Hi, so I've been working on this chapter for a while now, and I know it's not Christmas anymore, but in this chapter Christmas has hit Hogwarts. Hope you enjoy :)

Chapter 16

Christmas was fast approaching Hogwarts School. The ground was beginning to become coated with a thick white layer of snow, and the weather was turning bitterly cold. Jenny and most of the children of the school were excited for Christmas to arrive, but Jenny had her apprehensions too. She had spent her Christmases with the Matthews every year, but she wasn't sure if that tradition was going to continue this year. She had asked to speak to Albus about going home for the holidays but so far either he or she had been too busy to sit down and talk. Jenny had already heard some of the Marauders plans for Christmas, and it was obvious that Lily was planning a big family Christmas and Jenny was the guest of honour. This had made her feel uneasy, she hadn't got any memories of Lily and other back, often she got flashes of children playing at the castle, but she couldn't tell if one of the children was her. It was almost like her brain had turned into a sieve. She could see small flashes of her past, but all the big parts were being held back just out of her reach.

So Jenny found herself standing outside Albus's office on Saturday afternoon a few weeks before the end of term. She knew it was now or never. Her brothers had asked if she wanted to collect the children from school on the last day of term to surprise them, and Jenny desperately wanted to say yes, but until she was sure she was coming home, she couldn't agree to anything. Albus had charmed the statue guarding his office to recognise Jenny so it would open for her and her only. Gently she knocked onto the old wooden door, and heard a familiar voice from within.

"Come in Jennifer." She pushed open the door and stepped inside, spotting the elderly man sitting behind his desk.

"How can I help you?" He asked, his eyes twinkling at her from behind his glasses. Suddenly Jenny found she couldn't speak. Her voice had disappeared and her mouth had become very dry. Albus chuckled.

"Can I assume that your being here has something to do with Christmas, and your desire to go back to Cornwall?" Still unable to speak Jenny nodded. The twinkling in his eyes remained as he locked his gaze with Jenny, before turning his attention to the windows in his office and watched the snow falling.

"I am to assume that you haven't mentioned your desire to go back to Cornwall to anyone else?"

"No." Jenny said finding her voice. "Lily has been planning a big family Christmas, but I wouldn't feel right being there. You know without my memories and all." Jenny trailed off. Albus raised himself from his desk and joined Jenny, placing an arm on her shoulders turning her to face him gaze to gaze.

"Jennifer, don't let anyone else influence your decisions in life. If you want to go back to Cornwall for Christmas, then you have my permission." Jenny's eyes widened.

"I can? You're not joking me?" Jenny hadn't seen her family face to face since she left Cornwall in the summer. Albus laughed and shook his head.

"We have very little students staying here over the holidays Jenny, so if you want to go back, I don't see any reason why you can't." Jenny launched herself as Albus and threw her arms around the wizard, thanking him over and over again.

The day before the Hogwarts students were due to go home, Jenny was sitting in the staff room with a small suitcase by her feet with clothes for her trip home, and another bag with the presents for her family she had managed to acquire during her time at Hogwarts. Most of her presents had been ordered online, and had been delivered to her parents' home for safe keeping. Lily and the others hadn't been too happy when they had discovered Jenny wouldn't be at the castle for Christmas, and would be back with her family in Cornwall. Lily had moaned till Jenny had threatened to slap her, which had shut Lily up very quickly. Minerva had kindly volunteered to apperate her and Lola home, and Jenny had promised the woman a box of homemade cakes as a thank you. Jenny was sitting in one of the chairs Lola resting at her feet, when the dogs ears pricked up and Jenny realised that there was someone else in the room with her. She raised her head from her book, and found Alice and Maddie standing in the doorway with the children around them. Harry and Neville carried a present between the two of them.

"This is for you Aunt Jenny." Sarah and Hannah chorused. The boys presented the gift to Jenny, her eyes welled up with tears.

"Oh you little sweethearts, you didn't need to get me anything."

"They just wanted to do something nice for you." Maddie replied.

"Oh you little darlings." Jenny said, standing from the chair and gesturing for the children to join her in a hug. The children smiled and launched themselves at their newest auntie. Alice, who held Ava, laughed as the child in her arms squirmed to be released and to join in the hug. She let her go and Ava hurried over to her friends. Jenny spotted her approaching, laughed and picked her up and swung her around.

"Will Father Christmas know where you are Aunt Jenny? Otherwise you won't get any presents." Harry asked.

"Don't worry about me. I'm sure Father Christmas will be able to find me wherever I am. He has magic after all." Jenny smiled at those children. "And I've left all your presents with your mummies and daddy's." The children cheered and hugged their aunt again.

"Are you going to open your present now Aunt Jenny?" The girls chorused.

"Now!" Ava added determinedly. The adults laughed.

"Well I don't know, should I open my Christmas present before Christmas?" Jenny asked knowing full well the answer she would get from the children.

"Yes!" They all chorused together. Jenny laughed and took the present from Harry and Neville's outstretched hands. The wrapping was quickly removed and Jenny felt tears coming to her eyes at what she saw. It was a photo frame containing a picture of Jenny and the children during one of her first days at the castle. They were all smiling at laughing at the camera. She was astounded when the photo began to move, and with a happy delight she discovered it was a magical picture playing the scene over and over again like a home movie.

"Now you can show your other family what we look like." Neville piped in quietly.

"It's charmed so that it will only move in your presences alone. If you have guests it will remain a still picture." Maddie explained to Jenny.

"Do you like?" Teddy asked.

"Yes sweeties I love it so much." Jenny replied hugging the children tightly again as if she didn't want to let go.

"Come on darlings, we need to go now, Jenny needs to wait for Auntie Minerva." Alice told the children. With tears in their eyes the children kissed their aunt goodbye, once and only once Jenny had promised she would be back just after New Year for the new term.

"Oh good we caught you. I had hoped you hadn't left yet?" Narcissa's voice came calling soon after the children had left. Jenny smiled as she saw the woman and her son enter the room. Draco smiled a wide beam when he spotted her and hurried to hug her. Jenny laughed and picked him up as he ran into her arms. Narcissa smiled at the sight of her son's display of affection for the muggle woman. Draco was a shy child who didn't have many friends. Since the Malfoys had left the dark lords service, they had been snubbed by almost every pure blood family who would have once called them friends. Andromeda Tonks however had been delighted to have her younger sister back in her life, and the two sisters were once again getting on like a house on fire; the same couldn't be said for Narcissa and her niece's young family.

"Don't worry." Jenny's voice interrupted hr musings. "Minerva said she might be a bit of time, she's got a few things to sort out. My family aren't expecting me till tomorrow anyway. Have you asked Santa for anything Draco? Have you been a good boy?" The child nodded his response.

"Mummy says Santa might bring me a new broom if I was very good."

"Draco." Narcissa warned. Draco was mad on flying. Jenny laughed and put him back on the floor, and reached for her present bag.

"I meant to give this to Santa for you, but I seemed to keep missing him, would you like your present now Draco?" The little boy's eyes widened.

"Can I mummy? Please!" He begged. Narcissa smiled at her sons begging face. She could never say no to him, why start now?

"Just this one darling." Draco squealed with delight and took the brightly wrapped gift from Jenny, thanking her as he did.

"Thank you Auntie Jenny!" Draco hugged her once he finished unwrapping his gift.

"What is it Draco?" Narcissa asked.

"I hope you don't mind, it's a muggle game. It's called a rubix cube, you have to twist the sides until you can get all the sides full of the same colour. Draco," Jenny addressed the little boy. "Your challenge is to have it completed when I get back, ok?" She had noticed Draco was an exceptionally inquisitive little child and the rubix cube seemed like a perfect present.

"I will Auntie Jenny I promise." Draco told her with a determined look. Jenny could see he was already starting to think about the puzzle and how he could solve it. Narcissa pulled a package from her pocket and enlarged it with her wand before presenting it to Jenny.

"This is from all of us. It's just a little something." She mumbled as she passed it over. Jenny thanked the woman as she put the gift in her bag ready to open on Christmas Day. She had given her gifts for the children to their parents already, but had left little gifts for the adults with Minerva who had promised to distribute them on Christmas Day to their respective recipients.

"Well I see you have been saying your goodbyes." Minerva laughed from the doorway. Jenny and Narcissa joined in the laugher.

Once safely back in Cornwall, Jenny wished Minerva a happy Christmas and once the woman had disappeared she set about getting everything placed under her tree. Jenny guessed correctly that her mother had come over while she was away to decorate Jenny's little home for Christmas, there was already a few presents under the tree all addressed to Jenny and Lola. Jenny added her gift from the Malfoys to the pile, and placed her photo on her bookshelf where she could always see it. Lola had taken to curling up on the sofa while Jenny set about getting her dinner ready. Once she had eaten and packed away the dirty dishes, she took a quick shower and turned in for an early night.

The next afternoon Jodie, Lois and Ben were waiting at their school for their lift home. They had been promised a special visitor would pick them up, and all three were waiting anxiously to see who that might be.

"I bet its Grandma and Grandad." Lois guessed.

"Daddy said it would be one person not two stupid." Ben scolded his sister.

"Ben it's not nice to call someone stupid." Their teacher told him, quickly he apologised. Suddenly the trio heard a dog barking and all turned to spot Jenny coming through the gates to the school.

"AUNTIE JENNY!" Came their deafening cries. They all rushed from the waiting spot in the playground and rushed as fast as their legs would carry them to the arms of there waiting auntie.

"Oh darlings I've missed you so much." Jenny squealed wrapping her arms around them in an awkward four way hug. Lola left up on her hind legs and began barking and jumping in the children's direction.

"Are you home for Christmas?"

"When did you get back?"

"Are you going away again?" Came the questioning all at once. Jenny laughed and held out her hands.

"One at a time. Yes I'm home for Christmas, I got home yesterday, and I'm not going anywhere until the New Year." She answered, causing the children to squeal again and they all leapt back at her hugging her tightly again. A few of the students and parents who had known Jenny before she went away smiled at the sights and offered their welcome homes to the young woman and her family.

"Will you be at the party tonight Miss Matthews?" Asked one child Jenny recognised as being one of her old students.

"Why yes, do you know I'd forgotten about that completely."

Each me every year around Christmas time, the locals would all gather in the town square and celebrate the dawn of the Christmas holidays. The shops would stay open late, there would be live music, mince pies by the gallon, and if they were very lucky Father Christmas would make a quick stop off before he had to rush back to the North Pole to finish getting ready for Christmas Day. Jenny had assumed that she had missed the tradition this year and so it hadn't been on her mind, but now word of her return would get around the village faster than wild fire, she knew she would quiet possibly be inundated with questions by everyone and anyone at the party.

Just as she had predicted Jenny was set upon by the majority of the village's occupants once they spotted her and the Matthews at the party that evening. Part of Jenny was missing Hogwarts and the staff, but the other part of her was just happy to be home. A lot of the children from her old school were asking her if she would come back and be their teacher again. Jenny felt tears prick her eyes.

'Would this be what it would be like?' She thought to herself. 'If I find out who I am, would I have to choose between my old life and the new one I have created here?' Luckily the arrival of Santa distracted most of the children, and so Jenny was able to sneak to the back of the crowds.

"Now," came the booming voice of Santa, (or Mr Jeffries the local butcher Jenny discovered) "I hear someone in this village has been away for a bit." Jenny's ears pricked up.

"Miss Matthews has!" Came the children's chorusing. It was obvious to Jenny this had been a set up by some of the adults to welcome her home.

"Well then," came Santa again, "where is she now?"

"Over here Santa!" April (who was standing with Jenny) called out over the crowd. Jenny tried to hide her face, but it was no good. April pretty much dragged her up to the stage, and she was forced up the steps and planted next to Santa.

'At least they haven't made me sit on his knee.' Jenny monologues internally. Santa smiled at her clearly with an apology.

"Well then," he called out "I've been asked to make sure you see your surprise Miss Matthews." He smiled at Jenny. She had always liked the elderly man, and she also had no doubt that Joan and her sister were behind the surprise. Santa gestured over towards Joan's cafe, where Oscar and Jake held up a huge banner, with the words 'Welcome Home Jenny!' written on it in big, bold and colourful letters. This time Jenny couldn't stop the tears from falling. Even if she did find her memories again, there was no way she could leave the village and its occupants behind.

And voila! I promise next chapter we will be back at Hogwarts, and the real hard work begins. We are defiantly over half way through the story now, and Jenny's memories will be getting stronger over the next few chapters, till we reach a point which Jenny has to decide who she is and what she wants.

As normal, (I'm sure by now you can all repeat this) please read and review, and I'll be posting another chapter of Finding Magic soon, and for those of you who read Daughter: Lost and Found, my next chapter will be up this weekend.

Happy reading,

Beth xx