Hello. I'm back. No excuses for how long it's take me to write and post this, but all I will say is 'doesn't life suck sometimes?!'

Chapter 8

The room was silent. Lily leapt from her seat and grabbed the new addition to the room and hugged her tight. Jenny felt the arms wrap around her and hold her tight, so tight in fact it felt like she would never let her go. Unsure of what to do Jenny stood still, dead still. Something Lily immediately picked up on. Her arms felt the body of Jenny stiffen at the contact.

"Rachel?" She questioned.

"Wait a minute," Frank said as realization hit in. "Why did you call her Jennifer?"

"Because Jennifer is my name." Said Jenny, Lily still hugging her. She let the girl go.

"What do you mean your name's Jennifer?" She said tears in her eyes. Jenny turned her head to look at Minerva.

"Help." She squeaked. Minerva gently removed Lily from Jenny and helped her back to her seat.

"Albus," Came the elder woman's voice. "I think perhaps you should explain." She took hold of Jenny and guided her to a chair so she could see the entire room, Minerva stood behind her; a hand on her shoulder.

"Jennifer," He said emphasizing her name, "Is going to be joining us as our newest teacher. She has for the last 8 years been living in Cornwall, as a Muggle." Sirius looked like he was about to ask a question, but a look from Minerva shut him up. "She has been working as teacher, and has very kindly agreed to spend the next year working here."

"May I ask a question?" Alice's voice was heard in the silence. Minerva looked at Jenny, she nodded. Alice looked at Jenny.

"Jenny, if I may call you Jenny, where were you before the 8 years you have spent in Cornwall?"

For a moment Jenny said nothing. Alice looked dejected.

"I don't know." She finally said.

"You don't know?" Remus added. Jenny nodded, before taking a deep breath.

"Before I arrived in Cornwall, I can't remember anything. My parents found me in the park, and I've been with them ever since." She said with a smile.

"You have absolutely no memory of your life?" Tonks said amazed. Jenny shook her head. "The first thing I remember is waking up 8 years ago, in the middle of stormy rainy evening, absolutely soaked to the bone, freezing cold in the middle of a park. Then Susan and Nick appeared." Her love for the people who had rescued her and taken her in, was obvious in the tone of her voice.

"If you don't mind me asking again," Alice questioned, "What did you look like when you were younger?" Jenny laughed.

"To be honest I wasn't much different than I am now. Obviously I was younger, but my hair was still the same sort of colour, it's gone darker as I've got older, my eyes are the same, my skin tones the same; the only think that has really changed is my hair length. It used to be ridiculously long." She said with a chuckle.

That was the only thing about Jenny that the others hadn't recognised. Her hair colour was identical to Rachel's but whereas Rachel had her signature long hair, tided in her plait and pulled to tight end with her blood red hairband, this woman had shorter hair cut to her shoulders. She had slight curls at the ends but all in all, it help to frame her face, and suited her more than anything. The Marauders knew from this description that when Jenny had been the age that Rachel had been when she went missing, the pair could have been mistaken for identical twins.

"Albus she's Rachel she must be!" Lily exclaimed, completely ignoring Jenny sitting in the chair. "Everything fits, we've found her at last!" She cried.

"Lily…" Albus began.

"She's home, I knew you come back eventually." She once again leapt from her chair and dashed straight to Jenny. "Don't worry about your memories, they'll come back now your home. You're finally back with your family where you belong, and I've got my sister back, and I refuse to ever let you go ever again."

Jenny's expression suddenly changed.
"Albus and Minerva have told me just how much you loved Rachel, and your relationship, but I would like to point out that I don't have any memories of you, any of you." She gestured to the rest of the group. "So my family as you put it, are back in Cornwall. My mother and father, my brothers, my sister and my nieces and nephew. I am here to try and remember something that may or may not exist. I am not 100% convinced I am your sister, and until I am convinced I would appreciate it if you didn't make decisions for me. I have no memories, not a complete loss of my intelligence." She snapped at Lily.

Lily backed off.

"I…I…I…" She stammered at a complete loss for words. Minerva quickly took charge.

"Jennifer, why don't we continue that tour we started." Jenny wasted no time getting up and following Minerva out of the room. Lily stood completely still, unmoving.

"Lils?" James said. He was worried about his wife, like the rest of the group he missed Rachel, but even he had to admit Lily may have been a bit keen.

"She doesn't know me. My own sister."

"Lily, calm down." Maddie said with a mature tone. "She doesn't remember anything, not just you. She could be Rachel, it's just her memories are buried deep down. I think Albus is right, staying here and teaching may help her, and if she does remember something then she is in the best place to get help." The entire time Jenny had been in the room Severus had been silent simply gazing at the woman. Like the group he could see the similarities between Rachel and Jennifer, but he could also see the differences. Rachel was quieter around new people, Jennifer's enthusiasm around those she didn't know, could have been a side effect of being found with no memories, but something about it made Severus seem awkward. Unlike Lily, Severus wanted to see how Jennifer adapted to living at the castle and around magic, this he told himself would help him to decide in his mind if this woman was his one true love, and if she was how he could help her to regain her memories.

Minerva dashed after Jenny who had stormed out of the room with the great purpose. She could tell that the woman was angry with Lily, for insinuating that Jennifer wasn't completely able to look after herself.

"Jennifer, Jennifer wait!" She called. She watched and hurried after Jenny as she made her way to the stairs, Minerva sped up.
"Jennifer STOP!" She cried out. That caused Jenny to stop. As Minerva caught up with her she could see that Jenny had tears in her eyes.

"Oh sweetheart." She pulled the young woman in a hug, a hug Jenny didn't bother to fight off.

"I thought this was a good idea." She cried.

"Oh darling this is a good idea." She said. "Come with me."

Minerva and Jenny made their way into a bright and open courtyard, where the sun shined and the birds tweeted in the high tower next to the courtyard.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Minerva said quietly. Jenny walked around the courtyard taking in the sight before her.

"It is." She whispered. "This is dedicated to her isn't it?" Minerva nodded.

"We put it in the summer before the group started teaching here, we thought it might be a nice place for them come and relax, and remember her."

"You talk about her like she's dead." Minerva dropped her gaze.

"I don't know what to think anymore. Until I met you, I would have been able to comprehend the idea that maybe Rachel is dead. I mean 8 years is a long time to be missing. When Albus and I met you, and heard your story, about how you lost your memory, everything seemed to make sense. We had all been under the impression that Rachel couldn't come back because something was keeping her from coming back, but maybe we should have been thinking that she couldn't come back home, because she didn't know where home was." Jenny sniffed.

"You think maybe I am Rachel? That this is all real and by being here my memory is just going to spontaneously come back? That sort of thing doesn't even happen in the movies." She admitted. Minerva smiled a comforting smile.

"I don't know for certain if you are Rachel, but you are the closest we have come to finding her in 8 years. That's got to count for something."

"You want me to stay?"

"I do, but it's your decision. If you want to go, then I won't stand in your way."

Jenny looked out over the courtyard again. Ever since she had arrived at the castle something inside of her felt a connection. She'd never felt that before, not around anyone or anything that had ever claimed she was someone they knew. She knew that in her heart something about this castle felt familiar, homely, and the people who inhabited it, felt comfortable and safe. In her heart Jennifer knew she had made up her mind, she couldn't leave not now, not now she'd a connection. There was something here she needed to find, whether it would prove she was Rachel or she wasn't, it was here, calling for her, begging to be found.

So a shorter chapter for today. Sorry for the length but this chapter has really been giving me problems. I know Lily may seem a bit off to some people, but this is how I believe that Jennifer would react to being told she was someone she couldn't remember.

Anyway please read and review, I will read all the comments you make. Have a great week and I'll hopefully (fingers crossed) have another chapter ready soon.

Beth xx