Chapter 15: Ambiguities

Neither Jenny's father nor Mr. Lovegood said much on the ride back home, though Jenny was bursting with questions. Her father and Mr. Lovegood actually exposed the existence of the Wizarding World to a muggle! Though Jenny knew that her father had done this before – with her mom and her family – and she knew that Healer Martindale had to do the same when she married Corey's dad, Jenny had never seen it actually done, before. She heard Mr. Lovegood tell Professor Roberts that they only had 12 hours from the time they revealed the existence of magic to a muggle to the time they had to report what they did to the FBS. She also heard that, because the Professor wanted them to come back in the morning that they would barely make the deadline.

Because of this, Jenny's father told her at breakfast that when she got home from school, that there was a good chance that she might find herself home alone for a little while.

"Won't Mrs. Lovegood be home?" said Jenny. "And Luna?"

"I will be going with your father and my husband, Jenny," said Pandora Lovegood in a more subdued tone than usual. "After you went to bed, we discussed what had happened, and I will be going with the men to meet with the Professor and the FBS Aurors. There will probably be a representative from the UK's Ministry of Magic there as well. Of course, Luna and Ricky will have to come with us."

Jenny told Mrs. Lovegood not to worry, that she could make herself something for dinner when she got home. She had been meaning to try some of the marmalade that the Lovegoods brought with them on a peanut butter sandwich, and that was probably what she would eat.

"Intriguing idea . . . ," said Xeno nodding, a look of curiosity on his face as he considered the unusual combination. "We must try that combination, ourselves, one day, Dori."

The rest of the adult breakfast combination was sparse and what was said was somewhat cryptic to Jenny's ears.

"I still can't believe that witch's reaction time, Ren," said Xeno. "Or how she did what she did without so much as an incantation."

"Or what she did," added Ren. "I've never even heard of magic being used quite like that."

"It was impressive," admitted Dori, who added dryly, "But that scar was obviously fake."

"I wonder if we can commission a draughtsman to look at our memories and make a sketch of her for The Quibbler?" said Xeno thoughtfully.

"Why not?" added Dori with unabashed sarcasm. "We can feature her on Page Three . . . ."

"Unlike Witch Weekly that can't seem to get enough of Gildroy Lockhart, posing in his justicorps, and powdered wigs?" replied Xeno.

"Can we discuss this later . . . ?" said Ren, nodding towards Jenny. Nobody said anything from that point onward until Jenny left for school. They all said goodbye to her and reminded her that she might be alone when she got home after school.

"I wasn't able to get you a copy of our house key yet, Jenny," said Ren. "So I've enchanted the front door. If we are not home, it will open for you if you take hold of the knob and say, "Alohomora." Jenny kissed her father, her brother and Luna goodbye, and left for school early, hoping to see Owen in the playground before class began to see if he would speak with her.

Jenny made it to her school with about twenty minutes to spare before the first bell rang. She went to the playground and saw that it was just as packed with kids as it would be during recess. But if Owen Flynn was there, Jenny did not see him. It then occurred to Jenny that the last place that Owen would want to be at this moment was in the playground with the other kids. It would just give them yet another opportunity to make fun of him today without much adult supervision.

Jenny then decided to go to her classroom to see if Owen might be there, away from the other kids, waiting for class to start. But again, Jenny had no luck, and found herself alone in the classroom with the person that she had identified on her first day as the Quiet, Bookish Girl. The girl, (whose name Jenny remembered was Tonya,) did not acknowledge Jenny coming in, not because she was being stuck-up, but because she was so engrossed in what she was reading. Jenny glanced at the book's cover: "That Was Then, This is Now," by S. E. Hinton. Jenny saw a few more copies on the reading table, (along with two other books by the same author; "The Outsiders," and "Rumble Fish,") and picked up a copy to read for when she had to sit out Phys Ed on the bleachers when the other kids got to swim. (Or at least, pretend to read as she tried to think of a way to speak with Owen.)

When the bell finally rang and the other kids in her class began to dribble in, Jenny saw that Owen came in last, seconds before the last bell rang. Anything to avoid contact with the other kids, Jenny thought. Jenny tried to waive "good morning" to him, but Owen was not looking in any direction other than down. Down at his feet. Down at his desktop.

One thing that Jenny quickly discovered about Owen Flynn was that he was quite adept at avoiding other kids; not that Jenny could blame him considering the way she saw the other kids treating him. Jenny had no luck trying to talk to Owen at morning recess or lunch – she could not even find him on the playground.

Though Jenny was not able to speak with Owen, Tonya commented to her at lunch that she saw her take the book that morning, and asked Jenny if she had read "The Outsiders," too, and what she thought of it. When Jenny said that she had not read that book yet, Tonya recommended that she read it first so she would better understand the events in "That Was Then, This is Now." Jenny took Tonya's suggestion, and traded the book she was going to read for its prequel.

"I've already read "The Outsiders," of course," said Tonya. "And I just finished reading "Rumble Fish." But I'm re-reading "That Was Then, This is Now," to see if there was anything subtle that I may have missed. S. E. Hinton is one of my favorite authors, maybe even more than Judy Blume. Perhaps we can get together after school and talk about these books when you are done reading them, sometime . . . ?"

Jenny said that she would like that, reflecting that even a kid who preferred reading to outdoor play still needed companionship. Jenny then realized that it was her choice of what to read that allowed the chronically shy Tonya to work up the courage to break the ice with her; that she just could not come up and say, "Hello," to Jenny, otherwise without a pretext. Jenny knew that she would need some kind of pretext to get Owen to speak with her, too. But what . . . ?

When it was time for Phys Ed, Jenny sat on the bleachers in the high school's indoor pool as she waited for her classmates to come out of the locker room. As per Tonya's suggestion, Jenny brought "The Outsiders," with her to read. Though envious of the other kids who got to go swimming (even as Tonya had said at lunch that she was envious of Jenny, who got to read instead of swim,) at least Jenny had some time to herself to think about how she would go about asking Owen about what happened to him and his dad. But first, she would have to get him to talk with her, and Jenny knew that that would not be easy.

A few moments after she sat on the bleachers, the other kids began filing out of the locker rooms. Jenny pretended to read as she watched the boys came out of their door, hoping to see Owen. The new boy did not come out with the others, but came out a few moments after the main group; timidly taking the last place in the lines forming at the lanes on the side of the pool to Jenny's right. The girls did the same thing, lining up on the side of the pool to Jenny's left. Jenny thought that the girl's line looked a little short, and was proven right when, moments later, Lori, M'Kayla and Ashli came over to the bleachers in their street clothes and sat down next to Jenny.

"Forget to bring your swimsuits, too?" said Jenny, who did not want anyone in her class, much less these three girls, to think that she did not even have a swimsuit, yet.

"Oh, we, like, totally, brought swimsuits, OK," said Lori with a grin. "But Miss Sherman would not, like, let us wear them to swimming class."

"We brought bikinis . . . ," said Ashli with a mischievous giggle as Jenny rolled her eyes.

"And Miss Sherman made us go back and change," added M'Kayla.

"But you knew that we have to wear one-piece swimsuits," said Jenny.

"Fer shurr," said Lori. "But there is, like, no way that I am, like, going to get my hair wet; especially after I got it combed just right!"

To Jenny's relief, the Three Stoogettes then ignored her and started talking among themselves about clothes, makeup, and the boys they saw in the High School's hallway on their way to the pool; boys who looked old enough to be their big brothers. Jenny tried to concentrate, dividing her attention between pretending to read her book and surreptitiously watching Owen. Jenny frowned as Chris tried to pull down Owen's swim trunks from behind, but broke off the attempt when Mr. Riker, the boys' Phys Ed teacher, walked by.

The last ten minutes of class were designated "free swim," and the kids cheered when the whistle was blown to announce that it had begun. Kids jumped in the pool and began splashing and having fun. A couple of them started a pick-up game of Marco Polo. The only one not joining in the fun was Owen, who sat at the edge of the pool in the shallow end, feet in the water as he periodically glanced at the clock on the wall, no doubt wanting gym class to be over and done with. Jenny tried to concentrate on what it would take to get Owen to speak with her, but was distracted by a shower of droplets and the shrieking of Lori and her pals. Moments later, Chris came over to the girls, dripping wet. "Hey, did you see me beat everyone when we swam laps?"

Lori smiled, and in a flirty tone said, "Hi, Chris . . . ." M'Kayla and Ashli giggled. Jenny said nothing, but she saw Chris swim. He was fast, but Jenny was certain that Corey could give him a rough time if he were here.

Chris said, "Check it out: I told Mr. Riker that I needed to use the john, and while I was in the locker room, I moved Flynn's clothes to another locker, just like last time! It'll take him at least an hour to find them!"

Jenny was looking over at Mr. Riker, who was talking with Miss Sherman. Jenny wanted to go over and tell them what she heard. But she knew that even if it got Chris in trouble, it would go harder on her as well as Owen later. Jenny shook her head. If the boys' locker room was like the girls', then locks were not permitted. The visiting grade school kids had to pick an empty locker to put their stuff in. Chris had done this, before. But Owen would not be allowed a lock to keep it from happening again.

Chris continued, "Flynn thinks he's so smart, right? So, he moved his stuff to another locker before he came out, right? But I doubled-back and saw him. I saw him ask to go to the bathroom a little later. He probably wanted to be sure that his stuff was where he put it. But then I went back and moved his clothes again!

Jenny had to speak up. "It isn't funny, Chris. Why don't you go back and put Owen's stuff in the right locker?" But either Chris did not hear Jenny or he just ignored her. Jenny tried again to get Chris' attention, but the boy continued to ignore her. Jenny closed her eyes tightly, balling he fists in frustration. Before she knew what happened, Jenny saw a clear vision of Chris in the boys' locker room taking Owen's clothes out of the locker that Owen had moved them to before coming out to the pool. She saw Chris put them in another locker; locker 24B. The vision ended as abruptly as it began.

Jenny blinked. Her great-grandfather was a legilimens. Could she be one, too? Jenny heard the whistle blow, snapping her out of her ruminations. "Two minutes!" said Mr. Riker, his voice echoing off the walls of the pool. "Two minutes left before it's time to get out and change!"

Jenny moved slowly, closing her book, then got up and started walking slowly to the girls' locker room which, fortunately, was at the shallow end of the pool. Owen had gotten out of the water, and stood off to the side, waiting for the bell to blow again. Jenny shook her head. Less than two minutes left to swim before getting dressed and going back across the street to Stonewall for their Social Studies lesson. It occurred to Jenny that what was an unfairly short time for most of the kids in her class was an eternity for Owen Flynn. As Jenny came closer, Owen turned in her direction, fixing her with a hard, "leave-me-alone" look as her eyes met his. Jenny bit her lower lip. At least she had Owen's attention.

But before Owen could shift his gaze, Jenny said quietly, "Your stuff is in 24B, Owen. I heard Chris tell Lori that he moved your clothes to locker 24B . . . ." Jenny did not know if Owen had heard her, but before she got to the door to the girl's locker room, she saw Owen head to the door to the boys' locker room to be first in line when class ended and it was time to dress.

When Miss Sherman's class assembled in the hallway of the high school to get ready to walk back to Stonewall Elementary, Jenny saw that Owen was with the others and in his street clothes. The girls were in one line and the boys were in another line with Jenny and Owen heading up their lines.

Jenny wasn't sure, but just as Miss Sherman instructed the class to follow her back to Stonewall, Jenny thought that she heard Owen mutter, "Thanks . . . ." Jenny tried to talk with Owen when class was dismissed, but Owen broke into a run when he got outside, sprinting faster than Jenny thought he could move as he ran to his uncle's car.

Jenny ran home from school. When she got there, she put her hand on the doorknob and said, "Alohomora," as her father had told her, and the door unlocked itself. Jenny tried calling for her dad and Mr. and Mrs. Lovegood, but soon realized that she was home alone. Jenny promptly made herself a thick peanut butter and Daylesford Christmas Marmalade sandwich, and then helped herself to a banana and a big glass of chocolate milk. Then Jenny took her snack and went upstairs to her parents' room and saw that Corey was already waiting for her in the mirror. Jenny told Corey about what had happened during swimming class.

"A legilimens . . . !" said Corey. It was a statement, not a question. "Awesome! My mom's aunt is one, too! Did you tell your dad, yet?"

"Not yet," said Jenny, taking a big bite of her sandwich. "It might have been a one-time thing, and it's not exactly a violation of the Statute of Secrecy. Besides, I only need to report it if it happens again." Corey nodded. Since there was no test for legilimency, every wizard or witch with the talent was allowed "one free bite," as it were. The conversation quickly switched to what happened to Owen during swimming class.

"That Chris sounds like a real piece of work," said Corey as he rolled his eyes. "Do you think that he did it to impress those airheads that you had to sit with?"

"Probably," said Jenny. "But I think that Chris would have done it to Owen even if Lori and her gang weren't around."

"Lori is the one you told me about who is trying to look like Brooke Shields, right?" said Corey. Jenny nodded and Corey said, "I think she would get along well with a girl in my class named Kelly. And get this; Kelly even says she is dating a boy in Seventh Grade!"

Corey went on to describe Kelly to Jenny, and how Kelly's hair was even longer and whiter than Lucius Malfoy's hair. Probably bleached, thought Jenny. "But she's allowed to date?" said Jenny incredulously. "And her boyfriend is in Seventh Grade? What do her parents think about that?"

Corey shrugged. "They probably don't mind, seeing that she is almost thirteen . . . ."

Jenny grinned. "Ah. I get it . . . ."

"She even got sent home once for coming to class wearing a top that showed her belly button!" said Corey. Now our teacher keeps an old sweater with her in case she tries that again."

"Well, Lori hasn't tried that, yet," said Jenny thoughtfully. "But it sounds like something that she or one of her Junior Bimbo Squad might try." Jenny thought about bringing one of her dad's old sweatshirts to school for Miss Sherman to keep on hand in case Lori, M'Kayla or Ashli tried something like that. At least then they would not get a free day off school if they did.

"It's too bad we can't trade Kelly for you, Jenny," said Corey shrugging. "That way, we could be together and Lori could have a new member of her Bimbo Squad. How about suggesting it to your Principal? One Jenny Jordan for one Kelly Bundy . . . ?"

Jenny shrugged. "It's a good idea, Corey. But even if it could be done, you'd still be in Sixth Grade while I'll still be in Fifth." And then next year, you will be in Junior High while I was at Randolph Carter. Or if dad has his way, Hogwarts . . . .

"We made it work at Collinsport Elementary," Corey pointed out with a broad, eleven-year-old's smile. "But don't worry; you'll be seeing me again . . . soon."

"Tomorrow night in the mirror?"

"Tomorrow night," said Corey nodding. "But I'm coming over for a visit! Mom and dad have to work at the hospital and my mom asked your dad if I could come over for the weekend!"

Jenny squealed with delight. It was the first real good news that she had heard in a long time. Though it had only been for less than a week since she saw any of her old friends, it seemed like much longer. Corey said that he would be over tomorrow by the time she got out of school.

"I'll see you then, Jenny," said Corey. "And I . . . well, there is something that I have that I wanted to . . . well, give you for some time, now. I had planned to give it to you earlier but then the Incursion hit and I left it under my bed when we had to take off for Boston. But dad got it for me, and I want to give it to you when I see you tomorrow."

"What is it?" said Jenny, though she could guess Corey's answer.

"A . . . it's a surprise. You'll see when I come over!" After saying goodbyes that took a long time (mostly of the 'you end first' / 'no, you end first,' variety,) Jenny finished her sandwich and then called her friend Karen Minoru to fill her in.

"I think that I know!" said Karen. "I bet that Corey is going to ask you if you want to be his girlfriend! What will you say?"

Jenny thought about this. She had thought about her friendship with Corey a lot, lately. They had known each other since they first started school. Besides Karen, Jenny thought of Corey as her "best friend." Her best friend who just happened to be a boy. But as they got older, Jenny wondered what would happen to their friendship.

At the Displaced Wizard's Center, Jenny had been happy that Corey was there with her, especially after Karen's family left a few days after they arrived. A group of other kids that Jenny and Corey knew formed around them, and they spent the days playing together. Mostly, they played games in the empty hallways like 'hide and seek' and 'tag.' Sometimes they would play basketball outside, but that ended when the boy whose ball it was had to leave.

Of course, there was always 'Aurors and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' But Jenny and Corey had not played that for a long time – the last time had been almost six months before the Incursion. It felt a little odd, after all, she and Corey were not little kids, anymore. But the others in her "team" were, and all that Jenny knew is that while she was pretending to be an Auror with a "wand" (and with Corey watching her back with his "plasma rifle,") she felt less nervous, and so did the other kids. Jenny asked her mom about it, and Aggie – switching to Full Teacher Mode - said that it was perfectly normal for older kids to play games like this in a situation like they were in. And that if Jenny felt a little self-conscious about it, that she should try to think of her and Corey as helping the little kids at the DWC cope by pretending to fight back against whatever came through from the Enchanted Realms.

Then, a few hours later, Corey asked her if she would like to eat with him at a table where it would just be the two of them. Jenny wondered if that had been her first official "date." She even asked Corey if he wanted to pretend that they were older and married, and to her relief and joy, he accepted the idea without any hesitation. He even held her hand when they went to get ice cream. But after they were interviewed by the Lovegoods and they went to Corey's family's room to watch a late movie before going to bed, Jenny was sure that Corey would try to kiss her goodbye when he left to go to his room across the hall. But he didn't. Sure, they had kissed, before. But somehow, a kiss under the mistletoe at Christmas time just didn't mean the same thing . . . .

"Well," persisted Karen. "What are you going to say to him . . . ?"

If Corey does not ask me to be his girlfriend, then I will ask him if he would like me to be, thought Jenny. But Jenny said, "I – I don't know . . . ."

It was almost nine o'clock when Jenny's dad and Mr. and Mrs. Lovegood came back home with Luna and Ricky, who were both fast asleep. After putting them into their beds, Ren told his daughter to get to bed, herself. "I know that you have a lot of questions, Jenny. But you still have school tomorrow and it is way past your usual bedtime. Besides, if you spoke to Corey today in the mirror, then you know that he will be here tomorrow when you get home from school. I know that you will want to be awake for that!"

But Jenny had to ask about the Professor and Tammy, and if they were alright, and if she and Ricky would ever get to see them, again. Ren thought about it for a moment, and then said that he honestly did not know. Then he told Jenny that she needed to get to bed, as she had a big day ahead of her, tomorrow.

"But, daddy . . . ?"

"Sorry, Jenny. This is a "no if, and, or but," situation. I can't even say anything more to you about this until I am . . . allowed to – if ever."

Before Jenny could reply, Mrs. Lovegood said, "Jenny, Luv, we – your father, Mr. Lovegood and I, have been told by the FBS, the NSA, as well as the UK's Ministry of Magic and MI5 that we are to tell none of what we know to anyone else, much less publish it in The Quibbler."

"Furthermore," added Xeno. "When our involvement in this situation is officially over, we are to be questioned by a legilimens to see if we have revealed anything to anyone else; possibly even soulgazed if the authorities think that we are making any attempt at occlumency. Then, we are to be obliviated; our memories of the past week altered. All in the name of "security," of course . . . ."

Dori said, "So the less that you know, Jenny, the better."

"You mean that you can't write about it in your newspaper?" said Jenny.

"Sadly, no, Jenny," said Xeno frowning. But then Mr. Lovegood seemed to cheer up a bit. "Though we are not exactly going home empty-handed, mind you!" Mr. Lovegood smiled like the proverbial cat that swallowed the canary as he held up an official looking document on muggle paper. "Look what we've got!"

"I still cannot believe that MI5 actually presented The Quibbler with a D-Notice, Xeno!" said Dori. "The Quibbler must be the first Wizarding Publication to have ever received one! I know that The Daily Prophet has never gotten one! Oh, we simply must have it properly framed and put on display in the print shop!"

"Of course the Prophet has never gotten a D-Notice, Dori!" said Xeno dismissively. "Given the way they have been reporting the news as of late; they should get a special award for being a Loyal Ministry of Magic Lapdog!"

"You know, I remember this fine, antique picture frame in a small shop in Diagon Alley," said Dori. "I wonder if it is still there. It would be absolutely perfect!"

"A-are you in any trouble with the FBS, daddy?" said Jenny concerned.

Ren shook his head. "No, not really. I mean, the Aurors who spoke with us said that they wished we would have told them about meeting with Professor Roberts sooner, so they could have at least assigned someone to watch him from a distance to be sure that he stayed safe until we "officially" contacted them on the Professor's behalf. But they also said that we did everything that we were required to do by Wizarding Law under the circumstances."

Xeno added, "But the protocols for reporting the exposure of Our World to muggles did not take into account such Black Swan events like an Enchanted Realms Incursion of this magnitude, much less muggle science developing the capability to actually travel to the Enchanted Realms. If nothing else, those protocols – originally established for accidental observation of magic by muggles or for informing a future muggle spouse about the existence of magic - will probably need to be reevaluated."

Jenny shrugged. "So, what now . . . ?"

"Now . . . ," said Ren. "Now, we all get some sleep. We all have a big day, tomorrow. For one thing, the phone company will finally be sending someone over tomorrow morning to hook up our phone and give us our number. And as for you, young lady, you still have school and when you get home, Corey will probably be there to meet you."

Dori said, "And Mr. Lovegood and I will probably be going back to the UK, tomorrow night. We've done all that we can, here; especially now that we have been informed that we have no story to print." Then Dori smiled, adding, "We originally planned to leave during the day, while you are at school. But when we heard that Corey was coming over, we simply could not deny that dear, sweet boy another opportunity to win a staring contest with our Luna."

Jenny smiled. Corey would like that. She then said goodnight to her father and the Lovegoods, and went upstairs, making a stop in Ricky's room to gently kiss him goodnight, and then went to bed. If nothing else, tomorrow would be interesting . . . .