Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

ENIGMA	By : NativeMoon Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female Views: 3931 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 18
- 19
- 20
Plot, new characters, new magical
terms and abilities etc. are my intellectual property. If you want to borrow
then please kindly ask. JK Rowling's characters and Wizarding Universe are all
uniquely hers.

Summary: AU: What if everything we
ever read in JK Rowling�s books was real � including the people characterised? What would you do if you found yourself
caught up in that reality knowing what was to come? SS, RL, OC

Authors Note: It
has been mentioned in the story but now I am noting it here. I am a fan of
Diana Gabaldon�s �Outlander�/�Cross
Stitch� series and definitely was influenced by that in writing this story �
i.e. the Standing Stones and traveling through time. But I also love Philip
Pullman�s �His Dark Materials� series and the tv programme �Sliders� and the alternate universes alongside
ours idea comes from there no doubt.

NOTE: This chapter has been quite difficult do because of the whole time
travel thing� I tried�and I know I�ve failed�

Fantasy/Drama

This story is rated R/M.

ENIGMA

Chapter 019: Tales of the Unexpected

Jessica
moved forward with a jerky gait. The spasms were so frequent she could time
them as if they were contractions.

�No�� she
sobbed.

She
stumbled and put her hands out as if to stop herself from falling.� Unable to control her fall, she pitched
forward and landed hard on the ground, hitting her head on a sharp rock. Dazed,
she curled up into a fetal position, sobbing breathlessly.

�Oh my
God!� she heard a familiar voice exclaim in a quiet whisper. �It�s Miss Newkirk � but we shouldn�t�!�

Two
figures bounded over to her and leaned down, unable to hide their own anxiety.

�What are
you�� Harry began.

�Harry,�
Jessica cried. �I�m sorry! I�m so, so sorry!�

Harry and
Hermione looked at each other and then at the Librarian.

�What are
you doing here�!� Hermione shrieked quietly.

Her panic
turned to near hysteria as she took in the sight of Jessica�s blood-stained
dress, legs and face.

�What
happened to you?� Harry croaked.

�N�n�never�m..mind,� Jessica stuttered before
coughing up more blood. �Do what you�have to do��

The two
Gryffindors gaped at her open-mouthed.

�You
don�t have m�much time left�.I think�. GO! You have to�!�

Tears
began streaming down Hermione�s face as she knelt next to Jessica.

�No! We
can�t leave you like this!�

Jessica
grabbed Harry�s hand.

�He�s innocent, Harry; and you�re
all he�s got��

�But how
do you KNOW?� Harry asked incredulously falling to his knees. �How can you
possibly�?�

�We don�t
have time for this!� Jessica said heatedly as she grabbed her abdomen and then
moaned. �Both of you need to get out of here!�

�I�m not
going anywhere!� Hermione said as she held onto Jessica. �You can do it Harry!
Just remember what Dumbledore said!�

Harry
clutched at the ground as he thought for a moment, rocking back and forth.

�Just
answer one question,� Jessica said solemnly.

Harry
nodded �yes� as he wiped tears from a cheek. It killed him to see one of his favourite teachers like this. He had learned so much from
Jessica and he liked that he could talk to her, even when he had the sense that
he�d let her down by not doing the best he could for himself.
Sometimes, it made him wonder what having his own mum around would have been
like. He didn�t want Jessica to die too�

�Professor
Snape � he�s in there�at the end with you two � your other selves�isn�t he�he
just went in�not long ago?�

Harry
didn�t need to answer; the look on his face said everything as Jessica lay her
head in Hermione�s lap and let the young girl smooth her hair back.

�Did you
knock him out � accidentally � with a sort of stunning spell?� she asked
nervously.

�No way,�
Harry answered quizzically. �I�m not that stupid!�

�Oh my
god...but�� Jessica moaned. �Listen both of you � you need to get out here and
get on with it! You know the Law � all hell will break loose when you come out
of there�and if you two are still here��

�But we can�t leave you like this!� Harry screeched as he began to cry.

�And what about you! You can�t be
here either!� Hermione said tearfully.

�Listen to
me both of you! Sirius Black has spent the better part of his adult life locked
away for something he didn�t do! And he will die tonight unless you go on with
what you have to do � the Headmaster is counting on you! I�ll�I�ll be alright��

�But�� Hermione interjected.

�No
�buts� Hermione! For once can just you do what I ask you to � please!�

�You�re
pregnant aren�t you!� Hermione whispered. �And you�re
losing your baby!�

�He�s
already gone,� Jessica sobbed as she broke down. �It�s too late for him��

�Don�t
say that,� Harry whispered. �If we get you to the infirmary�!�

�Then your
Godfather will die! Is that what you want? I�m not worth that, Harry! Really,
I�m not!�

�You are
to me!� Harry said angrily. �It�s not fair!�

�A lot of
things about life just aren�t fair, Love. But you already know that, don�t
you?� Jessica said gently, reaching out and pulling him to her.

She
looked up at the moon, obscured as it presently was by cloud cover. It wouldn�t
be long now before the fullness of Sister Moon showed itself, after Severus, Remus, Ron, the other Hermione and Harry, Sirius Black and
Peter Pettigrew emerged from the base of the Whomping
Willow.

�Go on
now � go!�

�But you could die out here!� Harry said heatedly.

�Oh God,
please!� Jessica hissed. �Look � just help me over there and then get the hell
out of here! If the two of you are not back in the infirmary when they come�then
you will die!�

�She�s
right Harry!� Hermione said tightly. �We don�t have a choice � and we are running out of time!�

The two
Gryffindors pulled Jessica to her feet and they moved as quickly as they dared
into the relative safety of the Forbidden Forest where the Hippogriff Buckbeak was straining against his tether.

Jessica propped
herself against a boulder and restrained the scream that rose in her throat as
slegehammering pain tore at her body.

�Oh my
God we can�t!� Hermione whispered, clearly torn.

�Go on�
get out of here! Now!� Jessica hissed as she tried not
to push, but to no avail.

Buckbeak looked at the newcomer curiously and then flapped a wing in
her direction. He started clawing his way towards her, clucking gently.

�No Buckbeak, No!� Hermione hissed as she tried to hold onto
the rope that held him down.

�He can
sense that she�s hurt; Hagrid said that he�s really
attached to her...� Harry said sadly. �She did a lot to try and help him��

Harry
started forward and then Hermione pulled him back.

�Look!
This is it!� she whispered as she watched the ragged band of figures emerge
from the base of the Whomping Willow.

Jessica
was lying on the ground now, trying desperately not to push.

�GO ON!�
she hissed.

Harry and
Hermione both looked back in frustration� and then hurriedly untied Buckbeak. They had no choice but to move deeper into the
forest when they saw Professor Lupin changing into a werewolf. Pettigrew wasted
no time in changing into his Animagus rat form and
taking off. The young Gryffindors watched in horror as the demented werewolf
came charging to very near where Jessica lay injured, no doubt on the scent of
the blood.

Suddenly
Snape emerged, looked around angrily and headed towards the forest as if guided
by some unknown force. In reality, he was following a trail of blood that
didn�t make any sense. Jessica rolled over and there was a loud CRACK! She
moaned uncontrollably as her body fought to expel the child within.

Harry
motioned for Hermione to wait just a minute�

�No�please�� Jessica cried softly as her legs
opened.

�Jessica?�
they heard Snape call out anxiously. �Jessica!�

�What the
hell is going on?� Harry whispered as he drank in the sight of the Potions
Master rushing over to where the Librarian lay slipping into unconsciousness.

�Oh God � oh my God!� Snape muttered, clearly stunned. �Jessica�
what�what�?�

The
Potions Master cradled her in his arms, and told her he was sorry � that he
didn�t mean it. He was just angry�angry over nothing�

�I�m
sorry too� you were right, Severus,� Jessica moaned before passing out. �I did ruin your life��

�No,�
Snape whispered as tears began steaming down his cheeks. �You are the best thing that�s ever
happened to me!�

Harry and
Hermione looked at each other wild-eyed as Buckbeak
reared back and took off.

The last
thing they saw between the unlikely lovers was the werewolf charging forward
and Snape springing to his feet with his arms outstretched almost Christ-like
to shield Jessica. Hermione let out a blood-curdling howl that confused the
creature and sent it tearing off in the opposite direction. She and Harry hoped
it was enough for Jessica to escape just as the Hippogriff took off.

Both
looked back as they headed towards the school, unable to see anything through
the thick canopy of trees. But they couldn�t worry about Jessica and Snape anymore
right now � they needed to free Sirius Black and get themselves back to the
infirmary with very little time left.

xxxOOOxxx

Jessica
came to somewhat in the infirmary with a woman whom she mistook for Madame
Pomfrey at her side.

�I lost my
baby,� Jessica croaked deliriously as one of her hands lightly brushed her
softened, flatter abdomen. She couldn�t believe how much blood there still was
� the small room smelled of it. �I lost my baby��

The older
woman nodded tearfully as she smoothed Jessica�s hair back.

The
Librarian closed her eyes and began to cry softly as the older woman took her
in her arms and rocked her through tears of her own. She had so much to say to
Jessica, so much that Jessica needed to know� But it would have to wait.

Her dark
secrets, fatefully intertwined with Jessica�s own, would be too much for
Jessica to have to deal with in one night.

xxxOOOxxx

When
Jessica next opened her eyes it was Severus holding her in his arms, smoothing
her hair as he held back the tears and grief of his own that threatened to
consume him. She glanced at the clock across from them and realised
that according to fiction, the man she loved should be in the presence of the
Dark Lord in a graveyard rather than wasting his time with her.

�He�ll kill you�� she croaked.

�No � he
won�t, my love. Don�t worry about him.�

�I�m just
a distraction � you�ll be killed and�I�ll lose you � for good and��

�Not according to your books��

�I wish I
had never read those damned books!�

�Hush,�
Snape whispered as he held a vial to her lips. �You need to rest now��

The truth
of his life was laid bare before them and he hadn�t turned into a pillar of
salt. Jessica should hate him for what he put her through, but she still loved
him. Everything she had done and all the risks she had taken; everything she
wanted to believe was because she loved
him. Love always had conditions; or
so he had thought.

It was
enough that they had lost their child; he didn�t want to lose the only woman he
had ever truly loved to the depths of his magical core. He couldn�t bring
himself to broach the subject of Jessica�s grave health.

The woman
in his arms protested feebly, but in less than a minute she was in a deep
sleep.

Only time
would tell if she ever woke up again, but for now Snape did regrettably have
other business to attend to.

xxxOOOxxx

�Harry �
you awake?� Hermione whispered from the bed next to his on the main ward of the
infirmiry after Snape left along with Dumbledore and
Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic.

�Of
course I am�and I don�t want to talk about; I don�t want to talk about any of
it!�

�But
Professor Snape� and Miss Newkirk��

�I SAID I
DON�T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT!� Harry hissed as he turned his back to her.

Hermione�s
head snapped as though she had been slapped. She stared in disbelief at the
back of the Boy Who Lived and came to the realisation
that perhaps she didn�t know him as well as she�d thought.

His
reaction made no sense.

xxxOOOxxx

Three
days later Snape dragged himself through the dungeons at Hogwarts having
returned from Voldemort�s lair. He found a strength he didn�t know he had to
get to his quarters. It took several hours of hard work to heal himself, but at
least he would survive what had been done to him. He had long been an expert
with diagnosis � mastered as a child.

The
Potions Master looked at himself in Jessica�s full-length mirror in their
bedroom. His face has swollen to three times its size and was a mass of black,
blue and purple bruising; his nose had been broken along with four ribs. A
shoulder had been dislocated and he expertly popped it back into place.

Jessica
couldn�t see him like this; she must not be tainted by it any more than she
already had been. She was so innocent in all of this even with what she thought
she knew, and yet had been hurt so much already because of him. What kind of man
was he such that he couldn�t do the right thing now and let her go? Was it so
wrong to want what they�d had together � what they still had in abundance
despite his rampant dunderheadedness?

Suddenly
there was a loud WHOOSH to his right
and he glanced momentarily at the flare of bright white flames in the hearth of
the fireplace.

�Is she��
he whispered hoarsely, staring at the clots of blood on one side of his head
and then at a bootprint on his chest.

�No;
she�s� hanging on��

�I don�t
know why she even summoned you��

�She gives a good impression of not
having as big a heart as she does. I would venture to say it runs in the
family.�

�Be that as it may��

�I know;
I know� I thought you might be returning soon and thought I would take the
chance to tell you myself. You certainly are in no fit shape to go to the
infirmary just yet�but she would help you if only��

�I rather suppose I am not�� Snape barked, cutting short the
sentiment he knew to be forthcoming; it was the same old thing every time they
spoke.

Several
pots and tubes sailed from the fire and landed on the bed.

�Just
some things I thought you both might need�.� his visitor said.

�I can
manage well enough for the two of us just fine!�

�Of
course you can, there�s nothing you can�t do when you set your mind to it. But
this isn�t something you have to face alone, Severus. I�m on your side, just as
I�ve always been��

Snape
said nothing as he sat dejectedly on the bed and fingered the items strewn
about. Truth be told he did need them. He certainly
didn�t have the presence of mind or the energy needed to do any brewing and
couldn�t for at least another week. As in his youth � it would take him at
least a few days to be fully healed and rested.

�You
mustn�t take any unnecessary risks now that he is back,� Snape said slowly.

There was
nothing but silence from the fireplace. He stared at it woodenly, letting the
reality of his situation sink in. Lord Voldemort had well and truly returned;
and now more than ever the Potions Master truly wanted liberation; the freedom
to live, the freedom to be his own man and most important of all � the freedom
to love and love openly.

xxxOOOxxx

It was
almost a week later before Snape emerged amongst the populace at Hogwarts. The
first port of call was the infirmary. He swooped into Jessica�s room and to his
surprise found Madame Pomfrey sitting with her, reading to Jessica quietly though
the younger woman was not conscious to hear it.

He
started to speak but then closed his mouth quickly with a sharp intake of breath.
He was on the verge of being exceedingly unpleasant, when really there was no
justification for it.

�You seem
to have had a bit of a change of heart about her,� he huffed.

He wasn�t
given an answer, but the look on Pomfrey�s face was
enough.

�Don�t
indulge any false pretenses if you do not truly care for her!� Snape snapped.

�I could
say the same to you,� the Mediwitch said as she rose
from her seat. �You forget how old I am � and how long I�ve been here. You
don�t know what it was like before you were born; and before Dumbledore was
Headmaster. The fact that Jessica is here � that a Muggle is allowed to be here � isn�t the done thing. I wasn�t kind to
her when I could have been. But I thought I was protecting myself from� I
thought could keep myself from feeling�. You know what happened to the few before
her that made it into our world, don�t you?�

�Yes,�
Snape sighed as he sat on the edge of the bed. �I�ve seen them � the graves by
the abbey��

He
blinked his eyes rapidly as he looked over at the woman he had never stopped
loving from the moment she kissed him all those months ago. The Potions Master
closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around himself as the Mediwitch
walked past him.

�You will
get through this, Severus; just as your uncle and I did��

There was
a faint THUMP as the door closed behind Snape�s aunt.

The
Potions Master let out a ragged breath, his mind filled to overflowing so many
�if only s�. If only he hadn�t lost his temper; if only he weren�t suspicious
of everything and everyone around him; if only he wasn�t so afraid to feel; if
only he was free; if only, if only, if
only�

xxxxxxx

Jessica had lain in a pool of blood,
the body of their stillborn son between her opened legs. Snape�s progeny hadn�t
even survived to take his first breath in this hate-filled world; he hadn�t
survived to be assimilated into the ranks of Death Eater progeny. The Potions
Master would never forget the sound his son�s body hitting the ground as he
shielded Jessica from the werewolf. And then out of nowhere there was a sound �
a strange, unnatural howl � that caused the Dark Creature to
rear back and take off for parts unknown in the Forbidden Forrest.

Lupin.

The werewolf had finally gone and
Snape had returned his attention to the one person that needed it above all
others. Jessica had been passed out cold, her hands and legs smeared with
blood. She had regained consciousness long enough to have grabbed their child
and held tightly to him � it was almost as if she had willed what little life
she�d had left into her child.

But neither of them stirred.

Severus Snape cried as he held the
cold body of his dead son in his arms. He gently stroked the mass of jet black
hair that crowned his sons head and then lightly touched his eyelids and his
delicate little hands and toes.

As long as he had life left in him,
Severus Snape would never forgive the werewolf for this. Lupin
and his damned Wolfsbane, the Wolfsbane
which he�d so conveniently forgotten to take � and on the one night above all
others when such a mistake had been so very grave indeed. This night had
cost he and Jessica so much�

xxxxxxx

What the
Potions Master wouldn�t give to undo it all�

xxxOOOxxx

He had
managed to get an illegal time-turner several days later; but it was smashed
beyond recognition when he returned to Hogwarts from Knockturn
Alley. He�d spent a whole month�s wages and it had come to nothing.

Snape
shook his head in disbelief and then went up to the infirmary.

xxxOOOxxx

The
burial ritual was to be that night; there was no more time to waste.

Jessica
was propped up in bed; feverishly concentrating on the beading of her son�s
burial clothing and accessories when Severus walked in. She had completed the
tunic, necklaces, headband, moccasins and bracelets. The only thing left to
finish were the blankets.

She
hadn�t had any semblance of sleep since regaining consciousness � and it scared
Madame Pomfrey to witness it. The Librarian hadn�t bathed and her hair was
wild. Dark circles ringed her eyes � but Jessica would not let anyone touch
her.

She had
demanded that her son�s body be brought to her � and would not calm down until
it was done. Then she wouldn�t let anyone else touch him and had nearly
scratched the Mediwitch�s eyes out for using a
preserving spell.

Not
having any idea where Snape went, Dumbledore assumed that he�d been summoned by
Voldemort or perhaps Lucius Malfoy. But then Malfoy turned up for a hastily
assembled School Governors meeting about the situation with Lupin, baying for
the werewolf�s blood. Fortunately Malfoy senior was preoccupied and did not
think to ask for Snape � though such an occurrence was rare even under normal
circumstances. But the Headmaster was concerned, gravely concerned, with the
situation that had befallen two of his staff members � two in his inner circle.

�Jessica,� Severus whispered hoarsely as he
stood by the door flanked by the Headmaster.

There was
a rainstorm from hell outside and he was dripping wet and shivering with cold.

�I need
to� He can�t go home without� I need to finish it�� she whimpered.

Jessica�s
hands shook as she tried to stitch tiny beads in the patterns of her people on
the blanket. It was hard to see blinded as she was by so many tears.

Snape sat
across from her on the bed and began to help her. Magic would not do for this:
this was for their son. Their heads were
silently bent over the blankets and each followed the intricate pattern
carefully. Tears streamed down both their cheeks and finally Jessica collapsed
in a heap over the body of her baby. She clung to him and howled with a pain
that crushed the spirits of the few who heard it. It was more than Snape could
take � and he too finally collapsed.

Hagrid stomped up to the Headmaster to tell him that everything
was ready, but they�d best be getting to it before the storm got worse. Dumbledore
whispered to him and McGonagall and then to Madame Pomfrey. But all in the room
were overcome with emotion at the sight of the Severus Snape and Jessica with
their dead child.

Knowing
the shame Snape would feel and deeply resent that his privacy was invaded, the
Headmaster quietly directed the others out of the room.

xxxOOOxxx

Severus
and Madame Pomfrey guided Jessica to the grave of her son shrouded in darkness.
Jessica was the closest thing Hogwarts would ever have to a Sachem and so it
was to her that all assembled looked to for guidance. Her son was �going home�
as a Nanticoke-Lenape with no mention of the wizard
he might have been or the customs of this world. For Jessica, it was only those
rituals which she knew; those beliefs that formed the core of what she herself
was that mattered.

The
Librarian had been cleaned up and somehow Severus had procured the necessary
garments that she required to say �Lapich Knewell� to her child.
After the lid to the tiny coffin had been removed, Jessica took in the sight of
the food items that had been set at the grave as was the custom of her people.
She gazed lovingly with pride at her son, finely dressed and painted in a
manner never seen by anyone in this world. Hagrid stood
over the tiny grave with a large umbrella to keep the rain away.

The
ornamentation of this child was a sight to behold. In keeping with tradition,
the youngest Snape was �going home� in a manner befitting a chieftan.
Jessica explained that the Nanticoke and Lenapes bury
their dead with ceremonies according to rank and condition of the body. There
was no one in this world more important than her son, save his father. And
blessedly her child had no deformities. Items were placed in the coffin that
her son might enjoy in his next life, given he had not lived to enjoy them in
this one.

�The people of the Nanticoke and Lenape
tribes believe life is centered around close bonds of
kinship and family. The respect given to the memory of the dead and the concept
of the survival of the soul after the death of the body forms an integral part
of our beliefs,� Jessica said firmly. �At the moment of death the spirit
separates from the body, but it doesn't necessarily leave the area. The spirit
remains in the vicinity for eleven days in which it subsists on food found in
the houses of the living, if none has been placed at the grave; the food is not
eaten, but somehow the spirit takes nourishment from it.�

She gestured towards the food and then continued. �After the
eleven days the spirit travels to the home of the Creator or highest heaven.
Here, the spirit lives eternity in the Happy Hunting Ground where pain,
sickness, sorrow, and worry have no place. Only flesh is injured, not he
spirit��

A circle was formed around the open coffin and the child�s
death was then mourned for hours. The feeling of sorrow was alive in a manner
becoming the occasion. Jessica threw herself about shouting prayers, cries of despair,
and pulling out her hair for the death of such a great person as was her only
child.

After the mourning was complete, the coffin was placed into
the ground where the grave was filled with dry soil, pieces of bark, and leaves
so no fresh ground could be seen. In keeping with First Nations traditions, this
was done to prevent animals from destroying the body and disrupting its search
for eternal peace.

Jessica and Severus placed a marker of rocks and several
boulders to mark the gravesite after everyone had left them. She leaned over
and whispered the name she had given their son into his father�s ear and
Snape�s black eyes welled up with tears in spite of the rain that stung them.

xxxOOOxxx

For the next three weeks, kettles of foodstuffs were carried
to the grave and placed upon it every evening at dusk by Severus and Jessica.
This was done until their son�s soul found its eternal resting-place.

When the mourning process was complete, the name of their
son would only ever be spoken under special circumstances. If the individual
had a name of an animal or object, new words would be made so as to not mention
the deceased's name; that had not been the case with their son � Jessica had
taken great pains when she chose his name.

As was the way of her people, Jessica looked for guidance
and power through dreams, visions, prayers, and ceremonies, and it was through
this that she came to know when their son had truly �gone home� to his �final
resting place�.

The time was now right for she and
Severus to begin again.
- 18
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