Hi. You will be pleased to learn two things. One I have finally git out of my writers block for my other story 'A Love That Would Last Forever' and I will be hopefully finishing that in the next coming months. (Fingers crossed) I also have managed to plan out this story entirely, so I know exactly what will go into each chapter. Hopefully that will make my posting and writing a bit more normal and patterned (again fingers crossed). Until then enjoy this chapter, I will be including a small 6.5 chapter after this as a sort of filler chapter, once I post it you will understand that a bit better.

Chapter 6

"So you think I'm a missing student from a Scottish boarding school who went missing 8 years ago?" Jenny said in complete disbelief. She was sitting in Joan's living room, with said woman sitting next to her on the sofa, her hand coving Jenny's, as the two strangers sat opposite the pair both looking at a complete loss for what to say next.

"I know it sounds hard to believe," the man, who had by now introduced himself as Albus Dumbledore began.

"But the similarities between the two of you and the dates of your arrival and Rachel's disappearance just can't be a coincidence." The woman, Minerva McGonagall finished. Jenny looked at Joan, Joan looked at Jenny.

"Would you mind if we asked you a few questions?" Albus asked Jenny.

"You can ask away, but I really don't remember a lot about my past." She said with a glint of sadness in her eyes with was seen by both Minerva and Albus. Albus decided to proceed with the questions.

"Do you ever have any memories or dreams that could be your past life trying to communicate with you?" Jenny sighed and sank into the sofa.

"Occasionally I can get flashes of people and places, but I don't know who they are or where I am. And I can never see faces, every dream I have I'm floating above looking down on what's happening."

"What sort of dreams have you had?" Minerva asked.

"All sorts." Jenny replied. "Sometimes its two young girls playing together, I think they are sisters and I can only guess one of them is possibly me. Sometimes I'm older and surrounded by friends. Sometimes I'm with a boy, and we seem happy. The strangest one I have is when I'm in a castle. Everything seems to move, the stairs, the pictures, even stone statues." Albus and Minerva exchanged an excited glance, which didn't go unseen by Joan or Jenny.

"Does that mean something to you?" Joan asked the excited pair. There seemed almost a silent conversation between Albus and Minerva. She simply nodded.

"What we are about to tell you must not leave this room, no one else must know, do you understand?" Jenny and Joan looked at each other.

"Yes." Jenny said with an uncertain tone to her voice.

"The school Albus and I work at is an unusual school. The students we have are different to the ones you would be used to teaching my dear."

There was something about he way she spoke that seemed to remind Jenny of something she had heard before. Something she couldn't quite place her finger on.

"The students we teach are witches and wizards." Albus said bluntly. Jenny and Joan's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates.

"Witches and Wizards!" They exclaimed.

"Yes." Albus said with a smile. "Hogwarts is a school of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Jenny couldn't believe her ears. Just as she was starting to believe that maybe there could be some truth in what the two were saying, they decided to throw a rather large spanner in the works. Suddenly she realised something.

"Hang on, are you saying that I'm a witch?!" She shrieked. Albus and Minerva winced, that had come out wrong.

"If you will let me demonstrate." Minerva said. The woman closed her eyes in concentration, and suddenly sitting in Minerva's place was a very beautiful tabby cat. Jenny and Joan stared. Minerva waited for a minute before changing back into a human. Albus pulled out his wand and made a motion towards an empty cup on the table in front of the sofa, and suddenly in the place of the cup, sat a green teapot.

"Convinced?" He asked with a smile.

It took all of Jenny's will power not to jump up from the sofa, grab Joan and run off screaming.

"I understand this is a lot to take in." She heard Minerva say.

"Understatement of the century!" She muttered to herself. Minerva ignored her comment.

"But we honestly believe the connections between yourself and Rachel cannot be ignored."

"Let me see if I am getting this right." Joan suddenly spoke up. "You are a witch." She pointed to Minerva, "and you are a wizard." She moved her finger to point to Albus. "You both teach at a school of magic, and you believe Jennifer here is one of your students, a witch herself, who disappeared in the middle of the night 8 years ago?" She questioned.

"In a nutshell, yes." Albus agreed.

"Holy crap." Both women chorused.

There was silence for a period of time, before Jenny asked, "so what did you want from me?"

"We simply want you to come to Hogwarts and to see if we can help get your memories back. Being around the castle may break down the barriers which are stopping you from remembering your past." Albus explained.

"That's all very well, but what if it doesn't work. I can't just walk around a castle all day." Jenny said with an exasperated tone.

"Oh course not," Albus said with a twinkle in his eye that Minerva knew from experience meant Albus had an idea, not necessarily a good one. "You could be one of our teachers."

"But I can't do magic!" Jenny cried out.

"Which is why I have the perfect subject for you to teach, Muggle Studies."

"Muggle Studies?"

"It basically means the study of how Muggles, that's non magical people, cope without magic." Minerva summed up, not entirely sure where Albus was going with this idea.

"It's an elective class from the third year to the seventh year. This means the students you would be teaching would be interested in the subjects, and would be ready to listen to you and learn. We could place you with the third through to fifth years, that's the years the students have to begin preparing for and taking their OWL exams." Minerva had to admit, this wasn't the worst idea Albus had ever had, and at least it would give Jenny something to do at the castle.

Jenny felt like her head was swarming with tones of different emotions none of which she knew how to stop or control.

"This is all really too much to take in in one go." She said. Minerva decided now was the time for her to step in cutting Albus off mid flow.

"Why don't you take some time to think it over dear, today is Tuesday so why don't we meet here again on Friday? Is that enough time do you think?" Jenny simply nodded, before excusing herself and walking slightly quicker than normal out of Joan's home and quickly out of the cafe before anyone could stop her and ask if she was alright.

She made it home in record time. Lola seemed to sense her mistress wasn't her normal self and quickly hurried after Jenny who had hurried to her bedroom. Collapsing onto her bed, Jenny let out a scream in her pillow, a mixture of her terror at seeing a grown woman transform into a tabby cat, her frustration at the whole situation, and just being plain scared. Lola gently started to lick the side of Jenny's face, causing the woman to turn her head and greet her faithful companion. Her throat hurt a little from the screaming.

"Hi Lola, didn't mean to scare you girl." She patted the dogs head to show her affection, and to calm down the animal.

"This is all so messed up. I mean magic can't be real, can it?" Lola looked at her as if to say 'you're asking me?' Jenny chuckled.

Thursday afternoon found Jenny still none the wiser about whether or not she would take the job at Hogwarts. Part of her was screaming 'GO! This is the chance you've been waiting for, to find out who you really are' but another part of herself was telling her she was an idiot for even considering it, the pair were obviously mentally ill, and magic didn't really exist. Realising she needed to give Albus and Minerva an answer tomorrow, Jenny had made her way the home she had lived in once Susan and Nick had drawn her into their family. All three of her siblings had moved out living in their own homes with their families, and in April's case, a flat on her own. But Susan and Nick still lived in the main family home, and the door was always open if anyone need them. Now Jenny felt she need her adoptive mother and father. Turning the handle she opened the door and called out to the occupants.

"Hello, anyone home?"

"Jenny dear, I'm in the kitchen." Susan called out. Jenny smiled as she walked through the house to the kitchen out the back. Susan stood over the kitchen counter her arms covered in flour and a tray of freshly baked cookies cooling by the window.

"I'll give you a hug as soon as I've got these last cookies in the oven sweetheart."

Jenny just laughed. For the first time in a good few days she felt safe and comfortable in her family home.

"Hi Susan." She said kissing the elder woman on her cheek, "Nick home?"

"He's popped into town for me; I've run out of milk and eggs." Susan said with a chuckle as she gestured to her cookies.

"Are you decorating them?" Jenny asked with a smile. Susan just looked at her knowingly. Jenny laughed. When the family first adopted her, Jenny had problems opening up to the family and being social around them, to over come those fears Susan had started asking Jenny to help her when she did the cooking, and generally over time Jenny began to open up to Susan over their cooking, one of her favourites was icing the cakes.

"Pull up your sleeves and bring those cookies over here." Susan said as she placed her final batch in the oven.

About 10 minutes later Jenny and Susan were stood icing about 40 cookies between the two of them. Susan had explained she was making them for the Sunday dinner that weekend, and by making extra, the kids would be able to take some home for the next day. Susan could tell her daughter had something on her mind.

"What's wrong dear?" She said head still bent down icing. Jenny sighed.

"I have met someone who thinks they may know who I am." Jenny said quietly. Susan looked up from her icing,

"That's wonderful news angel, who do they think you are?"

"A girl called Rachel Evans. She went missing around the same time I turned up here. The two people I met where two teachers from her old school." Jenny explained still not looking up from her cookie. Susan took hold of Jenny's hand and stopped her.

"What's wrong sweetheart?" Her voice sounded so sincere and concerned Jenny simply burst into tears.

Susan took hold of her daughter in her arms and took her to the living room and placed her down on the sofa. She returned to the kitchen and return a few minutes later with a couple of leftover cookies on a plate. Jenny's tears subsided into sniffles and eventually stopped running down her face.

"Now then, tell me the problem." Susan said offering Jenny a cookie. She took it and nibbled on it slowly.

"They have asked me to come with them to see if it helps my memories, maybe it will jog something."

"I don't see the problem here sweetie."

"I would have to move up to Scotland mum." Jenny said. For a moment Susan was silent. Jenny had called her mum before, normally when she was scared or feeling sad, but she had never followed it by announcing she could be moving to Scotland.

"They want me to go and teach at the boarding school Rachel once attended. But it's all the way up in Scotland. What if it doesn't work mum, what if it's just a complete waste of time? I'll be so far away from home, it's not like I could just jump on a train and be home in an hour is it, I mean I'll be in Scotland!" She cried out. Susan simply took her daughter in her arms and hugged her.

"No matter where you are or who you become, you will always have a home here, and we will always be here to welcome you back with open arms. Jennifer if you don't take this opportunity you will regret it. I know you. Yes you will be far away and yes there is a chance that this could go wrong," Jenny opened her mouth as if she was going to speak, but Susan stopped her. "But there is also a chance that this could be your old life. I would never forgive myself if you didn't find out about your past, and I knew there was an opportunity for you for try." Jenny looked up at her mother, her eyes still slightly damp. Susan kissed her on the top of her head as Jenny curled up into her mother finishing her cookie as she did.

When Nick got home with the milk and eggs he found Susan and Jenny curled together on the living room sofa, Jenny was almost asleep and Susan sat stroking her hair soothing her youngest off to sleep.

"Is she alright?" Nick whispered to his wife. Susan simply smile.

"She is now. I think she's made her mind up." Nick looked confused. Susan gestured that she would explain later as Nick headed to the kitchen to put the food away, and soon joined his wife and youngest on the sofa, joining hands with Susan and moving Jenny so that she was snuggled between the two of them, and that's how they stayed for the rest of the afternoon.

Friday found Albus and Minerva sitting anxiously inside Joan's Cafe waiting for Jenny. They spotted her as soon as she arrived and she made her way over to the pair and joined them.

"Hello dear." Minerva greeted her. "We hope you don't mind, we ordered a cup of tea for you." She moved a warm cup of tea over to Jenny who took it with a 'thanks'. She took a small sip and sat up straight.

"I've had a very long think about your offer," she began. Albus opened his mouth to say something but a sharp glance from Minerva stopped him very quickly.

"And I have decided I will accept your offer." Jenny said finally.

"That's wonderful." Minerva exclaimed with delight. They were finally one step closer to getting Rachel back. Jenny raised her hand to stop her.

"But I have a couple of conditions." She said looking both Albus and Minerva square in the face. "One, I presume you don't have electricity at your castle since with magic I presume you wouldn't need it. I wonder if it is possible there could be a spell I could use to use my electrical appliances such as my laptop and my mobile to keep in contact with my family here." She looked at the two professors.

"I can place a spell over your appliances so that they will not need to run on electricity while you are in the castle grounds." Albus confirmed.

"Lovely, number two I wish to bring my dog Lola with me."

"That would also be acceptable, we allow our students to have familiars with them, would she be ok around cats?"

"Yes, one if my neighbours has cats and Lola is fine with them. And finally I don't want anyone looking in my head. I guess with magic you may be able to see in my mind to look through my memories, but I don't want anyone to go into my head without my permission."

"Completely understood." Albus nodded.

"Lovely, then I am looking forward to working with you." Jenny said with a smile.

Hello again. So another chapter finished, and posted. I just wanna say thank you so much for sticking with me and reading this far. I was talking with a friend today, and it made me realise just how much I appreciate you al taking your time to read my work, so big hugs and cookies to you all.

Please as always read and review, and I'll look forward to reading your comments.

Beth xx