Chapter Eleven

The Incomparable Professor

It was strange to step out of the port key station into late afternoon sunlight when he had been in darkness two minutes before. No one even blinked when he came out of the back of the Space Age Bookstore, stepping out into the busy street with a set of directions in hand. He was puzzling over them when a fast moving shadow passed overhead. He glanced up then leapt back in surprise as an old, irate fruit bat flew at him, screeching irritably. A few heads turned in curiosity, so Severus quickly slipped around the corner, trying to calm him down.

"So this is where you've been all this time," Severus said, digging deep in his pockets to find something he could eat. "Why didn't you come back and tell me? No, it's not your fault. I'll give you a ride home if you want," he offered, but Ratfly took off, hanging below a gutter of one of the buildings. "No, I don't say as I blame you," Severus said softly. "Now, if I could only make out these instructions." Apparently the bat had heard his murmurings, for it flew a bit further away and screeched again. Swearing to himself that he wouldn't make fun of the aged bat anymore, Severus quickly followed behind.

Mark had barely spoken to Jacqueline that next morning, which suited her just as well, even though she did feel a bit bad about barking at him over the phone. Perhaps she'd try to make it up to him on their date, she thought. She was sure there wasn't much trouble he could get into going to a French restaurant. She grinned at the thought of him in such an expensive place, although she wasn't quite sure why it struck her as funny.

After a light lunch of pumpkin butter sandwiches and a Coke, she finished a couple chapters of her current book and went to work. An amazing amount of leaves seemed to be on the ground considering how tiny the trees were, but Jacqueline didn't mind. She slushed her feet through a gutter full of leaves as she crossed the street, the weather chill but manageable wearing a sweater and light jacket. Inside the café it was warm and friendly. Jacqueline hummed happily as she hung up her coat and grabbed a fresh green Kingler apron.

"Things better at home?" Sally smiled at her.

"No, not really," Jacqueline chuckled. "Maybe that's why I'm always so glad to be here. But you know, I've been thinking. Perhaps I have been a bit hard on Mark lately."

"You're not taking back what you said to him yesterday, are you?" Rob frowned at her. "You had every reason to yell at him for that."

"Yes, but perhaps I shouldn't have done it in public," Jacqueline said, "Maybe he only did it because he cares."

"And maybe he did it because he's a jerk," Rob said. Sally reached over and slapped him in the arm.

"Say what you want to about her psychiatrist, but let her make her own mind about men. She's a big girl," Sally scolded her husband.

Jacqueline grinned at them and signed her card, heading to the bar and filling what cups needed filled. It was Thursday; a fairly slow night but Jacqueline didn't mind, using the time to clean the cooler and talk to the regulars. Tony, as always, came in for dinner, but Emma had bingo on Thursdays and wasn't in. Jacqueline couldn't help but like the streetwise cabby, and he was one of the few people that ordered the liver and onions special when Rob got in the 'mood' to offer it. But the best thing about Tony was he seemed to always know everything noteworthy that happened around town, even though he claimed to hardly ever read the paper.

"Words have a way of dancing around when I try to read them," he had told her once when she was talking about the book she was reading. "Someone tells me to take 'em to Tenth and Broadway, I can do that without reading any signs, no problem. Although we had a new dispatcher last year, and I drove her batty for the first few weeks until she got used to my trip sheets," he had chuckled.

Tonight the subject seemed to be centered around of string of robberies everyone had been buzzing about, and Tony was quick as always to chime in.

"Not surprising this sort of thing is happening really… market still plunging, unemployment going up, and here we are in October. Pretty soon it'll be Christmas time again. Tips have definitely been taking a hit, not that I need to worry about job security in this town," Tony said. "You sure Mark's doin' okay?"

"Well, if he wasn't, I'd think he'd say something," Jacqueline said, filling his coffee. "Then again, the way we've been lately, maybe he wouldn't. I don't know. Perhaps if he's awake tonight, I'll talk to him about it."

"Is that Jacqueline's voice I hear? Or is it the voice of guilt?" Sally asked.

"Hey!" Rob barked, putting Tony's plate on the ledge. "What happened with the 'let her keep her own mind about men' bit?"

"I only asked her a question," Sally said defensively, Jacqueline grinning as she grabbed the plate and put it in front of Tony.

It was as she set the ketchup down for the cabby that the door opened and a tall figure came in that she had never seen before, looking a bit lost and uncomfortable. It was then that he caught sight of her and it startled him. Jacqueline wasn't sure why, but she found herself drawn by the intense gaze behind his small spectacles and a curious feeling went through her.

"Would you like a table, sir?" Sally asked with a smile as went over to him.

"I think I'd prefer a stool, thank you," he said quietly.

"Sure, help yourself," Sally said. "Nice accent."

Jacqueline watched curiously as the man chose a seat furthest away from anyone else and sat down.

"Can I get you something to drink?" Jacqueline asked with a smile.

"Do you have…" he paused a moment in thought, "Earl Grey tea?"

"Afraid not," Jacqueline admitted.

"What kind do you have?"

"Orange pekoe, orange pekoe, and orange pekoe," Jacqueline said, watching the man grimace. "But the coffee's good here," she added. "I always recommend it." He nodded.

"Very well, I trust your judgment," he said but peered more skeptically at the menu as she set his coffee down. "What would you recommend off the menu?"

"Oh, well, I don't usually eat here," Jacqueline admitted, immediately hearing Rob and Sally bark her name. "But I don't!" The man in front of her smirked softly.

"Then recommend the coffee," Sally murmured to her.

"I already did that part," Jacqueline murmured back.

"Actually, I'm not quite used to the change in hour so perhaps something light. Pastry or toast perhaps?" he suggested.

"Sure, I'll see what we got left," Sally said, smiling at him but shaking her finger slightly at Jacqueline.

"Are you from England?" Jacqueline asked, putting out the cream pitcher.

"Yes," he said. "And you?"

"Oh, I'm from across the street," Jacqueline said, and then got bumped by Sally from behind as she delivered the danish. "I mean, I am from Connecticut, I think."

"You don't know?" the man asked, gazing at her expressionlessly.

"Oh… it's… complicated," Jacqueline said, hurrying to fill the other cups at the bar.

"Poor Jackie lost her memory a while back, didn't you, Jackie?" Tony offered helpfully as she refilled his cup.

"I am sorry to hear that," the man said quietly.

"Oh, it's all right. I'm managing it," Jacqueline said, putting the pot back just as Sally came around and handed her a roll of napkins. "Tony's right, though, I don't remember much past a few months ago."

"That is too bad, although I didn't mean to pry. I only asked because your American accent doesn't seem as heavy as the others," he said. "Perhaps your parents were British?"

"I don't know. I always assumed they were French because of my name," she said.

"Jackie?"

"Jacqueline," she corrected, "although some call me Jackie. You know, I think I'll ask my boyfriend tonight. He would know." The man suddenly put down his coffee cup and turned as white as a sheet, staring at her. "Is something wrong?" she asked with a frown. He managed to shake his head slightly.

"No, I wasn't tol… that is to say, I was just imagining how it might be not to have memories. Your… boyfriend must be a great comfort to you," he said slowly. Sally and Rob both snorted and Tony laughed outright, while Jacqueline blushed slightly.

"Well, not exactly, although I'm sure we can find something more pleasant to talk about," Jacqueline said, looking hard at Sally. "More coffee Mr…?" He hesitated a moment.

"Doyle," he said at last, thinking quickly to come up with something. "Mycroft Doyle. Professor of Humanities."

"Really?" Jacqueline said with interest. "The name sounds familiar for some reason."

"You know, like the author of Sherlock Holmes," Rob shrugged.

"Oh yes, of course, that's where I've heard it!" Jacqueline chuckled. "I should read those sometime. I like to read. Mark hates it, though. If it's not in a financial column or on T.V., he thinks it's not worth it."

"Mark is your boyfriend?" Mycroft asked. She nodded and filled his cup again. "Odd, I'm having trouble picturing you with someone who wouldn't bother with books."

"Heh, so do we," Rob said.

"Don't you have a grill to clean?" Sally snapped.

"It's true things haven't exactly been smooth since I lost my memory," Jacqueline admitted, smiling at Tony who left her a decent tip on the bar before winking at her on his way out. "I don't seem to have very much in common with anyone I know. In fact, I'm probably closer to Sally and Rob and Isaac next door than anyone else. I've almost gone out of my way to avoid Mark ever since it happened, although lately I've been starting to wonder if perhaps I shouldn't try a bit harder to see if I can't straighten things there."

"No," Mycroft said quickly, then paused before looking at her again. "What I mean to say is, perhaps before you do so, you should look at the reasons behind why you want to. Is it out of guilt, is it out of lack of choice, is it what you think is best for Mark, and no matter which is the answer, is it what you think is best for you?"

"Those are pretty good questions," Jacqueline admitted softly, meeting his gaze.

"Haven't we been saying that for days now?" Rob asked his wife.

"Yeah, but I guess it works better with a thick British accent," Sally commented. Jacqueline suddenly realized she had quite a bit of work to do, excusing herself apologetically to clean the fountain drinks and to check the syrup levels.

"Look out, Doctor Demento incoming at twelve o'clock," Rob barked. Jacqueline groaned from where she was leaning under the bar and popped back up again, only to see the bar was completely vacant.

"Professor?" she said curiously, but he was nowhere to be seen, and only a twenty-dollar bill near the plate he had been at. But before she could say anything to Sally, Erascus came in, looking around at the empty restaurant and walking up to the bar.

"May I ask where you and Mark plan to go tomorrow night?" Erascus asked.

"Is she not allowed any private life at all?" Rob said irritably. Erascus' eyes immediately focused in on him.

"No, not until she remembers that she has a private life," he said curtly. "There have been some alarming reports of break-ins recently and I merely wanted to make sure you stayed close for your own safety."

"We're going to Le Café Rouge. It's only a few blocks away," Jacqueline protested. "And I was actually almost looking forward to this one."

"All right, very well," Erascus said irritably. "Stay close to home tomorrow other than that, please? I have some business to attend to."

"Well, it isn't as if you ever let me go anywhere outside of the neighborhood without Mark anyhow, is there?" Jacqueline pointed out.

"Staying close refers to being inside the apartment building," Erascus said curtly.

"Does she need the permission to breathe too?" Sally said the moment he left. As much as they hated him, Rob and Sally weren't stupid enough to say something that would cause Erascus to tighten his leash any further.

"Lose the shrink," Rob said again, putting his irritation into cleaning the grill.

"Just what do you think you're doing? You can't possibly leave now," Severus said. "Can't you sense there's something wrong here? This is all a set up to get you out of the way, and you're letting it happen, you must fight this."

"I'm not going to argue with the board, Severus. Besides, they are right, I haven't exactly been the best Defense teacher in the world. In fact I came in here with nothing more than a ton of book and spell knowledge and a bit of common sense. You had to teach me how to protect myself, remember? No, it's better this way. As long as you're here, a part of me is still here, don't you see?"

"Don't you put on this brave act with me, Jennifer, I know better. Teaching means everything to you, don't try to tell me otherwise."

"No, Severus, you mean everything to me, never doubt that. I do, and always will love teaching and this school, but really it's been the people here who have been what's important to me."

Severus rubbed his eyes and sat up on the couch, instantly regretting having fallen asleep in the tweed suit…it was definitely not the most comfortable thing to sleep in. Stumbling to the door, he opened it merely a crack and then more fully when he saw it was Minerva.

"I just wanted to make sure you were here and awake," Minerva said, glancing at his appearance thoughtfully before turning his breakfast tray over for him. "How is she? How did it go?"

"I don't know," Severus said still rubbing his eyes a bit and waiting for his head to clear.

"To which question?" Minerva asked.

"Either," Severus said. "I wasn't able to stay long. A wizard came in and I didn't want to take any chances of being seen. But I do know that I am going to kill my sister for not warning me."

"Warning you?" Minerva asked worriedly.

"Jacqueline… that's Jennifer… appears to have a 'boyfriend'," he said, nodding at Minerva's reaction. "Yes, although it appears she has not taken to him, at least not yet."

"So she's not enchanted in any way?" Minerva asked.

"Nor did they inundate her with false memories. Enchantments can be easily broken and false memories too easily disproved," Severus murmured. "She is being rebuilt one brick at a time into her new identity, completely oblivious to the fact that she was ever any more than a simple Muggle girl in a coffee shop."

"But why? Why would anyone do this to her?" Minerva asked. Severus glanced up at her in surprise as if he had momentarily forgotten that she was even there.

"I should get ready for class," Severus said. "Ratfly is there watching her… I think I'll go check her again after dinner. I haven't discovered what sort of controls they have in place on her yet, and I want to find out more about this 'boyfriend' of hers."

Following Severus' request, no word was given to the children yet that she had been found. Instead they were left to their other preoccupations of homework and tests and the upcoming game, not to mention that a very important event that the Snapes had planned that Friday at lunch, as Halbert and Andrew were made to swear an oath to the Whomping Willow.

Nearby, the Elf Willow walked around as if guarding the outside perimeter as Rose, Mandria, Andrew, Alex, Aurelius, and Halbert set up the picnic, each one bringing out tons of food (Andrew and Halbert had more to offer than anyone, as they had once again raided the kitchen after class.)

"You know, everyone has a friend here but me," Aurelius complained and not for the first time that year. "It's time I think you let me invite someone from my house."

"Not Stock," Alex said firmly. "I'm sorry, Rel, I know he's been a friend to you, but I don't know how you can associate with someone who can't think without a counselor present. What about Xavier?"

"No! He's not someone to be trusted," Rose said, "Certainly not with something like this. Besides, you know the Elf Willow swats at both of them anytime they get near, and if the Elf Willow doesn't like them, I'm quite sure its father won't."

"Are you saying that this tree is its father?" Andrew said curiously.

"Yes, sort of," Rose said. "You see, I was doing some extra credit in Herbology involving combining different plant types by splicing branches and such to see if we could come up with hardier plant types, and what's hardier, really, then this old Willow after putting up with students all these years? It had already taken to me and I knew it'd let me, although Professor Sprout wasn't going to let me. I had to ask Dumbledore. Anyhow, it's a cross from the Willow and an Elfnip Bush… the sort that produce those large yellow, orange and red blossoms with pollen especially sweet to faeries. It'll bloom in the spring when it's old enough."

"If they let you keep it that long," Mandria pointed out. "I heard how angry Snape got when it tried to sneak into your classroom during that Venowraith demonstration."

"He's always cross these days," Rose sighed. "Although really how can anyone blame him?"

"We have a test with him next class," Andrew nodded. "I hope those notes you gave us hold up, Rel."

"Aurelius!" Alex said with surprise. "You're not helping them cheat, are you?"

"Oh, dry up, Alex, it's just a few notes," Rel said.

"We wouldn't have had time to study without his help. We were out cleaning the barn for detention most of last night," Halbert protested.

"That's what you get for not going out there with me. Sagittari would have let me in to see Pepper," Alex scolded.

"Really?" Halbert said. "I'd really love to ride her sometime."

"I have a cart and everything back there, but I'm not allowed to ride without…" Alex stopped short, standing up. "I can't do this. I just can't function like this. If we can't do anything to help, we've got to be able to live with it."

"I don't want to live with it," Andrew said.

"I'm tired of feeling guilty whenever I stumble over Mum's name, or trying to have some fun… it's like even a laugh is a crime, and that's just not right. Is this just me, or are you feeling the same way too?" Alex asked her brothers.

"It's just you," Aurelius said, eating.

"I feel the same," Andrew agreed. "But how many times have we gone over this? Alicia can't get to her, and we have no way of knowing where she could be or who even did it. If Father himself feels the best thing to do is try to just continue and wait and hope, do we really have a right to do more than that?"

"Right. I miss Mum, and I will until she's found," Alex said. "But we don't have any reason to feel guilty about what happened, right?" But while Andrew was nodding, Aurelius had stood and walked a few steps away. "Rel?"

"I think I'm going to get ready for my next class," he said. "And I think I'll ask Heph to join us next week," he added, walking inside as everyone turned to gaze at him.

"What's the matter with him?" Rose asked.

"I think I know," Alex said, getting up. "Come on, Andrew, I'll walk you guys to your next class because I want to talk to Father."

Severus was hurriedly putting the finishing touches on the final test copy when Alex knocked. Absently he waved the door open, but did not immediately look up.

"Can I talk to you a moment, Father?" Alex said after shutting the door. He glanced up then, nodding shortly and glancing at his watch.

"Make it quick. I have a class in a few minutes and you have Quidditch practice, I believe."

"It's about the Pegasi. We haven't gotten them out this year. Can I take them out for some exercise after we get back from Hogsmeade tomorrow?"

"Alex, you know you're not allowed to take them out unless…" Severus paused a moment.

"Unless Mum is with us. Exactly," Alex nodded. "And you simply can't expect them to stay inside any longer. They'll get ill if they don't get out. Besides, I've been handling them now for several years and…"

"Nevertheless," Severus said, rubbing his head slightly. "As you recall, you're not allowed to leave the boundaries of the school and the steeds can get out of hand. I will speak to Sagittari about finding you an instructor. Was that it?"

"Well that and a suggestion," Alex said, Severus giving her a wary gaze. "I think you ought to have a talk with Aurelius when you have the time."

"Aurelius knows where I am if he needs me," Severus said, finishing the test and quickly copying it with a tap of his wand, standing.

"He wouldn't come to you about this," Alex said. "It's about that fight he and I got into last year at school." Severus paused and looked at her with a puzzled expression. "The one at the end of school when he dropped his wand."

"Oh, that. You'll find that most professors will temporarily take a wand in a heated situation such as that, Alexandria…"

"No, that's not the problem," Alex said. "See, Mum… well, you know how she used to get on with Rel, and then she accused him of pulling a wand on me…" Severus stared at her.

"As I recall the incident, she merely asked him if he pulled a wand on you," he said.

"Well, maybe she did, but that's not how Rel took it. In fact, he made it pretty evident to me that he'd taken it very personally. And then she seemed to forget all about it after that goblin thing, but Rel hadn't and he was still really mad at her, all the way up to going home, and then she… I don't know who he's angrier at, her or himself. But he's not talking to anybody about it, not even us. But I figured it out, so I thought you should know," Alex said. Severus let out a long sigh and merely nodded to her, straightening the tests in his hand before walking towards the door.

"I will keep an eye on him," Severus agreed, wondering as he said it how he was going to manage that on top of everything else. As they came out of the office, Andrew couldn't help but notice how tired his father looked as he waited at the front of the class until Alex left. Then he silently handed out the tests.