Chapter 2: New Friends and Past Lives.
Isáwien sat in the classroom reading a book as the clock slowly made its way towards eight o'clock. Just before eight o'clock, the two girls finally arrived, almost at exactly the same moment.
Desdemona chose to ignore Jamie. She turned to Isáwien. "Professor Malfoy," she stated, her voice like ice, "I am here to attend a detention that I have been issued. I have looked though Hogwarts: A History, and all other books on Hogwarts that I could find. I found nothing that says that in a detention, I must talk, or interact, with anyone else in the detention. I wish to have a silencing charm placed around me, so I do not need to hear, nor speak to…to...this...thing!" she spat.
"Ah, here you two are. Well, your detention will last an hour, and I need you to make sure all of the animal cages get cleaned. No magic, do it the nice Muggle way. There are paper towels and liners for the cages in the cabinet over there. Also, you need to feed them. When you are ready, let me know, and I will open the doors that their food and water are attached to so you can change them as well. The food is also in the cabinet, and is labelled so that should be easy enough. And Desi, you can't have a silencing spell. If you did, you wouldn't be able to hear the animals coming towards you when you are bent over. And they might have a chance to bite you."
"Damn," Desi muttered.
Jamie merely smirked at her fellow housemate and walked over to the cages that Isáwien had indicated moments before and set to work.
Isáwien continued to read her book and make notes for the next day's lesson, while also watching them. /-/Merlin, are they alike. But she certainly is like Tom as well./-/
Jamie stopped what she was doing and spun to look at her friend and Professor with a curious look. /-/Isá?/-/
"Hmm? Yes, Jyn?" Isáwien asked aloud automatically as Desi was in the room.
"What did you just say?" Jamie questioned in reply.
Desdemona stared at the girl; the look on her face was one of deep concern. Like Jamie had some brain damage that made her head do weird things. She moved slowly further away from Jamie.
"What did I say? Oh, you must have heard what I was thinking again. Silly me," Isáwien said, shaking her head. "I really have to remember to start blocking my thoughts. Anyway, I was thinking Desi is a lot like Tom."
"You said she was like Tom as well, meaning that there's more to it than that," Jamie accused. "Oh, and stop trying to distance yourself from me, Desi, I'm not crazy nor am I contagious."
"I did. Umm, well, that would be because she is a lot like Tom, as well as her mother. Who I knew when I was younger," Isáwien replied.
By that time, Desdemona was almost ready to put her escape plan into action. She pulled her wand out of her sleeve and conjured up huge bubbles, in hopes to blind the two so she could run out of the door. She whispered an incantation, and the bubbles exploded out of the tip of her wand. She ran to the door, and pulled on the handle...only to discover that it was locked.
While Desi was attempting her escape, Jamie shook her head slightly as she felt a wall go up between her and Isáwien and she could not quite figure out why her friend seemed to be back-tracking her thoughts. "I guess I'll just have to take your word for it…for now."
"Kerry Desdemona Kairos Riddle Weasley, get your arse over here now!" Isáwien ordered as she stood up and walked over to her, taking her wand from her. "Get your butt in that chair before I put it there for you. You should have known the door would be locked, young lady, I know you better than that. Now sit down. Uggh, why me?"
/-/Weasley?/-/ Jamie thought to herself in confusion as she returned to her chores.
"Desi, I swear, one of these days I am going to wring your neck. What the devil do you think you were doing?" Isáwien asked as she paced in front of the desk.
"I was TRYING to escape. I hate detentions."
"Well you earned this one, fighting in the Great Hall. I still don't understand why you were in the first place, AND during the sorting of all times."
"Yeah, well...I don't go looking for trouble. It usually finds me."
"Don't I know it," Isáwien sighed. "But why were you trying to escape? I mean really, Des, you know it would be ten times worse if you had."
"I know, but it is the thrill that inspires me," she grinned
"Bloody hell, Desi, you are just like your mother and Tom. I don't know who you take after more," Isáwien said, shaking her head as she turned and walked back to her chair. As she sat down, she stopped to glance at the rings on her right hand. "Actually, I do, you're just like Tom."
Desi groaned and let her head fall forward on the desk. "Damn it, there she goes again."
"Hmm? What?" Jamie asked, turning towards her.
"Isá, she's off wherever the heck it is she goes when she starts talking about Tom. She just zones out, is gone for hours sometimes. It's bloody annoying. Only thing worse is her babbling."
"She does seem to have this rather nasty habit of babbling on occasion," Jamie smiled. "So how do you know Isá anyway?"
"She's my guardian, and godmother," Desi replied.
Jamie watched her, not missing the bitterness in her voice. "Do you not like her?" she asked softly. "It's just that you sound as if you don't like the fact that she's your guardian," she explained quickly.
"It's not that, she was great growing up. And she is a nice person and all. But she lied to me for as long as I can remember, told me she was my mother. Then about a month ago I found the paperwork in the attic that made her my legal guardian."
"Ahh, so basically you feel like you've lost the only family you've ever really known. I know exactly how you feel. Well, at least I think I do..."
"Yeah, right."
"Why are you so mean to everybody? And you know what? I would really appreciate it if you didn't act like my knowing what it's like to lose a family is no big deal because whether you choose to believe me or not, I do know what it feels like. Six years ago I was kicked out and disowned by the family that raised me since I was an infant. The minute they found out I wasn't really their daughter; they threw me out and refused to even speak with me again. So don't tell me I don't know what it's like to lose a family. Only reason I still consider some of them family is that some of my former brothers realized that maybe I wasn't to blame for the death of their biological sister and that even though I wasn't a Weasley by blood, I was still their sister, and had been for fifteen years."
"Sorry, I didn't realize," Desi replied, rolling her eyes while Jamie's back was turned.
"Yeah, well, that's probably because you never took the time to ask. You can't just go jumping to conclusions all the time, it will lead to trouble."
"Isá is always telling me that," she replied with a shrug. "So you grew up a Weasley? Wonder if we are somehow related, other than the fact that you technically aren't a Weasley," she concluded with a hint of sarcasm that went unnoticed.
"I don't know…We could be. I noticed that your last name, at least the one that Isá called you by, was Weasley. It would be strange though…us being related. Turns out I'm related to Kaira Evans. And if what the Prophet said was true, than it turns out that Isá is my sister-in-law," Jamie mused.
"You're related to Isá as well?" Desi asked as she got up and walked over to help with the cages.
"Well, I'm really not sure. I was in the library the other day and stumbled across some old Daily Prophets and I found an article that said I was married to Lucius Malfoy, of all people, for a short time during my sixth year. Although Draco has never mentioned this to me, so I don't really know what to believe," Jamie said with a slight shrug.
"So you know Draco too then," Desi said with a laugh.
"Yes, according to what he's told me, we've been dating since my sixth year."
"I only know him from Isá's letters. But I used to send things to him that I made, he was like an uncle to me since I had no one else other than Isá and Dawn. Well, one year I accidentally put a bottle of poison in the batter. Didn't know it either until Isá got an urgent owl and she had to leave. She got back and she was laughing like a lunatic. He was fine, he was just throwing up for a week, but he said for me to never send him anything again."
Jamie laughed as she pictured Draco bent over a toilet. "That would have been something to see."
"I know. I've tried to get him to let me send him stuff; see what I can sneak into them, like joke supplies or something. He won't even let me send him something for the holidays," Desi explained as she rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, well, what do you expect, he is a Malfoy after all," Jamie drawled. "He can be so frustrating at times. He claims to love me but I just know that he's keeping things…big things about my past from me."
"He might as well be wearing a massive, illuminated sign over his head that says, 'I fancy your pants off!'."
Jamie couldn't help the chuckle that escaped at the image Desi had just conjured. "If only that were true, Desi, cause sometimes I really start to wonder about that."
Shaking her head suddenly, Isáwien sat up. "Umm, what was I saying?" she asked as she looked around the room, then at them. "Wasn't I yelling at you? And weren't you two not talking to each other?" she continued in confusion as she looked between them.
"You spaced out, Isá," Jamie informed her friend. "So Desi and I have managed to find some common ground - your darling nephew."
"Oh lords, don't get me started on that idiot," Isáwien replied, rolling her eyes
Jamie and Desi exchanged confused looks before turning back to Isáwien.
"Well, it looks like you two have everything done other than the food," Isáwien said as she looked over. "And that's easily done," she continued as she waved her wand once. "Why don't you two go ahead and go. You've done enough. And I have a meeting to get to, so no more fighting, agreed?" she asked with a slight smirk.
"Agreed," commented Jamie.
Desi rolled her eyes. Isáwien knew that nothing she said could keep Desi out of trouble.
"All right, scat, you two," Isáwien said, shaking her head slightly as she stood up. /-/I really have to quit spacing out so much./-/
As Jamie was making her way from the room, she stopped and turned back suddenly at hearing Isáwien's thought quietly echo in her mind. "Might not be a bad idea, Isá," Jamie commented before turning and resuming her way out of the classroom behind Desi.
Isáwien looked up at the empty doorway and groaned. "No, what I really need to do is start blocking my thoughts," she said as she turned towards Shields.
A week into the new school term, Jamie received a note telling her that the Headmistress wished to have a few words with her in private and that she was to report to the Headmistress' office at the end of the day's classes.
Jamie soon found herself standing outside the strangely familiar gargoyle. "Chocolate Frogs," Jamie said causing the gargoyle to jump out of the way and revealing the revolving staircase. When Jamie reached the top, she knocked on the door and waited for the Headmistress to bid her entry.
"Come in," a voice called from the other side.
Jamie reluctantly opened the door and entered the office, an office that seemed to Jamie to be awfully familiar to her; she just could not place why. "You wished to speak with me, Professor James?"
"Yes, Hello Jamie; please, have a seat."
Jamie walked over to the chair in front of the Headmistress' desk and sat down. "Good afternoon, Professor Malfoy," Jamie said, greeting her Head of House, who was already seated and awaiting her arrival.
"Hello, Jamie," Isáwien replied.
"Thank you for coming so quickly, Jamie. I'm sure you are wondering why you are here."
"I have some idea as to the reason, Professor," Jamie replied quietly. "I may not have a lot of my memory intact, Professor, but I do know that my behaviour at the start of term feast is not something that is looked too fondly on."
"No, it isn't, dear. And that's why you along with Miss Riddle and Miss Malfoy have all received detentions. But I was actually curious as to how you are doing. Isá won't share very much other than that you are doing as well as can be expected. And if I wished to know more, I should ask you," she finished with a smile.
"Well, Professor James, that's a difficult question for me to answer. I understand why I'm back here as a student but I find it rather awkward, especially since I am so much older than even the seventh years. I've also recently come across some information about my past that has been rather upsetting and confusing, so, as you can see, I don't really know how I'm doing at the moment," commented Jamie.
"Well, my dear, all of that is quite understandable. You have been through a rather traumatic experience."
"Yes, Headmistress. So I've been told. I just wish I knew why everyone refuses to tell me anything other than what Draco has told me, which isn't much."
"Well, I don't know much about that Jamie. But I'm sure your friends and family wouldn't intentionally hurt you," Abby replied softly.
"No, Headmistress, I don't think they would, but it's so hard for me to trust people right now. I feel like a large piece of who I am is missing, and it has nothing to do with the memory loss either. I just hope that Professor Malfoy can help me regain everything I've lost."
"I hope she will be able to as well."
"That makes three of us," Isáwien said with a soft smile.
"Was there anything else, Headmistress? I'm really not feeling too good right now and I have a lot of homework I need to get done."
"No, I believe that is everything. Oh, how are things going with Miss Riddle?"
"Better, Headmistress, I believe we may have worked out at least some of our differences. You actually have Professor Malfoy to thank for that."
"She does?"
"I do?"
"Yes, Professor Malfoy. If you hadn't spaced out like you did during detention I don't think Desi and I would have started talking," Jamie explained, laughing slightly at the disbelieving look on Isáwien's face.
"You spaced out?" Abby asked with a smile.
"Err, well I do tend to do that a lot," Isáwien replied, shaking her head. "I just can't believe they didn't kill each other while I was off in Tom land."
"Your spacing out actually got Desi talking to me, Professor Malfoy. We got to understand where the other is coming from. We also realized that we actually have quite a bit in common, given the fact that the people who raised us weren't really our true families."
"Oh, bothersome, she isn't going to forgive me ever, is she?" Isáwien said softly. "Although I suppose I do deserve it."
"I'm afraid I don't know the answer to that, Professor," Jamie commented sadly. "Give her time, she may come around eventually."
Isáwien snorted once but nodded just the same.
"Well, I do believe that is everything, so you can go if you like, Jamie," Abby said after a moment
"Thank you, Headmistress," Jamie commented as she rose from her seat and started for the door.
After Jamie was gone, Isáwien turned back towards Abby. "So you were saying you had Desi in here earlier?"
"Yes, it was quite interesting actually," Abby replied.
"Would you be willing to share then, Abbs?" Isáwien asked with a smile.
"Of course," Abby smiled.
"All right, Miss Riddle?" I said as my office door opened with a resounding bang.
"You wanted to see me, Headmistress?" Desi said, storming into my office.
"Yes I did. Please have a seat," I answered, looking up from my paper work. Desi flopped down into a chair. I cleared my throat and continued. "I am glad that you and Miss Potter are getting along now. So this issue has been resolved?"
"Yes it has! No thanks to you!" she snapped, standing back up and pacing my office.
"I thought that you would be pleased to have found a new friend?" I asked confused as Desi picked up one of Albus' instruments that he had left behind.
Desi examined the object in her hand for a moment, turning it around in thought. "Well I am," she said, pulling a lever. A small blue crystal popped out of the bottom of the instrument.
"Then why do you seem to be angry?" I asked, folding my arms across my chest.
"I'm not angry," Desi said in a calm whisper. "I'm infuriated!" she screamed, throwing the object she was examining straight at my head, the instrument went clear through my head.
Without flinching, I repeated my question. "Why are you angry?"
"Because..." Desi picked up another object and heaved it at my head.
I dodged the object this time.
"You made me deal with those disgusting..." I caught the next object flying at my head. "jars of..." Another object went through my stomach. "of...I don't even want to know!" I pulled out my wand as a chair went flying towards me. I stopped the chair in mid air and lobbed it back at Desi. The chair landed at Desi's feet, upright.
"Now have a seat, Miss Riddle," I said in a low voice. Desi opened her mouth to protest but I gave her a dirty look. "Miss Riddle, I said sit! Unless you would like to change the jars again, I'm sure Severus wouldn't mind, and I know I wouldn't."
Desi flopped back onto the chair and crossed her arms angrily.
"Tea?" I asked, magicking a pot of tea and a pair of cups. Desi nodded silently. I handed her a cup of tea and made myself a chair in front of her.
"Now Miss Riddle...I know that there is something else bothering you. Not just the detention I gave you. If you'd like to talk about it, I'm more than willing." I paused to sip my tea. "Or you could go back to throwing objects through me if you like. Ten points if you get it through my nose," I joked, smiling over my cup of tea. Desi snorted, trying not to laugh and choke on her tea. After coughing and sputtering for a moment, Desi cleared her throat.
"Actually, Professor...There is..."
"And this is all that I can tell you. Whatever else you want to know you will have to ask Desi. If she remembers, I put a temporary memory loss potion in her tea so she wouldn't feel any anger or embarrassment over this meeting. The potion should have worn off by now."
"Well, I think I can guess as to what she had to talk about. My guess being it involved Tom, me, and her anger at us. Not that I blame her any. Truth is; if I could do things different, knowing what I do now, I would have. But, hindsight is 20/20. And we can't change the past."
"Ah, yes. The past is just as fickle as the future."
"You know, you sound just like Albus when you say that."
"Well I suppose it makes sense, seeing as he is my great great uncle," Abby mused.
"That it would, Abbs, that it would. But, I have to go grade papers; I'll see you at dinner," Isáwien replied as she stood up.
"Ta ta," Abby said with a smile as she left the office.
A few days later found Jamie slowly making her way up to Isáwien's chambers in the South Tower. She was eager to finally be doing something to try and unlock her past, but it was also frightening at the same time. She desperately wanted answers to her questions, but feared what the cost would be to finally have them. As she neared the portrait guarding Isáwien's rooms, Esmerelda smiled down on Jamie, "Hello, Jamie dear, how are you?"
"A little nervous actually, Milady," Jamie commented honestly.
"That's understandable, dear. But don't you worry; you have a strong heart and mind. You'll be able to get past those bloody barriers in no time."
"Thank you, Milady. I believe Isá's expecting me."
"That she is. Good luck, Jamie," Esmerelda replied before opening to let her in.
Jamie entered through the portrait, to find the living area of Isáwien's chambers giving off a very soothing atmosphere. The lighting had been reduced slightly and there was quiet instrumental music playing in the background. "Isá?"
"Over here, Jyn," Isáwien called as she walked into the room from her bedroom. "I was getting the last box of mementos."
"Mementos?" Jamie asked in confusion.
"Bill, Charlie, Fred and George were kind enough to send along a number of boxes of things from your childhood to help you remember. Pictures, birthday cards, a few drawings you did, and some other things. They should be able to help trigger the memory of the event in your mind," Isáwien explained as she sat on the couch and set the box down next to three others of various sizes.
Jamie sat down next to her friend on the couch. "How in the world did they get all this? I figured Mr. and Mrs. Weasley would have destroyed everything, going by what Albus has told me about how they reacted to the news of my not being their daughter."
"Well, some of the pictures and drawings were ones they had in their own photo albums. As for the rest, the night that you left the Burrow, Bill just had this feeling that he'd better get as much as he could. So he went up to your room and got a number of things, then continued up to the attic and just took about three boxes with your name on them. There are more things at his house, but he only sent along these for now. He figured you might want to come get the rest later. He had actually forgotten they were at his house all these years until Fleur was up in the attic and found them."
"Oh," Jamie replied quietly after hearing Isáwien's explanation. Reaching over, she picked up a stuffed Dragon from the box in front of her. "This is cute. Charlie sent it home to me after that whole fiasco my first year."
Isáwien smiled softly as she looked over her shoulder to make sure the magical laptop was typing like it was suppose to so that Jyn would have a written record of the memories to look at afterward. Seeing that it was, she looked back at her friend. "Do you remember anything else about when you got it?" she asked softly.
Jamie closed her eyes, trying to draw further on the memory of the little stuffed dragon that she was now holding tightly to her chest. "A Hospital…" Jamie closed her eyes tighter in concentration, trying to see what it was about the hospital that the dragon represented. "I think…I think I'm a patient there, but for the life of me I don't know why. You're there as well and so is Albus, but I don't really know why any of us are there," Jamie finished in frustration.
"Jyn, don't think about what you can't remember, think about what you just did remember. You remembered that Charlie sent you the dragon while you were a patient in the hospital after your first year. And Albus and I were there with you. That's a lot, Love."
Jamie looked at her friend in stunned disbelief. "I did it? I actually remembered something?"
"Yeah, you did," Isáwien replied with a smile.
"But I wasn't even trying to remember anything. I just picked up Smoky here…" Jamie trailed off as she looked down at the dragon in her arms.
"You don't have to be trying, Jyn. Your memories want to be free. Your mind doesn't like the curse anymore than your legs like being hit by a binding charm. And with the counter-charm, the only thing left is the barriers your mind created to protect itself, and some residual magic. But by now that has dissipated. Your mind and memories will respond to things that prompt them. It's like finding the right key to open the door. If you want proof, look at how hard it was to remember when you focused on it. But when you weren't even trying, you remembered that you named the dragon Smoky," Isáwien explained.
"This is just so frustrating, Isá!" Jamie cried as she rose from the couch. "I just…I just wish I could remember. Especially if what that article you showed me is true."
"Jyn, sit your arse down now," Isáwien began, her voice having an edge to it that Jamie had not heard in years. Though she could not remember where she had heard it before.
Jamie did as she was instructed and sat back down next to Isáwien. "What?" Jamie asked in exasperation.
"Good, first there are three things we have to cover before we get started. One, I know it's frustrating, I've been here and I've done it. Though it wasn't my whole memory, so I can imagine it must be ten million times more frustrating for you. But you have to keep your emotions under control. Your magic responds to your emotions. More than that, your mind responds to your emotions; if you get too emotional, your mind will stop and no more keys will be let loose no matter how hard you try during the session. Two, we have to start at the beginning, Love, we can't start with what happened six years ago then try to go backwards, it won't work. Your earlier memories will just get even more locked away. So, as annoying as it is that you still aren't getting answers, we have to start from the beginning and work your way through your life up until the point when Ron threw the curse at you. And, three, I know you probably want to yell, rant and rave at me right now. Better get it out now before we get into the session," Isáwien finished with a slight smile.
"I'm not angry at you, Isá," Jamie sighed tiredly. "I'm angry at the situation I now find myself in, especially since I have the feeling that Draco is keeping things from me on purpose. Like he doesn't want me to know my past."
"Well, there's no knowing what is going on inside that boy's mind. And good to know you aren't mad at me," she replied with a wink. "But, to work we go. What is the earliest thing you can remember now?"
"My sorting in first year," Jamie said, her eyes closed and hugging Smoky.
"Okay, well that makes things a bit easier I suppose. Don't have to sort through and toss out things that you already remembered. So we just start with the earliest things then," Isáwien nodded as she looked over the boxes. "All right, I know you silly things are charmed to do what I ask, so we need everything from Jyn's first birthday to her fifth, in order, and stacked this time," Isáwien said, raising one eyebrow as she watched the boxes with her wand pointed towards them, almost as if she expected them to bite her.
A bit of shuffling was heard then the lids flew off each box and four stacks of various heights rose in the air and floated over to the couch between them, where they landed. Isáwien glanced between the stacks and the boxes warily then sighed. "Thank Merlin. When I tried that earlier, they spit everything at me and I was chasing papers for twenty minutes."
"Yikes. Sounds like you had some fun before I arrived," Jamie said, not able to hide the laughter in her voice.
"I know, never thought I'd get them back in the blasted boxes again. They were everywhere in my room. But, it worked, amazingly enough, so go ahead and have a look. Just start at the top of each pile. I think there will be a marker or something showing when your second birthday starts and so on. And remember, don't force it, just let your mind work naturally."
Jamie slowly began to flip through the objects that Isáwien handed her. Vague recollections of some of the events would flash before her eyes. What was causing Jamie the most trouble was seeing the happy faces of the Weasleys smiling up at her from various photographs, especially after having heard about their reactions to the truth. "It looks like they loved me once," Jamie commented sadly.
"Jyn, they still do. Bill, Charlie, Fred and George, even Ron cares for you, the idiot that he is. Molly and Arthur loved you as well. They are just lost and stupid and it's their loss more than yours, because you have all of your brothers. They let their stupid ideals cost them everything."
"I used to live for the summers back then when Bill and Charlie would come home with stories of this place. Even though Ron and I were the closest in age, I think I preferred my two oldest brothers the most. They would stand up for me against the others when they started teasing me. I hated September with a passion because it meant that they would be leaving me at home while they returned to school," Jamie said sadly, looking at a photo taken with Bill and Charlie, Bill having come home to visit and Charlie having returned from his last year at Hogwarts when she was four.
Isáwien smiled and nodded softly before silently summoning the next batch of things to the couch as she let Jamie continue.
Jamie picked up the next batch of items and began flipping through them. She stopped when she came across one photo in particular. She could not stop the chuckle that escaped. "I remember this. The twins somehow managed to turn Ron's hair purple for a week. Mum was so furious."
Isáwien giggled at the mental image of Ron Weasley with purple hair before waiting to see what Jamie would remember next.
"Gods, that was just the start of it, too. Ron was the twins' favourite test subject. Especially since he would eat just about anything you put in front of him. They never really tried anything on me. I have no idea why they didn't. It's almost…almost as if they were afraid of hurting me somehow," Jamie mused sadly as she picked up the next stack of items. "I remember this necklace," Jamie commented, picking up a gold necklace with an Ankh pendant. "Bill had found it during one of his curse breaking missions. He said it would protect me from my nightmares."
"Did it work?" Isáwien asked curious.
"I think it did for the most part," Jamie commented as she closed her eyes, trying to remember something that had just flashed through her mind. "Except…"
"Don't force it, Jyn; let it come back to you. Think about the necklace."
"There's one…one dream that never left. I hear someone crying out…a man…he's…he's telling someone to take something and run and then there's this flash…a flash of green light…"
"Dear Merlin," Isáwien whispered in shock.
"Isá?" Jamie asked worriedly. "What is it? What's wrong?"
"Jyn, hang on. We need to get someone here," Isáwien said as she stood up and walked towards the fireplace where she picked up a pinch of powder and threw it in the fireplace. "Hermione Potter."
Moments later, Hermione's head appeared in the flames looking up at them curiously. "Isáwien? Jamie? What's going on?"
"Hermione is Harry there or is he on a mission?" Isáwien asked
"He's right here, why?"
"Isá, what's going on?" Jamie asked in concern.
"It will all make sense in a minute, Love," Isáwien replied before turning back to the fireplace. "Can we borrow him for a bit? There's something only he can explain to Jyn. I don't know any more than she mentioned to me in a letter once when she overheard you guys talking about it years ago."
"Okay," Hermione began slowly. "He's on his way; he has this special bracelet from Albus..."
POP
"I'm here, Mione," Harry said from behind all of them.
"Umm, well, I'll let you go then," Hermione said, looking around before she disappeared.
"Would someone please tell me what's going on? Isá, why is my brother here?" Jamie asked in confusion.
"Okay, it's about that dream you had. But it's not a dream. But it is. But it's not. See, I'm not sure how you remember it now when you didn't before. Or you might have blocked it before, and that's why you didn't remember it when you overheard Harry, Hermione and Ron talking about it so long ago. But I don't know why it would come about now. But then again it does make sense considering your mind is letting all the barriers down. But why now and not before? It's just...I don't know...that's why I called Harry. He knows it. He can help. At least I hope he can. If not, well then, I'll have to apologize to Mione for taking her husband from her on one of the few times he is home. And I'm sure she'll forgive me, but I would still feel horrible. And that is such a pain," Isáwien said as she paced in front of the fireplace.
Jamie and Harry exchanged puzzled glances before turning back to Isáwien, who was still pacing. "Isá, that made absolutely no sense at all and now I'm even more confused than I was before," Jamie commented.
"What's a dream but not a dream?" Harry asked. "And what did Jamie overhear me, Mione and Ron talking about?"
"Oh, sorry," Isáwien said as she stopped. "Err, you know me, I do babble a lot. Okay, Harry, we've been working on Jyn's first memory session. And it's been going great. She remembered a necklace Bill gave her to take away nightmares, except for this one nightmare. And when she told me what it was, I recognized it as something she overheard you telling Hermione and Ron about during your third year, which she wrote me about. Umm, Jyn, you'll have to tell him what it is again. Cause I am not going to try and remember it. And I think it's better if he hears what you saw from you. Yeah, while you're doing that, I'm going to sit and smell a vanilla candle, calm my nerves. No more babbling. Aye, that's it. Now, where did I leave my candles?" she said as she walked towards her bedroom. "Wait a minute, I'm a witch, Accio candles," she said, stopping and just sitting on the floor as a candle came to her.
"Umm, Jamie, did you understand anything she just said? I got the part about you getting some of your memories, congrats, and figured out something about a necklace. But other than that, I am lost."
Jamie watched her friend in stunned silence for a few moments before turning to her brother, who had taken Isáwien's place on the couch. "Actually, yes, believe it or not, I did understand most of it. She gets like that when she's under a lot of stress but I don't know how my memory could have stressed her out so much," Jamie commented with a shrug. "And thanks. Now about the necklace, this is it here," Jamie said as she picked up the necklace to show Harry. "Bill gave it to me, he said it was supposed to protect the wearer from whatever haunts them at night. It worked for the most part, since I seem to remember having nightmares my entire life. But it didn't seem to work on this one dream that just wouldn't leave me alone. It was of a man crying out to someone to take something and run and the next thing I know there's this bright flash of green light…Harry, are you alright?" Jamie asked as she noticed her brother's face had paled considerably
"Bloody hell, Jamie, that isn't a dream," Harry replied in shock before shaking his head slightly. "I'm okay; it's just a bit of a shock that you saw it too. And now I understand why she's over there smelling a candle and humming to herself."
"What do you mean it isn't a dream, Harry? If it's not a dream, than what the hell is it?" Jamie asked, her frustration becoming evident in her voice.
"Jamie, it's a memory. Somehow you must have gotten it too," he said softly. "Probably from our link," he continued when he realized it. "The man is our father, he was telling mum to take me and run."
"Oh, Gods," Jamie whimpered as realization started to strike as to what Harry was getting at. "That's the night, isn't it? That's the night they…"
"I'm sorry, Jamie. I never wanted you to see it. It was hard enough for me to see. I'm so sorry you had to as well."
"I never really knew what I was seeing until years later when I heard you, Ron and Mione talking about it one day in Gryffindor Tower. You didn't know I was there. I couldn't figure out why I was seeing it as well, not until I found out who I was at any rate. I'd been trying to block that nightmare…memory for as long as I could remember, but no matter what I tried, it still haunted me."
"I know the feeling, Jamie. It still haunts me too, though not as often as it did third year. No Dementors around to bring it to the front of my memory, I guess," he said with a slight shrug. "I don't think it will ever really go away, but I think that with time, we'll both stop seeing it so much."
"I hope you're right, Harry. I really do. It's funny how this necklace brought that memory to the surface though," commented Jamie.
"Yeah it is," Harry agreed softly. "So, what else have you remembered? I think your helper is lost in her own world," he mused as he glanced back over at Isáwien, and then turned back to her.
"Well, I've remembered some of the things from my childhood as Ginny Weasley, like when Charlie sent me Smoky here," Jamie indicated the stuffed dragon that she was still hugging, "while I was in St. Mungo's after my first year as well as some things from when I was really little, like when the twins turned Ron's hair purple for a week. I've remembered a few things from more recently as well."
"They turned Ron's hair purple?" Harry said before he threw his head back and laughed out loud. "That must have been a sight," he said a number of minutes later. "But its good you are remembering, Jamie. You don't know how happy all of us are to hear that."
"All of you? Are you sure about that?" Jamie asked quietly, not looking at Harry, instead looking down at Smoky.
"I'm pretty sure," Harry replied, looking up at the clock. "But I suppose we should pull your guru out of her zone so you two can get back to work. And I'll get out of your hair," he continued with a smile.
Jamie merely nodded, knowing deep down that there was at least one person who did not want her to remember her past, but not putting voice to it.
Standing up, Harry walked over to Isáwien "Isáwien?" he began hesitantly.
"Hmm? What?" she asked, looking up at him. "Oh, you two are done?" she continued as she set the candle down.
"Umm, yeah. So I'm going to head back home, leave you two to your work," Harry replied, looking over at Jamie as if to say 'help'.
"Of course you are, well, say goodbye to your sister and hurry along then. Don't want to keep Hermione waiting," Isáwien replied as she stood up.
Harry walked back over to Jamie, looking around carefully. "Are you sure you want me to leave you with her?" he whispered.
"I'll be fine, Harry. She just gets like that occasionally. You really should get home to Hermione. It's not right for us to be keeping you from her when she barely gets to see you as it is. Harry, can you do me a favour?"
"Sure."
"Could you try and talk Draco into coming home sometime soon? I could really use his support in this, and the longer he's away, the more I begin to think he doesn't want me to remember my past at all."
"I'll try my best, Jamie. But you know how determined he is to stay and make sure he is there so no one will get killed. But I promise I'll recruit everyone's help to get him to come back soon."
"Thank you, Harry. Even if it's just for a day, I don't care; I just need to see him. Now get going before your wife decides to send out a search party for you."
"All right, I'm going," replied Harry with a smile before apparating out of the room.
"Sorry, Jyn, but I knew I couldn't explain that to you," Isáwien began as she walked over to the couch.
"It's alright, Isá. I think it was better coming from Harry, especially since he sees the same thing," Jamie replied quietly, looking back down at Smoky.
"Good to know. Do you want to keep going, or call it a night? More things might come to you over the next couple of days when you aren't expecting them as well. And you can take the boxes, of course, and look through them at your own pace. It's all the way up to the beginning of your first year."
"I think I'd like to call it a night if you don't mind. My brain is feeling rather fried at the moment, especially after Harry's little revelation about that dream."
"I understand completely. Especially the brain fry part," Isáwien replied with a smile.
"Thanks," Jamie replied as she put the necklace on and started packing everything back away in the boxes, placing Smoky on the top.
"So when do you think you want to give it a go again? Next week or sooner?"
"A couple of days maybe? How about Sunday afternoon?"
"Sounds like a plan to me," Isáwien replied as she stood up once more.
"Um, Isá? How am I supposed to get all this down to the dorms?" Jamie asked, indicating the boxes.
"Here, Love," Isáwien said as she shrunk the boxes.
"Thanks, Isá. I'll see you in the morning," Jamie said as she pocketed the boxes and made her way back down to the Slytherin dorms.