you about what, child?’

‘Whatever you did to make it look like I was a proper witch and not the useless Muggle that I really am’

‘But you are a “proper witch”; just as you’ve always been and you are very far from being useless if I do say so myself. Harry most certainly would agree I think.’

Time seemed to stop as Jessica looked at the Headmaster who was now smiling at her, the legendary twinkle very present in his blue eyes.

‘No!’

‘There were only two people that could have used magic at the Dursleys. Had it been Harry, an Owl from the Ministry would have delivered a sanction for the use of under-aged sorcery while you were still present. One was not sent because it was not necessary to do so. We are able to at least make a distinction between an adult who uses magic and a child. The situation with Dobby was different. House elves have a unique brand of magic specific to their kind; and as such the Ministry are not able to track them as they do us – and they also tend to register as children. Neither Petunia nor Vernon Dursley is capable, which only left one option.’

‘Look, I’m sure there is some rational explanation for all this; but I didn’t do it!’

Jessica ranted about being watched and her privacy being invaded and how mad it was to even think that she could do magic. Dumbledore sat back and looked at her with all the patience in the world after taking a few more bits of his pasta salad. He didn’t say a word until she ran out of steam.

‘You come from a people for whom wordless magic has been the norm for centuries, you and I both now that do we not? You told me about your propensity for running and yet you have never spoken of what made you flee your home,’ he said evenly. ‘Native Americans are not usually so inspired to remove themselves from their people or their customs, and yet you did so in your world and even in this one you have not displayed any genuine interest in finding out exactly where you’ve come from. You know why, Jessica; and sooner rather than later you will have to face up to it. You cannot run from who and what you really are any more than Remus Lupin or Severus Snape can. And as you yourself have pointed out – all human beings are magical; it just unfortunate for Muggles that they are disconnected from the very real magic they most definitely do possess.’

Jessica said nothing as her mind went blank. It was too much to be thinking of right now.

‘You will be returning, won’t you?’ the Headmaster asked, changing the subject. ‘I thought perhaps given your time on your own here you may have second thoughts about life in our world.’

It was probably best to drop the subject of what happened with Harry’s relatives – but only for now.

‘I always planned to go back. Nothing’s changed,’ Jessica said carefully. ‘I’ve got my job – and I quite like it.’

‘Besides, you wouldn’t let happen now would you old man?’ she thought to herself. ‘Not if you are under the impression that I’ve got some active magic in me after all…’

She glanced up at him.


Was it her imagination or did he seem…relieved?

‘I think I have taken up enough of your time, my dear,’ Dumbledore said as he stood up. ‘I look forward to welcoming you back. Enjoy the rest of your summer.’

‘You as well Professor…’

‘Perhaps you might journey to the northwest. I hear Iron Bridge and Shrewsbury are particularly scenic this time of year…’

‘Is that a fact…’

‘Just an observation; after all you did express an interest in seeing more of England. You haven’t really had proper time to yourself. Perhaps you might secure yourself a Muggle Vehicle and see the country that way. Oh, and before I forget – I have these for you...’

Dumbledore reached into a pocket of his jacket and pulled out a rather thick envelope.

‘You will need these given your life amongst Muggles. Identity papers: British and American passports, British Identity Card, English Driver’s License, Undergraduate and Graduate Degrees, etc. Everything you could possibly need for your life here is in this envelope,’ he explained.

‘I didn’t even have a British passport before – I was just a resident with Indefinite Leave to Remain. They were just on the verge of considering ID cards, but they never quite took off…’

‘You would have become a citizen eventually, I should think; Britain was your home; and it still is.’

‘Yes I would have…’

Jessica was nothing less than gobsmacked. Every aspect of her life was accounted for. It was as though she had been born in this world and had lived the life according to the story that Severus and Dumbledore had cooked up along with McGonagall.

‘You do have a past in this world, Jessica. And when the time is right I propose that you and I explore it together.’

‘Eventually… I just don’t have the head for it now, Professor.’

‘Consider that holiday– see more of what it’s like here and take a nice drive up. Oh, and you also might want to open a Muggle bank account or two for yourself. I believe if you consider accounts with Nationwide Bank of England and HSBC Devonshire you will find them very amenable.’

Jessica’s eyebrows shot up into her fringe. She’d had accounts with Nationwide Financial and HSBC in her world.

Dumbledore looked at his pocket watch.

‘I’d best be getting on,’ he said as he started walking to her front door. ‘How long did you say you have the lease for?’

‘Just six months to start…’

‘Mmm always best to not commit yourself to long-term accommodation when you are just starting out. You might not feel the same way about the place in three months left alone six…’

Before Jessica could answer, Dumbledore Disapparated from her front hall with a loud CRACK.

‘What on earth is going on?’ she muttered as she locked her front door and then checked all the windows before heading up to bed with the envelope.


Once in bed she looked over her unexpected miracle of a gift. She’d been thinking for some time that such documents were very necessary and the Fairy Godfather that was Albus Dumbledore had actually made it happen. She could assimilate easily into the Muggle universe here; she could live anywhere in the EU or even North America (not that she’d ever go back there!). It was good to have options – she certainly had a lot more than she’d done in her own world.

‘Shades o’ fan fiction indeed,’ she muttered as she examined her passport closely.

The Headmaster was thinking ahead, he had to be. And for all he was doing for her, she wondered if perhaps he would change his tack with Harry Potter – that is if the books had been correct about how he’d handled The Boy Who Lived and the prophecy.

But there was no way to know for sure until things happened of their own accord.

xxxOOOxxx

Several days later Jessica decided she would take a proper holiday before returning to Hogwarts. She had bought herself a 4x4, still an irritant for many a motorist and pedestrian in urban areas. She’d always wondered what it would be like to have the money to just do what she needed for herself and not have to worry. In this world it certainly seemed possible enough since she’d saved most of her salary.

But before she left, there was one bit of unfinished business that she needed to sort out.

xxxOOOxxx

Jessica’s timing was deliberate. The Full Moon was a few weeks away and Remus wouldn’t be tortured by her presence; well no more than usual. She pulled on the old-fashioned bell for a few minutes. All of the curtains were drawn so there was no way of telling for certain if Lupin was around or not.

‘This is stupid, Remus!’ she called through the door. ‘I know you’re in there!’

She was going on instinct and her instincts told her that he most certainly wasn’t out and about. Given his rather martyred attitude about his appearance he didn’t venture from his house unless there was a reason for it. Most of his time was spent at home.

‘If this is how it finally ends then I’m better off without you!’ she yelled.

Jessica stormed back to her car after a few more minutes and prepared to leave. She was quite certain she would never darken Remus Lupin’s doorstep ever again.

‘God you are so fucking pathetic! I don’t know what the hell I ever saw in you!’ she hissed as she caught a glimpse of a curtain twitching in her rearview mirror.

She refused to look behind her at the werewolf now gazing forlornly as she slowly disappeared from view.

xxxOOOxxx

‘I should have at least said goodbye, or something,’ Lupin muttered as he watched Jessica leave. ‘I shouldn’t have let things fall apart the way they did.’

‘Except it would have spiraled into something that, in the end, is not meant to be according to you,’ Dumbledore said peering over his spectacles. ‘Even now, you refuse to act though you do not want to let her go. You change your mind about her from one moment to the next. She’s rather had enough of that, I should think and I cannot say that I blame her.’


‘It doesn’t matter; she thinks I’m a complete tosser now anyway.’

‘You didn’t have the courage of your convictions, Remus; so it doesn’t really matter what you think she thinks, does it?’

‘It couldn’t have worked in the end. I have nothing to offer her and she would only resent me in the end. She fits more into our Muggle world than she does the wizarding world – you told me so yourself!’

Dumbledore sighed.

‘That is not what I said. I merely stated the obvious: that it would be easier for her to integrate with the Muggles rather than confine herself to our world. More of our kind might have survived the last war had they managed to be practical and forward thinking in this way. Jessica has had to adapt to extreme changes in her circumstances for most her life. She is a survivor in every sense of the word. No matter what bad thing comes her way, she will find a way to not let it completely destroy her. She’ll make it work for her, even if the process is painful at times. That is exactly why she refused to give up on you – and Severus…’

‘Well, if her life has been so miserable then all the more reason why she shouldn’t shack up with the likes me, Albus! We both know that she’ll end up with him again, so it’s better that it stops right here, right now rather than continue on into some overblown farce!’

‘It’s not the end of the world, my old friend; it just feels like it at the moment. Just remember our conversation at Hogwarts.’

Lupin laughed bitterly.

‘She wouldn’t have given me the time of day if things hadn’t fallen apart with him and no self-respecting witch is going to take the risks needed to be with me! She was curious and it was no more than that!’

‘Love will never find you if you persist in running from it,’ Dumbledore replied as he stood to leave. ‘You remember what we talked about. When we least expect it, life has a way of surprising us all. Just remember the mistakes you’ve made – and do your damnedest to not repeat them.’

There was a loud CRACK as he Disapparated, leaving Lupin to wrestle with his demons by himself.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Author's comment:

I just wanted to thank each of you that has taken the time to read and offer descriptive feedback. It's making me think about my story as I write it and that is what I want. I must confess that though it may seem as though I’ve done intricate planning, I haven't. As always I start out with the overall idea, certain things that have to happen along the way and where I want the story to end up. I just sit down and write. I research as I go where I think its necessary, but for the most part this is very spontaneous as are my other stories.