Disclaimer: I can claim nothing from the HP Universe. Items written from book 5, OotP, are followed by page number from the American hardback version.

Chapter Twenty-nine

Artemisia took a deep breath and released it before starting her story. "I can't tell you where I went right after I left your house. It isn't because I don't trust you, it is because I made a promise to keep it a secret."

"I wouldn't ask you to break a promise." She smiled. "I know how you feel about keeping those."

"I can tell you that in the house I stayed in was someone who has suffered for something that they didn't do."

"Who?"

She sent a charm towards her door to secure their privacy. "Sirius Black."

"Oh, my god, Arty!"

"I was only there for a little while, then Professor Dumbledore brought me here to Hogwarts. I don't know exactly what happened, because he suppressed the memory of the summer until late in August. My memories have started to come back." She paused to collect her thoughts. Knowing Laelia as she did, Artemisia knew that the best idea was for her to just plunge in. "From what I've remembered, I came to the conclusion that he sent me into the past."

Laelia's eyes widened. "The past? Like the past past?"

"Back to the late seventies."

"You mean that you had to wear bellbottoms and platform shoes?"

"Yeah," she smiled. "It was weird at first but since that was what everyone else wore it. It lost it's weirdness."

"So, what did you do?"

It was as if her mind had been waiting for Laelia to ask her questions and jog her memory. "I spent my seventh year there as a transfer student. I was sorted like I hadn't been here for the last six years."

"So you got to be in Ravenclaw back then." Laelia grinned. "Was the common room still decorated like it is now?"

"I wasn't sorted into Ravenclaw."

"But…." She trailed off with a look of intense interest. "What house did you get sorted to?"

"Gryffindor. I made friends with the students in my year." She grinned, remembering them clearly. "Lily and Shawny were two of my roommates. We got along like Sadie, you, and me." She saw the insecure look in her best friend's eyes. "There was so many times that I wished that I had you there with me to talk to." She smiled and Artemisia continued with her story. "There was another girl, Sunny, we didn't get along. She was a bit like Isabella." They laughed at this. "In the year there were four guys, they were troublemakers," Artemisia smiled at the memories that were now coming to her swiftly.

"Were they as bad as Fred and George?"

"They were worst. Only James was Head Boy and Remus was a prefect." She flipped to the pictures in the album. "This is Lily and Shawny. These are the boys."

"That looks like the Potter kid." Laelia pointed to James.

"That is his father, James Potter. Lily was his mother."

"Oh, my goodness."

"This one is Remus Lupin." Artemisia pointed at the sandy-haired boy on one side of James.

"As in Professor Lupin." Laelia peered closer at the photo after receiving a nod. "He was hot. I mean he still is in that distinguished and rumpled way of his, but when he was younger." She let out a low whistle causing the blonde to laugh."

"That is Peter Pettigrew." There was an icy coldness to her voice that surprised her friend. "I'll explain later. That is Sirius Black."

"But that's…." Laelia turned the album back to the pictures that Artemisia had been staring at when she came into the room. "You and he…."

"I loved him. I still do. He didn't do what they said." She turned the page back and pointed at Peter. "He did."

"I don't understand."

"I don't entirely either. I left the past before Lily and James were murdered." Artemisia looked at her. "I wasn't going to leave. I wanted to stay. You have to understand, Lae. I was so happy there. I had graduated from Hogwarts and was working as an Unspeakable. Sirius had asked me to marry him." She looked down at her hands. "And I was pregnant."

"You had a baby?"

"No."

Laelia wrapped her arms about her friend's shoulders. "I don't mean to be uncaring, but it seems to me that you do know what happened this summer."

Surprise filled Artemisia at her words. "You're right, Lae. It's all clear now. There's no haziness, just all of my memories." Her mind travelled to what happened at the end of the summer. "When I came back I was pregnant. I didn't know until Madame Pomfrey told me. She told me that if I got stressed I would loose the baby. I tried to stay calm but I wasn't able to and I lost the baby." She looked at her friend feeling calmer about what had happened, even if she was saddened by it, which she felt she would always be from it. "I thought there was something wrong with me, but that wasn't why I lost the baby. It was too much on my body. I was attacked by Death Eaters in my home and then sent forward in time. It combined with stress that I couldn't control. That's what happened." She grinned. "Do you know what that means? That I can have a baby. I just can't have that one."

"That's great, Arty." She gave away her confusion in a look. "You are staying to finish out the year, aren't you?"

Artemisia thought about all that had transpired so far that year. "There's nothing that could stop me from that, but I need to write a letter to an old friend." She giggled at the truth of those words. She called back the charm from her door and waited for Laelia to leave before writing a quick note.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"Fred, George, Lee." Artemisia looked at the three boys before her. "I'm glad that the three of you wish to spend so much time with me, but I really need to go somewhere by myself."

"We really should be going to that meeting." Lee said.

"I'm not going." She told them. "I got the idea of what it was about from Hermione." They looked at her in surprise. "Go, you won't want to miss it." Lee left but the twins waited until he was out of hearing to say what they have on their minds.

"Arty, you know he told us to keep an eye on you." George said.

"We really don't want him to get mad as us for letting you go off alone." Fred added. "What if something happens to you?"

"I'll meet you two at the Three Broomsticks when your meeting is over. There's nothing for you to say that will make me change my mind." She waited until they had left her before walking through Hogsmeade and then away from it in the direction opposite of Hogwarts.

Artemisia came to a stop at her cottage and smiled at it. It was wonderful to be able to remember everything without the dizziness. She entered it and walked through its rooms, the same way she had when she first returned from the past. She stopped in the kitchen and stop in her tracks when she saw the ring sitting on the counter. She picked it up and slipped it onto her finger.

"Artemisia?" A voice called from the hall.

"In here, Michael, and it's Arty."

He entered the kitchen and stared at the blonde as if to make sure she was really there before him. "I've been worried about you. I had my suspicions that you had returned but I couldn't be sure until I heard from you."

"Do I still have a job?" She asked as she led him into the parlour.

"I spoke to Kay. She's head of the department now. She says that she expects you at the Ministry as soon as you can get there. Her only question is if you are going to finish this year of school or not." He looked at her in question. "You know that you don't have to."

"Michael, you know that I won't be leaving."

"I wouldn't either. I know Umbridge." He frowned. "I'm surprised that you don't remember her."

With narrowed eyes, she answered his question. "She was the witch who tried to get into the department. She said that she thought that we were hiding something." Laughter bubbled out of her at the memory. "And I told her, 'Damn right, we're the Department of Mysteries.' I had wondered why she gave me a dirty look when we first met. It's impossible for her to know the truth, but I don't trust her. I have to stay at Hogwarts." She looked at the pictures hanging on the wall. "I think it's best if I keep an eye on my godson."

"Why am I not surprised?" Michael laughed. "What shall I tell Kay?"

"Tell her that if it's okay, I'll come in during the holidays."

He nodded. "That's a good idea. I've got to go, Fi…Arty. Write me if you need anything. Us Unspeakables need someone to talk to occasionally."

"I will, Michael."

Before she left to meet the twins, Artemisia went to her bedroom. She picked out a thin gold chain from her jewellery box and slipped her engagement ring on it before securing it around her neck. Though she would rather be wearing it, she didn't need to field any questions that would be sure to come of it.

On Monday, Artemisia found that Montague still hadn't given up on talking to her. During Herbology class, he blocked her path back to her station as she gathered pots for re-potting that they were doing that day. With eyes narrowed, she snapped at him. "Out with it already."

He looked at her in stunned silence before launching into speech. "I heard about what happened between you and Marcus."

"Nothing happened between us and nothing ever will."

He smiled. "Then maybe you'll give me a chance."

"No, Aden. I've already moved on." She said quietly.

"Not one of them." He motioned back to the station that she was sharing with Laelia, Fred, and George.

"Why is that the conclusion that everyone seems to jump to?" Laughter punctuates the sentence. "No, the man in my life isn't in school any longer and he's very protective of me."

"If you change your mind, Artemisia…."

"I assure you, I won't." She said as she returned to her table.

"What was that all about?" George looked ready to go after the boy.

"He heard that I was single and wanted to invite me to change that status." A smile curled her lips. "I told him that he was too late."

"By a number of years." Laelia whispered to her.

"I'd say so." They shared a grin as the twins looked on questioningly.

The morning after the quidditch game between Gryffindor and Slytherin. Artemisia found out from Lee that Harry and the twins had been expelled from playing the game. Anger coursed through her as she headed to Dumbledore's office. She'd rather not be the Head Girl in this mess that Umbridge was creating.

She entered the room after giving a sharp knock to find not only the headmaster but Severus and McGonagall as well. Artemisia took in the scene and started to apologise but changed her mind, she no longer felt like a seventeen year old student. She hadn't felt that way since she had found out about her time in the past. She shut the door and gave Dumbledore a baleful stare. "She hasn't changed much since the last time I had a run in with her." Artemisia didn't say who and they gapped at her. "Back then she was complaining because the Department of Mysteries kept secrets." She rolled her eyes. "I thought she was mentally unbalanced then but obviously was wrong or she got worse."

"Miss Nott!" McGonagall looked utterly scandalised.

The blonde leaned against the wall and looked from Severus to Dumbledore. "Will one of you be sweet enough to apprise her of the situation?"

"You remember." Severus came out of his seat.

"Of course, I do, Sev." A warm smile tilted her lips. "It all came back before the Hogsmeade trip."

"And?" Dumbledore prompted.

"I contacted Michael. We spoke at my home and he told me that our new head says I'm welcome back as soon as I'm ready."

"Does this mean that you are leaving us, Miss Nott?"

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