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? SSnape, CDiggory, OFC

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 032: If

‘Albus,’ Liam said heatedly. ‘Ye know that this is not the end of it, surely! As sure as I am standing here this situation with the Tournament; it’s not done though it may appear to be! Whatever Dark Magic is at work here – it isn’t going to last!’

‘It would have taken an exceptionally powerful wizard to Confunded the Goblet!’ Dumbledore said carefully.

‘And there are some who could have done it!’ Minerva snapped. ‘We all know that!’

‘Jessica was so sure – she was SO SURE!’ the Headmaster hissed.

‘Clearly she was mistaken;’ Snape said idly. ‘Even you have said that we could not live our lives based on what we thought might happen on the basis of her clearly dubious testimony.’

‘Oh get over yerself, man! Ye know damn well that she was right every step of the way – until now,’ Liam said. ‘Dark Magic has nothing to with what’s going right now! Something should have happened that didn’t – or something happened that shouldn’t have!’

‘You don’t know that McKenzie!’ Snape snarled. ‘You are just as much in the dark as the rest of us are!’

‘If it serves yer purposes to believe that, then so be it! Destiny is destiny, no matter what twists of fate happen along the way. But mark my words, things may well right themselves in the end – just expect the unexpected!

‘Spoken like someone who perhaps knows more than should be possible; as though they themselves had been up to something!’

‘I’m here because I can do what ye can’t; I can see what ye can’t. I don’t claim to know it all – that would be foolish. But I do know yer setting yerself up for a fall if ye don’t take heed. Ye know what we’re up against, Snape. Ye know it even more than the Headmaster here, so just cut the crap!’

‘Severus, you know that we have said that she shouldn’t have set such great store in what she knows from her books,’ Minerva said sharply. ‘But the fact remains that there is something coming; even the centaurs can sense it and are concerned! It’s an ill wind that blows no good and it’s quite unsettling!’

‘Firenze came to me himself! Something wasn’t right and that’s why the Goblet refused to choose,’ Liam said forcefully.

‘Refused… the Goblet refused to choose?!’ Dumbledore said hoarsely. ‘It is as grave as I thought!

‘And what is your bright idea about how we rectify this oh-so grave injustice since you seem to know so much about it?’ Snape snarled at the Highlander.

‘We don’t do anything! We don’t interfere and we let nature take its course from here on out!’

Snape, Minerva and Liam turned to Dumbledore.

The aged wizard tapped his fingers absent-mindedly on his desk as he stared at a stone orb that floated about the room.

‘Well?’ Minerva asked, breaking the tension-filled silence.

‘Liam is right,’ he said gravely. ‘The situation will correct itself and in ways we are just not meant to know. We must carry on as usual and take things as they come.’

‘What about Moody?’

‘We leave him be – as we ought to do.’

‘Aye – ye must indeed,’ Liam said as he stared at Snape.

‘Is there a problem, McKenzie?’ the Potions Master hissed.

‘Yes, there is… a very big problem indeed,’ the Highlander replied as took his leave.

‘Do you not think you should impart this ancient wisdom of yours?’

‘No – I don’t actually,’ Liam said half-turning. ‘Too many cooks spoil the broth – I’m sure you understand that all too well…’

‘Well – I think that’s that gentlemen,’ Minerva sighed. ‘Now if you’ll excuse me – I’m off to enjoy my break!’

The Deputy Headmistress left with her husband and Snape stood glaring resentfully as they closed the door to Dumbledore’s office behind them.

‘Do you really believe you can trust him, Headmaster?’

‘I trust him as much as I trust you, Severus,’ Dumbledore replied as he raised his eyebrows and gave his Potions Master a look over his half-moon glasses.

‘What about Jessica?’

‘I still have faith in her.’

‘She was wrong!’

‘No actually; I don’t believe she was.’

‘And I suppose you still don’t see fit to inform me of the finer details.’

‘It would do you as much good as it has Jessica and myself. Let it be Severus; we don’t really have any choice and we can see what our interference has wrought!’

‘But…’

‘Let her find her own way back to you, if it’s meant to be…’ Dumbledore said quietly as he rose. ‘I rather think you have matters to be getting on with which concern you more than at the moment.’

‘It grows darker,’ Snape said tightly as he impulsively grabbed at his left forearm.

‘That at least has not changed. And that is what must concern us. I advise you to enjoy what time you have left to yourself. Dark days are ahead, Severus. And all things considered, Jessica is better off for the moment wherever it is that she has removed herself to.’

xxxOOOxxx

‘Ahhh – you are still sad I think,’ Giuseppe observed as he stood next to Jessica.

He and his wife were hosting a dinner party and had included all the staff at Ca’Macana. There was a series of entertainments including music in the Ormessini palazzo which was located on one of the most prestigious canals in the whole of the city. Jessica had hidden herself away in a nook by one of the large windows just outside the ornate ballroom where people were dancing. Giuseppe had been blessed with sons; but like many men with too many sons, he had longed for a daughter. Jessica was becoming the closest thing he would ever have to one. Slowly she’d begun opening up to him. Not a lot, but just enough to have changed their relationship profoundly.

‘A part of me always will be,’ Jessica replied somberly.

Giuseppe took a seat next her.

‘You call tell me if you wish, Mia Cara; I won’t judge…’

‘No, I know you won’t and I’m grateful for it,’ Jessica said with a faint smile that was more a grimace.

She sighed and looked down at the mask in her hands.

‘This is a dream come true for me,’ she said quietly. ‘But…’

‘But there is someone you left behind wherever it is that you came to us from?’

‘Yes,’ the former librarian replied softly as her eyes began to well up with tears.

‘I see. I did think as much.’

‘He’s a lot younger than me... and…’

Giuseppe took one of her hands in his as tears began streaming down her face. His wife Ines walked over and sat on the other side of her. She put a motherly arm put around Jessica’s back and encouraged her to let it all out.

‘I used to work at a school; secondary through college levels. I was a librarian there and if I’m honest it’s not what I wanted to be doing with my life. After a couple of false starts, I finally found someone who loved me completely, who respected me – someone I trusted completely because he never lied to me or hurt me. He was everything to me even though we weren’t able to be together the way we wanted to.’

Jessica faltered and rubbed her eyebrows in frustration. The Ormessinis continued to listen as one of their favourite partners tried to collect herself to no avail.

‘He’s nineteen – and a student in his last year. He wasn’t the reason why I left, not entirely. But he is the main reason why I won’t go back.’

‘I can’t go back and watch him be killed,’ she thought to herself.

‘I loved him, as much anyone can love someone else and even more than that. And I still do. I know that you must think that I’m…horrible…but I left because I wanted to do the right thing by him and to someone else who made the mistake of getting involved with me. He was a teacher there and at least my age. With Cedric, this student, this was the first time in my life I’ve ever been in a relationship like that. And I don’t regret anything that happened between, maybe I should but I don’t…’

‘We can’t help who we love, mia cara,’ Ines said quietly. ‘And most of us have done things that other people might take issue with. I can’t judge you – whatever you do is between you and your maker; but in your position I can’t say that I wouldn’t have done the same.’

‘Some might say that I abused my positiongetting involved with him. We were intimate – but it didn’t start at school. It happened during the summer holidays when we were thrown together in the same place, same time. He, um, he was there for me in a way that… It doesn’t matter. We had said we would cool things down once were back at school; but we were together twice in the last term…once because I begged him to, I needed him so much that day and I’d stayed away – but he found me…and I couldn’t let go…’

‘You still exercised restraint, a lot more restraint than I would have certainly,’ Giuseppe said firmly. ‘I would not let anything or anyone keep me from the one I love who loves me truly.’

‘The one you love wasn’t a student…’

‘No, but I was poor and I am not from the sort of family that you might call honourable,’ Ines said thoughtfully. ‘You are a throwback to a byegone era I must say! No one cares about that kind of age difference or how we meet our lovers – such outrageous pretentiousness! The only thing they care about are bloodlines, money and connections.’

‘God Almighty!’ Jessica sniffed. ‘I can’t get away from it no matter where I go!’

‘When I fell for my Ines – holy mother of God the scandal!’ said Giuseppe. ‘You know that many in the old families only believe in association within their ranks. The doors that were closed to you by the other Houses here… It’s not because of your race as such. If your family had settled in Venice at least two generations ago and you had been born here there would be no hesitation about taking you on. No one bats an eyelash at mixed marriages or May-December relationships; it’s the sort of stuff you only find in fluffy novels these days. Marriage and partnerships boil down to strategic business alliances. Most Houses wouldn’t want their Artisans to leave Venice – and yet I actively support it if that’s what anyone in our little family wants to do. Our arts survive and flourish because we bring it to those who are not in our cocooned milieu. I know that even though much in our society has progressed, there are still plenty of closed minds. I don’t let that bother me or stop me from being true to what I feel and believe!’

‘Where I’m from, back home, people go to jail for what I’ve done!’ Jessica said as she burst into a fresh round of tears.

‘You are not “back home” – and it sounds as though you are altogether better for it if the people are so backward!’ Ines sniffed. ‘Your role – Holy Mary Mother of God, you were just a librarian handing out books and giving advice on how to write properly!’

‘Cedric didn’t even need the help beyond that actually. He’s a good student and we both knew the real reason why we spent as much time together as we did. Once we were together, he only came to me when he absolutely had to – and it was hard, very hard for the both of us; but him especially I think. He’d witnessed some… things… between me and my former boyfriend. And he knew deeply personal things that I shared with him once he opened up to me. Cedric wanted to take care of me, look after me. He wanted me to be happy and to have a good life. That’s what made him happy – thinking of me and how he could make things better for me. If I was another type of person I could used that for all it was worth, but I didn’t. He can have anyone he wants, he’s that popular. He has to beat girls and women off of him with a stick. I liked him, a lot, but I never went down roads a lot of them do to get his attention. I never sought him out deliberately and I never tried to get him to come to me… No one will give a damn about that.’

‘…and yet of all the people he could have chosen, he chose you,’ Ines said as she ran a hand through Jessica’s hair in a comforting gesture. ‘You have no idea how beautiful you are, inside and out… why wouldn’t he choose you? If other people have a problem with you – it’s just down to old-fashioned jealousy. If anything is done, it will be out of spite. It would be the same to a degree no matter who he chose. But you, not being one of the girls, it will really get under their skin to know that you secured his affections.’

‘Poor Elio,’ Giuseppe sighed before smiling.

‘Elio?’

‘Ah – no worries there my dear; he’s gay (I think you already figured that out!), but I’ve heard him say that if you even looked his way once he might convert – just for the one night mind!’

Jessica roared with laughter through her tears along with Elio’s parents.

‘That crazy, wonderful son of yours. He’s been a good friend to me; he and Marta both have been great actually…’

‘You are like the sister he never had but really needed. He needed a girl to talk to about certain things growing up – his Mamma doesn’t count! And Marta, well she’s lovely but just too provincial. All of Elio’s girlfriends have moved away or they have families of their own and don’t have much time for him. He’ll miss you if you ever leave – but for you, I think finally he would perhaps try his feet away from the familiarity of home. He sees how you’ve traveled the world and haven’t been afraid to take risks. It took a lot to approach me as you did, especially after having so many doors slammed in your face. He is really inspired by your strength and tenacity.’

‘He’s got a great life – I can’t imagine anyone growing up here wanting to leave it.’

‘Depends on what your life is like,’ said Ines. ‘Venice is like anywhere else: if life is good then you adore it and perhaps can’t see yourself settling anywhere else. If life is hard, then you want to break free – find something good. It hasn’t been easy for Elio, but he accepts that he can’t change who he is for the sake of other people. Even here, being gay isn’t easy. There are people who can be very close-minded and judgmental. I think they are perhaps, afraid…’

‘Up their own arses more like,’ Jessica grumbled. ‘But no matter where he goes; there will be people who can accept him as he is and people who won’t. It’s difficult having to deal with moral and legal judgments about something that he has no control over. It’s different with me because the legal argument says that Cedric is an adult but the moral argument perhaps says that I have the greater responsibility and should keep away even though our relationship is mutually-consensual.’

‘…and some (where you are from) would probably argue that he’s not in a position to know his own mind because you were in a position of authority…over someone you saw very little in the course of your everyday existence as the librarian at this school… God help us!’

‘I was only a Librarian, not a teacher giving him grades or the head of his section who was meant to look after him. Maybe I’m wrong for seeing like that but I do. He’d come by and see me under some pretense and we’d loose all track of time just talking… He joined the club I set up – a sort of tutorial club, but he wasn’t the only one who didn’t need to be there – and he wasn’t there all the time, not like some of them! Cedric isn’t some brainless, testosterone-driven idiot. Some nineteen year olds are childish, I know that – but some aren’t and he’s definitely not. He wants all the things I was ready for and had at his age. I was already out of the house and working when I was sixteen. My first two boyfriends were a bit older than me and the relationships just were what they were because those were the people I was around. In the first instance, it didn’t work out between us because I wanted more than he was willing to give me. In the second instance – the man I was living with and preparing to spend what I thought would be the rest of my life with died. Maybe we would have gone the distance, maybe not…’

But some people saw that even though I was “only seventeen” or “only eighteen”, I was a lot more intelligent and mature than what they were used to. Life wasn’t easy for me growing up and I had to make my own way in the world to save myself at an age when most of my peers didn’t have much to worry about beyond who was taking them to the prom. But emotionally I was prepared to, unlike a lot of people I knew. They never saw that they had options that were worth fighting for. Me – I wanted more than that! I was tired of seeing the good life that other people had. I wanted that for myself. I still do…’

‘Save yourself? Save yourself from what?’ Ines asked gently.

‘From becoming another statistic like a lot of the people I grew up with,’ Jessica replied evenly as she fingered the mask in her hands. ‘…like a lot of people no matter where you go in the world. In some ways I’m blessed, I really am. The life I’ve lead, the opportunities I’ve had to fight for time after time and the things I’ve had to claw my way out of the pit from – What I have achieved is such a big deal for my people in a time when it shouldn’t be anymore. And I’ve come by it all honestly through education, sacrifice and hard work. Sometimes I’d look at Cedric and he reminded me of what I was like at his age: serious, intelligent (more than some people were willing to give me credit for) with a determination to be true to myself and not get caught up in how other people thought I should live my life. He’s actually the stronger one in our relationship. He’s the first man I’ve ever been with who actually thinks of me before he thinks of himself.’ Cedric makes me feel like even the impossible is possible.

‘You make it sound at though it really hasn’t ended between you.’

‘You’re right. It hasn’t ended really, not for me… If it were possible to be with him, I would in a heartbeat…’ Jessica said tearfully.

‘But you can!’ Ines cried. ‘Mia Cara, you love him so much, anyone can see that! Why are you torturing yourself like this? Go back to him!’

‘I can’t! Really I can’t… I can’t go back knowing… it’s… complicated. I can’t go into it – I’m sorry!’ Jessica said rising. ‘Besides – I’ve got an OK life here now and I’m doing something I love. Being alone; it isn’t the end of the world, is it?’

The Ormessinis could only watch in dismay as Jessica excused herself and left to go home so early in the evening.

‘Something isn’t right about all this, Giuseppe,’ Ines muttered as they watched her get into a gondola.

‘There’s nothing we can do, Mia Cara, except be here for her. I know what it’s like to feel like circumstances have conspired against you and that you are all alone. But if there was any way to find this “Cedric”, I most certainly would.’

xxxOOOxxx

Cedric had been in Venice for a few dawns now and at least was closer to finding Jessica than when he’d arrived. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that she had to be here, but it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. He’d managed to get the details all the Artisan Workshops in Venice and in the nearest towns of The Veneto, but he was still hopeful that he wouldn’t have to go into the area surrounding the ancient city of canals.

He would get up just as the sun was rising, armed with a Muggle notebook and pen as he ventured out into the monsoon-like weather. He slowly made his way down the list which had been organised according to area. It was the easiest thing he’d done for himself since Venice was a series of islands. He took to his search one island at a time from morning until night. It was tiring work and he’d had no idea how many workshops there were in the city alone. Some were rather small, with just two or three people just working out of their homes.

But here and there someone recalled seeing a woman such as he described. He would pull out a Muggle picture of Jessica and yes, she did look familiar – they were sure they’d come across her before. It was hard to forget a Native American, but no one had any idea what happened to her.

This dawn he’d awoken to the sound of rain hitting the red tiled roof of his rented room in a B&B. He was so tired, but at least he was down to his last area of Venice proper. There were additional islands in the lagoon including Murano – but there was no need to go to them just yet.

He still had to search Cannaregio.

The Hufflepuff was exhausted, and the rain was a convenient excuse for him to stay in bed and get some rest. But he couldn’t. He was getting closer and closer with each dawn and he could slack off just because he wanted to sleep. Cannaregio was the most populated area of the city and particularly bustling with businesses and markets. He was going to have his work cut out for him, but that was why he’d left it for last.

Cedric forced himself out of bed and into the driving wintry rain even though he wasn’t feeling particularly well.

xxxOOOxxx

Jessica hunkered down in her coat as a water bus known to Venetians as a vaporetti made its stops. It was at times like this when the weather was especially gruesome that she was grateful for something besides the gondolas and water taxis. Even on a day like today, the vaporetti, a relatively new form of transport that was far more economical, was heaving with people. But unlike Britain and elsewhere, people weren’t allowed to cram themselves in standing up. If no seats were available, you’d just have to catch the next one – no exceptions.

She closed her eyes and savoured the silence. That was the other thing she appreciated about Venice in the morning during the off-season; it was blessedly quiet.

Had Jessica been looking out as the familiar canals and bridges passed her by, she might have been struck by someone who seemed familiar, someone who was disembarking from a water taxi, starting his last painful search for the woman he loved.

xxxOOOxxx

Jessica and Marta had been working on some new designs for the next Carnivale. It was a special commission, and Jessica’s first. Jessica couldn’t stand her patron, but she couldn’t turn up her nose – if she pulled this off she could get more work. But at last, she was being recognised in her own right and adding to the fortunes of her House.

‘I am glad Giuseppe secured you and not that bastardo Paolini!’ Marta crowed. ‘I am telling you, the Senorina Lattanzi is – how you say – she is one stuck-up cow! But these are masterpieces that even La Diva herself can’t turn her nose up at; Paolini and his mi!’

‘She’s just another spoiled rich kid who doesn’t know how good she has it,’ Jessica replied wearily as she yawned.

She looked up at the clock over her worktable.

‘I’m off for lunch – I need something to eat and a strong expresso to wake me up.’

‘But you’re allergic to coffee!’

‘I know – but I’m dead tired. Couldn’t sleep last night…’

‘You’ve been like this for a bit,’ Giuseppe said worriedly. ‘Go home, Jessica. The world won’t fall apart if you finally take some hard-earned time off! See you in seven new dawns!’

Jessica tried to protest, but everyone was agreed that she had been pushing herself too hard. With so little sleep, it wasn’t good.

‘Ahh that bitch can wait,’ Elio crowed to uproarious laughter by everyone in the workshop as he began prancing around and simpering like Senorina Lattanzi did whenever she felt justified in cracking the whip like Jessica was her servant. He could do drop-dead imitations of their most despicable customers, and the princess Lattanzi was high on the list.

The former Librarian even laughed, and then excused herself to go home.

xxxOOOxxx

Jessica stopped in two of the local markets on her way home. Cannaregio was home to some of the oldest and respected marketplaces in the city. The weather was likely turn to snow now as they headed into Christmas and she wanted to stock up so that trips out would have to be few and far in between.

Once she was home, the former librarian put way her purchases and had a hot shower before preparing lunch. It was strange how the body could convince the mind of its tiredness, but then relaxing was nigh on impossible. Since she wasn’t going to fall asleep anytime soon, Jessica decided to tidy up her flat. After she’d done that she started working on the decoration of some blank masks to keep her occupied. She turned on the television, but kept it low since she wasn’t really paying attention to it.

After a time, Jessica put the mask down and stretched out, her body and mind finally in sync as she fell asleep.

xxxOOOxxx

Cedric forced himself to keep going in the driving rain. He’d ticked off a number of addresses, but still had quite a ways to go. He arrived at his latest destination and looked wearily at the address plate at the side of front door. He was soaked through to the bone, but he wasn’t giving up. He would never give up, not until he found her.

‘Ca’Macana’ he read as he checked out the ornate signage.

He plucked up his courage and walked into the shop.

xxxOOOxxx

‘Can I help you?’ Marta asked irritably in rapid-fire Italian as she walked into the shop room.

What was the point in having a sales clerk if he was never where he should be!

‘Scusilo per favore; non parlo Italiano…’ he mumbled as he went beet red.

‘Can I help you?’ Marta said slowly in English that was as heavily accented as her German-infused Italian.

‘I’m looking for someone,’ came Cedric’s halting reply as he fumbled in his jacket for Jessica’s photo. ‘You probably haven’t seen her…’

He pulled it out and could not believe his eyes as the blood visibly drained from the woman’s face.

‘You… You’re…’

‘Cedric…’ said Guiseppe as he emerged from the workrooms and offices above stairs. ‘I believe the name is Cedric, no?’

It was the last thing Cedric heard before he fainted.

xxxOOOxxx

RING! RING!

Jessica turned over on her sofa and clutched the blanket she’d wrapped herself in even tighter.

RING! RING!

BAM! RING! BAM!

‘Jesus Fucking Christ,’ she hissed as she jumped up and stumbled into the chest that functioned as her coffee table. She cursed a blue streak and promised not to kill whoever it was that was being such a pain in the arse!

BAM! RING! BAM!

Jessica could barely see straight, she was so tired. Her phone had been ringing off the hook, but she couldn’t be bothered to answer it and had just given in to trying to sleep as fitful as it was.

‘Jessica are you in there?’ Giuseppe bellowed through her door.

‘Oh for God’s sake! You told me to take time off!’ Jessica howled as she threw open the door.

She was forced to snap to attention when she saw how anxious her newfound Guardian Angel was. He cursed a blue streak in Italian and then demanded why the hell didn’t she pick up the damn telephone as he pushed past her and went to her hall closet.

‘Come on – get your coat!’ he ordered.

The Master Artisan turned to find Jessica staring at him in disbelief. She’d never seen him so wound him in all the time she’d known him.

‘Don’t just stand there woman! You need to put some shoes on…!’

‘You told me to take time off! Giuseppe I’m tired! I can barely stand up let alone keep my eyes open and…!’

‘Work, work! I don’t give a monkeys as you say about the work! Please – just get yourself ready to go! I have a taxi waiting downstairs!’

‘Damn it to hell, can’t it wait! If it’s not work then what on earth is it? Is something wrong with Ines or Elio?’

‘No, Mia Cara, it can’t wait! It’s your Cedric! He’s here and he needs you!’