Confused Memories

Chapter 12

Webb ran his fingers through his hair. "Once upon a time--"

"Don't be smart with me, Webb. I have no qualms about hitting you again."

"Fine. This is a story--"

"Webb!"

He sighed. "Okay. Sarah and I met at the Aurory. She was... amazing. Even after her trouble with her father and her alcoholism, she rose above that to become top of our class."

"Wait. Mac's...?"

"A witch, AJ. Yes. Both sides, actually. Her father was a Squib--that was why he hated Sarah's mother so much. She was a witch--and a pretty strong one, too. Unfortunately, she didn't have such a strong will, and allowed him to run her life. Eventually, she ran away, leaving Sarah--well, you know that part." AJ nodded, and Clay continued. "Sarah's grandmother--paternal grandmother--was a Cherokee medicine woman. She was the only person Sarah's father honestly respected. She insisted that Sarah be allowed to remain at Salem to finish her studies. But when she returned home from school... well, that was when she resorted to..." Clay cleared his throat. "Anyway, she dried out and went to the Aurory.

"We met in Curses and Jinxes. She was the only one who was able to completely throw off the Imperius Curse the first day. Probably because she had practice with complete self-control... She didn't flaunt her abilities, either. Just got up and went on to the next lesson." Clay smiled as he remembered...

****

"Hi. I'm Clayton Webb," Clay greeted the beautiful witch with a smile.

She eyed him suspiciously. "Sarah MacKenzie," she said, nodding curtly.

"That was amazing, what you did today. Do you think you could teach me to do that?"

"I don't know if it can be taught."

"That's okay. I just wanted an excuse to spend time with you." He grinned as he won a small smile from the reserved woman.

"I would be glad to try. Of course, you'll have to teach me how you snuck up on the professor like that. I thought she would hex you into oblivion!"

"Oh, that." Clayton waved a hand dismissively. "That's easy."

"Then you should have no problem teaching me."

Clay smirked. "I guess not."

****

"It took a while for Sarah to trust me," AJ snorted at this, "but I finally won her over."

"I'm sure your skill with Silencing Charms was what did it."

"I like to think it was my natural charm." AJ rolled his eyes. "Anyway, since we worked together so well, we were made partners. Actually, I was the one who came up with her nickname..."

****

"Sarah! Hey, MacKenzie! Wait up!" Clay ran down the hall, levitating his books behind him. "MacKenzie! Mac! Stop!"

She turned around. "What is it, Clay?" she asked irritably.

"So you don't respond to your name, but you'll turn when I call you 'Mac'? Huh. I'll just have to remember that," he said, smirking.

"Look, you jerk--"

"Ooh, I get a nickname, too?"

"If you don't go away and let me take a shower--alone--I will hex you into the next century."

"Okay, okay. Sheesh. You'd think a little Summoning Spell wouldn't cause quite so much havoc. How did he get here, anyway?"

"You know his father paid his way. He's a legacy. Clay, I really need to get this dye out of my hair. Why did he have to Summon the magic-resistant coloring?" she huffed.

"Go take your shower, Mac," Clay said, smiling sympathetically. "I'll have some hot chocolate ready for you when you're done."

"Thanks, Clay. And don't call me that!"

"Sure thing, Mac!" he called after her. He ducked, laughing, as a Bat-Bogey Hex came flying his way.

****

Clay chuckled. "She hated that nickname. I'm surprised she remembered it."

"Wait. What do you mean, 'remembered it'?"

Clay sobered. "I'm getting there, AJ. Sarah had an ability no other witch or wizard in our class did."

"She was a Seer."

"That's right. You never were comfortable with her Sight, were you?" Clay asked.

AJ shrugged. "It's not something you expect of someone you think is a Muggle, Webb. Of course I was uncomfortable. That type of unrestrained power can cause problems."

"I know. Believe me, I know..."

****

"Ah!" Sarah cried, holding her head.

"Sarah? What's wrong? You okay?" Clay asked concernedly. He went to pull her hands down, but she backed away.

"Mac, do you need to see a Healer? What's wrong? Come on, Mac, talk to me!"

Sarah began breathing raggedly. "Don't go to dinner tonight, Clay."

"What? But--"

"Please, Clay. Trust me. Don't go. I'll stay with you." Her agitation was visible.

"Okay. I won't go."

****

"What had she seen?" AJ asked.

"My goblet--well, the one meant for me--had been poisoned. But instead of me, Laura Paterson died in my place. Sarah felt so guilty about that. She hated her Sight. But she used it when it was necessary.

"The last case we worked on together was a kidnapping case. Olivia DeSoto, nine years old, kidnapped from her bedroom."

"Wait. DeSoto? As in--"

"The Secretary of Magic's granddaughter, yes. He stepped down after that happened. The wizarding world was in an uproar after she disappeared. The amount of wards on that house--it took two months to figure out exactly how they had been breached in such a short amount of time.

"Sarah realized, as soon as we got the case, she would have to use her Sight. We had nearly become a last resort for the department--if they couldn't solve a case, they would come to us and see if Sarah could help. She didn't want to do it, but she tried.

"The DeSotos brought Olivia's favorite robe to Sarah, so she could anchor her visions on something. She refused to tell me exactly what she saw, but gave the search party Olivia's location and perpetrator's name." Clayton stopped, closing his eyes.

"I never blamed her for what happened next, but she did. We Apparated just outside of the area where the guy was expected to be. Our Cursebreakers got to work immediately, taking down the wards on the house as quickly as possible.

"When we finally got inside, we saw Olivia, lying in the middle of the floor. I rushed over to her. I forgot the first thing we learned at the Aurory--always make sure you've cast a Protection Charm before going onto a crime scene.

"I was hit square in the back by a Dark curse. I still don't know what it was--but it slowly began to sap me of my magic. Imagine knowing you were slowly becoming a Squib.

"Sarah was devastated when she found out. I tried to convince her that it wasn't her fault, but she refused to listen. She went to our supervisor, Michael Delaney, and asked to resign. She begged him, and he finally granted her request. She was Obliviated. You know the rest."

"My God," AJ breathed. "She doesn't even know that she's a witch?"

Clayton shook his head. "Not that I'm aware. I've kept tabs on her ever since."

"You've been in love with her with her ever since," AJ stated.

Clay raised an eyebrow. "Well, you couldn't blame me, could you, Admiral?"

AJ glared at him. Clay smirked. "I thought so."

"What are you planning to do now, Webb? Do you even have the power to track her down?"

"Me? No. I don't have that much strength. Not to send out a Location Charm of that magnitude. But I had someone else do so, and she said that Sarah is somewhere in Great Britain."

"I could've told you that, Webb."

"I'm sure you could've, AJ. And that's why I need you to help me."

"Help you what, exactly?"

"Bring Sarah back."

AJ raised an eyebrow. "Webb, you do realize that it's my Chief of Staff who's missing? I can't go gallivanting halfway across the world and abandon JAG."

"Who says you are?"

"What? Webb, you'd better make sense soon, or I will have you thrown out."

"I just came from the SecNav's office. He and the SecMag have struck a bargain--you have a week to arrange everything here, then we head for Britain." Webb paused, reassessing his plan. The anger radiating from the older man was making him feel uneasy.

"Webb, tell me you didn't just manipulate my life."

Touching his nose, Webb edged away. "Sorry, AJ."

AJ clenched his fists--then sighed. "No, you're not." He shook his head resignedly. "What do I tell Turner?"

"Whatever you want. It's not like he'll question you. Much, anyway."

AJ glared at Clay halfheartedly. "Fine. I'll go. Now get out before I give in to the urge to--"

"Break my nose again. Yeah, yeah. That threat is really getting old, you know." Webb stood. "It was great to see you again, AJ."

AJ snorted. "Please, Webb. Don't start with the pleasantries now."

"Okay, I won't, you son-of-a-bitch."

AJ grinned. "That's better, you suspicious bastard."

Clay laughed, closing the door as he left.

---

Chapter 13

"Now, I'm going to give you three objects. I want you to tell me whom they belong to," Professor MacKenzie said to the student.

Ben McCoy nodded, and Sarah handed the first item to him. He closed his eyes. "It belongs to a woman... a younger woman, but an adult. She... she's in a position of some status." He opened his eyes. "I'm sorry, Professor. I can't see any more."

Sarah smiled broadly. "That's all right, Mr. McCoy. This leads into another lesson." Ben groaned playfully, and Sarah grinned. She had been working with the boy for a week, and it seemed he was finally beginning to feel at ease with her.

"Lesson number... 387, is it?" Sarah asked. He smiled. "No? Well, anyway, the lesson is that you shouldn't rely on your Sight for every tiny thing. You need to use your other senses. Look at it normally for a moment." Ben looked at the hairbrush that he held in his hands. "Describe it to me."

"It's brown. It has a wooden handle. The bristles are soft--from use, I would suppose." He ran his fingers over the bristles. He plucked a few strands of hair from the brush. "It is a woman's hairbrush. She has long, curly brown hair." He was quiet a moment, then asked, "Is it Professor Granger's?"

"Yes, it is," Sarah beamed. "You see? In order to be a good investigator..." she trailed off. The word 'investigator' had left her with a double image--herself in her Auror's robes, and herself in that damned green uniform that she only saw snatches of. She shook her head to clear it. "In order to be a good investigator, you need to be able to use both physical and magical means to get the full picture."

Ben frowned slightly. "Professor, are you--" He was cut off by a rapping at the windowpane. Sarah got up to allow an owl inside.

"Why, hello. Aren't you a pretty one?" Sarah said to the beautiful tawny owl. The owl nipped at her fingers in appreciation and stuck out her leg for Sarah to retrieve her letter.

"I'm afraid I don't have any food here in the classroom," Sarah told the bird apologetically.

"I do, Professor," Ben volunteered. Sarah looked at him questioningly. "I... uh... I took some from the Great Hall after lunch. Sorry, Professor."

Sarah waved his apology off. "Don't worry about it. I won't tell if you don't," she winked. He blushed and ducked his head. Sarah raised an eyebrow. He hurried to feed the owl.

Sarah looked at the seal on the parchment. Her heart began to beat faster. It was from Obliviator headquarters. She broke the seal and read the letter quickly.

She blinked rapidly, trying to keep away tears. She cleared her throat. "You're--you're dismissed, Mr. McCoy," she said, voice trembling.

Ben wiped his fingers on his robe as the owl flew off. He looked at his professor seriously. "Are you all right, Professor MacKenzie?" he asked quietly.

She smiled fleetingly. "I'm fine. Thank you for your concern." She began to fuss with the items on her desk, not meeting her pupil's eye.

"All right. If you need any help, ma'am, I--"

"Not today, Ben. Go on. It's almost time for dinner." He nodded slightly and left.

Sarah stood and walked to the window. Closing it, she leaned her head against the cool glass, tears streaking down her face.

****

Severus Snape frowned. This was not unusual for him. Worrying about a colleague, however, was.

Perhaps 'worry' was too strong of a term. 'Wonder' may have been better. Sarah MacKenzie had not missed a single meal since she had arrived at Hogwarts, so Severus was wondering what could keep her tonight.

Scowling, he stood and stalked out of the Great Hall. He knew he wouldn't be able to rest until his curiosity was satisfied. No one noticed as he left.

****

He pushed open the trapdoor to the Divination classroom. He had been there only once while Sibyll was the professor--that had been more than enough. He looked around, taking in his surroundings. The current teacher had much better taste in decorating, he mused.

The professor he had been searching for was standing at the darkened window. "Lumos," he muttered. Candles around the room immediately lit.

Sarah spun around, wand out. Severus could see a piece of parchment crumpled in her hand. "Who's there?" she asked hoarsely, eyes not yet adjusted to the light.

"Why are you sitting here sulking in the dark?" he replied.

Sarah relaxed. "And you're one to talk?" she said. Severus snorted.

"Here," he said, handing her a handkerchief. She just looked at him. He shook the piece of cloth. "Take it."

Sarah accepted the proffered item. She threw the parchment onto her desk and wiped her eyes.

Severus took the letter and scanned it. "Do not tell me you were whining over this?"

Sarah glared at him. "Whining? They have no way of reversing my memory loss, Severus! I don't know if I have a family, friends, a career... anything... that I've left behind! I might be stuck here for the rest of my life!"

"Oh, quit sniveling. It says quite plainly that your memory could come back at any time. You have already begun the process yourself, have you not?"

"Well, yes, but--"

"Then get over it and move on. Your life is not over because of this. Most people would be ecstatic to have a job at Hogwarts," Severus said, his tone clearly relaying his disdain for such people.

"I do like it here, but... it's just not home to me," Sarah said dejectedly.

Severus sighed. "You will grow accustomed to that feeling. I am going to the kitchens; dinner is over by now. Please do not sulk in here all night." He stood and left.

"Severus, wait!" He stopped but did not turn around. "Could I join you? I'm a bit hungry myself."

He nodded stiffly. "If you wish."