CHAPTER 66 - Enter the Nameless

Despite the uncertainty of the night before, Jenelle woke up the next morning feeling pretty fantastic. She easily disregarded Narcissa's little quips or Regulus' jabs at her boyfriend over breakfast, finding what little solace she could in Severus' dispassionate expression. Nothing was going to sour her mood.

The Slytherins wrecked their way through a solid amount of food and then split up for class. Jenelle breezed through the first few classes without much effort; DADA and Herbology. She had been hoping to see Remus in Herbology but wasn't surprised when he didn't show. It was something she had thought about divulging at dueling practice the night before. When Remus had said he would be busy the whole next day, and even when he had said he would try to find time to talk to her, Jenelle knew he couldn't.

She had always known he was a werewolf. How could she not? It was one of the defining moments for lycanthrope and wizard relationships after the Battle of Hogwarts when such a dedicated man had died for the cause…

Died. Why do I keep forgetting that? What does it seem like it could never conceivably happen?

But it would. That was the fate of the beautiful, fair-haired boy that she had come to develop feelings for. He would sacrifice his life for the sake of the wizarding world, beside the true love of his life.

The love of his life, who isn't me.

Having gotten herself into a rotten mood again, Jenelle dragged through the rest of the day. It was made worse by the fact that Sarah was nearly MIA; Jenelle hadn't seen her all day and could only imagine what she was up to. Possibly passing time in the Room of Requirement; she had sort of thrown herself into her studies after everything that happened between Severus and the Marauders. Even Jenelle was surprised when she heard that Sirius and her were taking a break.

Jenelle was pretty happy about it though. She had never been a big fan of the smooth talking Gryffindor. She didn't like the way the boy eyeballed Sarah like a piece of meat or insisted on humiliating her in public for his own amusement. She hated even more the way he pretended to be so far removed from the sort of people he was brought up with, but at the same time didn't seem to have any trouble beating up his fellow students when they looked at him the wrong way. Perhaps one day he really would become an amazing wizard, the infamous Godfather to the great savior of Europe, but right now, in this day and age, he was a downright bottom-feeding prick.

Alright, that may not be fair. Sarah does like him, for whatever reason, so he can't be all bad.

But because of the suave git, Jenelle never really got to see her best friend. So really, Sirius had a lot of catching up to do in her book.

Back to the situation at hand. She had made up with Remus and everything between them was great. Better than great. She had wanted so badly to reveal everything to him the night before. She even wanted him to know that she knew about his illness and that she could even help him. Not like the other Marauders of course, she wasn't an animagus. But she was a stellar DADA student and could hold her own against any student in a duel. That had to count for something, right? And she knew better than anyone what it meant to carry a secret like that around, praying that no one ever finds out, and at the same time wanting to shout it from the top of Ravenclaw tower.

As it happened, she couldn't say anything to him. There was simply too much going on that could implicate her and result in a premature send off back to her time. The Unspeakable, Spectre, had made it pretty clear that she and Sarah were to keep their mouths shut and not make any tangible changes to their surroundings.

Well, we've sort of been doing a shit job of that, but still.

As Jenelle made her way to her next class she was stopped in her tracks by a tall, very rounded figure.

"Professor Slughorn! I'm sorry, I almost ran into you," Jenelle yelped.

"Nothing at all to be concerned with, my dear. It would take an ornery hippogriff to knock me down I'm afraid!" Slughorn chuckled to himself and Jenelle noticed the ornate chains that held his assortment of pocket watches jingled as he did so.

"Was there something you needed from me, sir?" Jenelle asked, absentmindedly patting her stomach in hunger.

"Ah, indeed there is I'm afraid," Slughorn started. "I believe Headmaster Dumbledore would like to see you and Miss Yell-Waterbrook, in his office immediately." The man lifted his shoulders and stood upright, impressing upon Jenelle the seriousness of his request.

"Right now professor? It can't wait until after dinner?" Jenelle was many things, but calm in the face of hunger she was not.

"It cannot. I'm under strict orders from the Headmaster to bring you straight away. Professor McGonagall is currently tracking down your fellow Ilvermornian," Slughorn said authoritatively. He sounded far more like a professor now. And there was no way McGonagall was going to find Sarah if she was in the Room of Requirement, which meant Jenelle would have to go do it.

"Bring me sir? I know the way, you don't have to-"

"Indeed I do."

Jenelle looked into the man's dewy blue eyes and saw there wasn't going to be any wiggle room on this. No lighthearted joke about how hungry she was could do the trick. Which was disappointing, she had always managed to maneuver conversation so well with her Head of House. No leverage this time, it seemed.

"Alright, Professor. Will I need to bring anything? I've just dropped off my satchel-"

"Nothing at all! If you'd just follow me now, Miss Montagnard." And with that, Slughorn turned on his heels and started at a brisk pace down the corridor towards the Headmaster's office. Jenelle sighed internally and slumped her shoulders, trudging along behind with visions of honey ham dancing in her mind.

That is, until she turned her head to stare out the window at the dark, wintry night sky and saw the haze of a full moon behind the mass of clouds. Then her mind was with Remus and the Marauders, who were likely missing their own meals to help their friend, her love.

Love. Jenelle smiled to herself. Maybe I do love him.

The Headmaster's office was as organized in it's clutter as ever. Books lined every wall and wide glass cabinets encased the most intriguing artifacts. It looked like the inside of one of Diagon Alley's forbidden shops. On a golden pedestal next to the Headmaster's desk sat the crimson phoenix, Fawkes. Yet another character of Jenelle's education that enchanted the mind of many young witches and wizards at Ilvermorny. Jenelle had to pull her gaze away from the gilded creature as Dumbledore spoke in his slow, British drawl.

"Miss Montagnard, Miss Dubois I should say, there have been some recent developments regarding yours and Miss Yellowbanks's predicament that I should like to discuss with the two of you. Though it seems your fellow Ilvermornian is nowhere to be found."

Dumbledore raised a quizzical eyebrow at Jenelle who felt her palms begin to sweat under his stare. Of course she knew where Sarah was, and she was pretty sure that the Headmaster knew as well, but for whatever reason he was being coy about it and so she decided to play along.

"Well, um, perhaps she's in class?" Jenelle offered.

"That would be incorrect," Professor McGonagall chimed in, her voice slightly raspy, "I have reviewed Miss Yellowbanks's schedule and it seems she never attended her Care of Magical Creatures class this afternoon. Does that sound unusual to you, Miss Montagnard?"

Jenelle stifled a laugh and tried to put on her most serious expression. "Sarah would never miss a chance to play with furry animals, ma'am. But I think I might know where she is."

This time it was McGonagall's turn to raise an eyebrow, while Professor Slughorn seemed to ignore the whole conversation with his nose buried in one of Dumbledore's books on the landing above the office. Jenelle gave a pleading look to Dumbledore who seemed to see what she was getting at and blinked encouragingly.

"So we shall send you to go fetch your classmate. Though I must press upon you the importance of your return, Miss Dubois. There are some serious matters at hand and we are being pressed to a rather tight schedule-"

"A nearly uncompromising schedule, Headmaster," came a voice from the shadows behind Jenelle's chair. She whipped around at the sound and saw a tall, gruff looking man walk into the center of the room. He had a long beard, graying around the mouth, and sunken blue eyes that bore like fire into Jenelle's own. He wore a floor length robe that covered most of his clothing, but Jenelle could make out the crest of the MACUSA emblazoned on his belt buckle. There was a lot to suggest that he was a Nameless, an American Unspeakable, not least of which his presence that seemed to draw happiness from around him like a dementor.

Jenelle shuddered and slouched down in her chair. As she turned back to face Dumbledore she saw a familiar figure walk up behind the Headmaster's chair, placing a firm grip on the back of the throne. Spectre was also glaring down at her over a scrunched, pointy nose.

Jenelle felt cornered on all sides and was stricken with the severity of the situation. What she thought was going to be a simple update on their plans for the upcoming holiday seemed to be far more pressing than she had imagined. She definitely needed Sarah here for this, no matter what her friend was currently tied up with (and that better not be Black).

"I- I'll go get her, Headmaster. I promise I'll be right back," Jenelle offered in a low tone. She rose from her seat, conscious of the many eyes on her as she hurried down the low stairs to the exit. She passed the Nameless and though she knew herself to be rather tall, she was shocked at just how much taller the man was than her. He regarded her with the same harsh stare as she slipped by and hustled down the stone staircase to the main castle.

Sarah is going to flip. I don't think she's ever seen a Nameless either. Why would he be here in 1976? Does that mean we can also go back to our time? But what about returning to Ilvermorny and the Slug Holiday Party and finishing our studies for the year…?

What about saying goodbye?

Jenelle picked up her speed and sprinted through the halls, her shoes resounding heavily on the stone floor as she made her way to the Room of Requirement.