Confused Memories

Chapter 2

Hermione entered the castle gates at a fast walk. She didn't want to risk dropping the woman. If she was just an innocent bystander, she didn't want to hurt her for no reason. However, if she was one of the Death Eaters still on the loose... Well, they would deal with that when they got there.

"'Lo, 'Ermione!" Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts, called happily. "What d'ye have there?" He peered closer. "A... Muggle? Now, how did a Muggle get here?"

"She Apparated, Hagrid," Hermione said, smiling grimly. "So I doubt she's a Muggle. Could you get the Headmaster? I want to bring this woman to the Infirmary. She's hurt."

"O'course, 'Ermione! Madam Pomfrey will fix 'er up just fine." Hagrid headed for the Headmaster's tower, while Hermione continued toward the Hospital Wing.

"Poppy? Are you here?" Hermione called as she entered the Infirmary. A motherly woman bustled around the corner and stopped in her tracks.

"Hermione? What's going on, dear?" Madam Pomfrey gestured toward a bed. "Place her down here. Now, who is this, and what is she doing here?"

"I don't know who she is. I was on my way to Hogsmeade to pick up my new books, and all of a sudden, she Apparated onto the path."

"Do you know who tied her up?"

"No. She just appeared like this. I Stunned her, then brought her up here. I didn't want to take any chances. And she needs medical attention, I think."

"Yes, well, I know," said Poppy grimly. She Vanished the ropes still binding the mysterious woman's hands and feet, then pointed out the raw, chafed skin. "Someone was holding her captive. I'd suspect a Muggle, but some of the Death Eaters had a penchant for Muggle torture methods." Hermione shuddered. She had studied some of the cases while in training--and had thrown up for hours afterward.

"Did you alert the Headmaster?" Poppy asked.

"I met Hagrid on my way up here and asked him to get him." As Hermione said this, the two women heard voices emanating from the corridor. Hagrid, Albus Dumbledore, and Minerva McGonagall entered the room.

"Hermione? Hagrid says that you found a Muggle woman outside the gates. Are you all right?" Professor McGonagall asked anxiously.

"Now, Minerva, I am sure Professor Granger is fine. She has, after all, had training in this sort of happening, have you not, Hermione?" Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling.

"Of course, Albus; you're right. Forgive me, Hermione."

"Don't worry about it, Professor. But I did think this was important enough to warrant your attention." Hermione turned back to the bed. Poppy had nearly finished tending to the woman's wounds. The shallow cuts had nearly healed themselves, but with Madam Pomfrey's care, there would be no scars at all.

"Do you have any idea whom this woman is, Hermione?" Dumbledore asked.

"No, sir. I Stunned her as soon as she appeared."

"Well, then I believe it is time to find out. Poppy, are you finished with your patient?"

"Not yet, Albus. I would still like to diagnose the rest of her injuries." The matron slowly waved her wand over the prone body, and nodded when a green light was emitted. "Other than the cuts that I just healed, and a rather large bruise on her head, she should be just fine."

"Wonderful! Then... Ennervate!" Dumbledore said, directing his wand at the woman on the bed.

The woman's eyes opened. She looked shocked, but not frightened. She reached for her left sleeve.

"Where's my wand? Who are you people?" she demanded.

Dumbledore glanced at Hermione. "She didn't have a wand when I found her, Headmaster."

"Of course I did!" the woman interrupted. "Do you really think an Auror would go anywhere without her wand? And again, who are you? Where am I? What the hell is going on?" she cried, trying to stand. Her legs were too weak, and she crumpled to the floor.

"Madam, if you do not calm yourself, I will tie you to the bed!" Poppy threatened.

"I should listen to her if I were you," Albus said complacently. "She has done so before."

"Now, back into bed with you," Poppy said briskly. She took the woman by the arm to assist her. The woman flinched and cried out, as if in pain. She climbed into the bed and fell back into the pillows, her eyes unfocused.

"What? What's wrong?" Hermione asked.

Poppy quickly performed a diagnosing spell. "There's nothing wrong with her physically. Headmaster, do you know?"

Albus sucked on a lemon drop. "I believe you have found a Seer, Professor Granger," he said, smiling.

---

Chapter 3

"A Seer?" Hermione repeated. "Oh, wonderful," she groaned. Sibyll Trelawney had put her off of any form of Divination--especially so-called "Seers." "I'm sorry, Headmaster," she said sheepishly when Albus glanced at her.

Poppy spoke. "Of course! Many Seers have trouble with physical contact when they first discover their powers--or when they have a surge of magic too strong to handle. They often go into catatonic states which can last for minutes--or days."

"And an American Auror at that. Albus, what do we do now? We can't keep her here. How did she get here in the first place?" As she spoke, Minerva's Scottish burr became more pronounced with her agitation.

"Why couldn't we, Minerva?" Albus asked, eyes twinkling merrily.

"What? You can't be... you are! Albus Dumbledore, this woman has a job, a life, somewhere else! She doesn't belong here!"

"We do not know that for certain. Perhaps she would like a change of career, like our esteemed Professor Granger."

"Excuse me? I'm still here, and I have some questions," the woman whom they were arguing about interrupted. She had apparently regained consciousness during the argument.

"Of course, my dear. Forgive us for our rudeness," Albus said. "What would you like to ask?"

"Well... first, where am I?"

"You are at Hogwarts School, Miss...."

The woman snapped out of her thoughts. "What? Oh, MacKenzie. Sarah MacKenzie."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss MacKenzie. I am--"

Sarah interrupted again. "Albus Dumbledore, former Transfiguration professor and current Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Defeater of the Dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945. Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. Chairman of the International Confederation of Wizards."

"Ah, so you have seen my Chocolate Frog card," Albus said delightedly.

Sarah snorted. "I'm sorry, Headmaster, but what do you think we learned in training? How to knit socks?"

"I have found that is a very useful skill, indeed."

Sarah blinked, seemingly nonplussed by the eccentric wizard's strange statements. She looked around--and stared at Minerva McGonagall. "Headmistress...?"

"Is she seein' somethin', Headmaster?" Hagrid asked eagerly.

"I believe she is, Rubeus. Would you like to explain, Minerva?"

She gave one of her rare smiles. "I believe Miss MacKenzie attended Salem Academy. Am I correct?"

"Yes, ma'am, but..."

"...Where my sister, Diana, was Headmistress about twenty years ago. I believe she has moved on to the American Department of Magic. Why, I haven't spoken to her in years! I'll have to send her an owl."

"Why don’t you Floo her, Minerva? It shouldn't take long to set up a long-distance Floo." Turning to Sarah, Albus said, "Miss MacKenzie, may I ask what is the last thing you remember?"

Sarah stared at the ceiling, her brow creased in thought. "I... it’s really hard to think. I think that I was in an office. Yes, I was. I handed over my wand. My... superior placed it into a safe of some kind. He said he would keep it for me... in case I ever changed my mind? What would I change my mind about?"

The scenario was beginning to sound familiar to Hermione--except that she had not been required to relinquish her wand. "Excuse me; Miss MacKenzie? I believe that was an exit interview." She thought aloud. "But... why would she give up her wand? Unless...."

"Unless I did something I shouldn’t have?"

"No. Not necessarily, ma'am. If that had happened, your wand probably would have been snapped. I was going to say... unless you had left our world completely."