Chapter One: Broken Secret

Author note: This story is the thirty-second in the Magical Flashpoint series. It follows "The Sergeant and the Gryphon Cub".

Although all original characters belong to me, I do not own Flashpoint, Harry Potter, Narnia, or Merlin.

Jules swapped Donna's cuffs for her runic cuffs on Helen Smith, also taking the opportunity to pull Smith's arms behind her back; the sniper/negotiator was determined that neither Smith sister was going to get another chance to inflict any more damage than they already had. Once the cuffs were swapped, she handed Donna back her cuffs and eyed the scene at the briefing table with growing concern.

Lance was hovering over his seated uncle as Auror Simmons pushed up Sarge's pants leg to see his injury better. Ed, on the Boss's opposite side, cringed as they all regarded Parker's injured leg; somewhere between getting thrown into the wall and the explosion, a chunk had been taken out of the Sergeant's left calf muscle, leaving a very nasty injury that was bleeding profusely. How her boss had been able to stand up, Jules didn't know. The constable shuddered; an injury like that could spell the end of her Sergeant's career.

Simmons swore softly under his breath as he regarded the damage. The wizard pulled his wand, and, tracing it over the injury, cast, "Vulnera Sanentur (1)." The blood flow slowed, but did not halt, even after Simmons cast his spell twice more. The Auror let out a frustrated oath and his shoulders slumped. "We'll have to get you to the hospital, Sergeant Parker; that's the most powerful healing spell I know."

"I can heal it," Lance offered, a mix of tentativeness and assertiveness in his expression.

Auror Simmons grunted, unimpressed by the claim. "You haven't even finished school and your wand's been broken," he pointed out gruffly.

Lance ignored that, focusing on his uncle instead. "I can heal it," he repeated, quiet confidence in his statement.

Pain was evident in Sarge's eyes, but he evaluated his nephew carefully. "You've already used quite a bit of magic today," he observed. The teen inclined his head in acknowledgement of that point, but his expression turned steady and confident. "Are you sure?" the Boss asked.

"Yes." Without waiting for anything more, Lance knelt, resting his right hand on the Sergeant's leg, just above the injury. "Thurhhaele (2)," he murmured, his voice soft, but direct and to Jules' surprise, her boss's leg glowed gold for an instant; when the gold faded, there was, beyond the dried blood and his uniform's torn pants leg, no sign that he'd even been injured at all. Startled exclamations came from almost everyone else in the room and Jules noticed that Helen Smith tensed at the sight of the golden magic.

Auror Simmons was the most astonished; he carefully prodded at Sarge's leg without asking, whistling under his breath and tossing Lance a look that was both impressed and fearful. "What was that?" he inquired, a wary expression on his face.

The teen shrugged, not seeming to notice the wariness in the Auror's posture. "Old Magic," he replied simply. Cocking his head to the side, he volleyed a question of his own back. "Why?"

Maria Smith laughed bitterly, pulling attention to her at once. " 'Why'?" she mocked before spitting, "Only a little freak Wild Mage like you would use the Old Religion."

"That's enough," Auror Simmons snapped, incidentally cutting Lance's retort off as the Auror pushed himself upright and gave the woman an angry glare. Looking down to a still seated Sergeant Parker – who was also frowning at Smith – he remarked, "I trust that you can get your fellow officers signed onto the Official Secrets Act?"

Parker shifted and stood himself, grimacing a little as his sore left leg took his weight. "I'll take care of it," he promised. "And these two?"

Auror Simmons gave the Smith sisters grim looks. "They're headed right back where they came from," he growled. "Auror Division lockup." He strode towards them, then paused, looking over at Lance. "Heir Calvin?"

Lance tilted his head to the side, studying the Auror's face for a few moments. "Yes?" he finally asked.

"I'm sorry." Without explaining his cryptic statement, Auror Simmons collected both Smith witches and Disapparated away with them.

Lou was a bit unnerved by what he'd noticed of Auror Simmons' behavior after it became obvious that Lance was, in fact, a Wild Mage. Wary, cautious, and careful to keep from making any movements, threatening or otherwise, in Lance's direction. And very formal, even after Lance had given the Auror permission to call him by his first name. In short, Simmons had acted like a man confronted with an animal he feared would bite him at the least little provocation.

Without being asked and mentally puzzling over Simmons' behavior, the less-lethal specialist headed for the locker room to retrieve the Official Secrets Act forms and detoured to Commander Holleran's office. A quick knock on the commander's office door produced the expected call to, "Enter."

Lou pushed the door open and stuck his head in. "Sir, Team Three just found out."

Holleran looked up from his paperwork, an expression of wary caution flashing across his face. "Found out what?"

In response, Lou waved the stack of Official Secrets Act forms and added, "Also, um, the briefing room's wall should probably get checked out."

Halfway through standing, Commander Holleran paused. "And why would that be, Constable Young?"

Lou winced and moved inside the office, closing the door behind him. Briskly, he explained what had just occurred and how Team Three had discovered magic's existence. The less-lethal officer left out his boss's injury and Auror Simmons' attitude towards Lance, but did inform his superior that the De-Aging Potion on the teen had run its course.

Commander Holleran frowned, considering his constable; he could tell that Young had left a few details out, but the commander opted to deal with the immediate issues and deal with whatever Young was holding back later. "Is everyone in the briefing room?" he inquired.

"Yes, sir," Lou confirmed.

Holleran nodded and shooed the constable out of his office, closing the door behind them. "I'll speak with Team Three and finish briefing them on the wizarding world and your team can figure out how to handle the fact that two witches attacked us on our turf."

"Yes, sir," Lou agreed, though his shoulders tensed. He wasn't sure why, but he had a bad feeling about where this situation was going…

Simmons dragged the Smith sisters into the Auror Division's holding area, fuming at just how close the siblings had come to executing his fellow Aurors. Spying a nearby guard, he barked, "Get these two processed and put into cells. And next time an advocate and a suspect's family member show up with a demand to move a suspect into a conference room, make sure you bloody well search them for Portkeys first!"

So saying, he all but hurled the sisters at the hapless guard and stalked away to find the jail's administrator. Once he found the wizard, he gave the idiot a piece of his mind, informing the wizard – in a calm, yet frigidly icy tone – that if he couldn't keep up the Anti-Portkey wards that should have been on both the cells and the conference rooms, then maybe the Auror Division would have to find itself another jail administrator.

Once Simmons was done venting his temper, he swept out of the holding area and headed back toward the Division's bullpen to find out how the press conference had gone. As he walked, he considered how to word his report to Madame Locksley; she was almost certain to ask why one of Team One's largest critics was being so firm in his defense of them.

In truth, the answer was quite simple: Simmons regarded his criticism of Team One as an in-house issue. Inside the Auror Division, Simmons was willing – and very able – to criticize Team One as much as he pleased, but take one step outside the Auror Division and Simmons was one of the first to close ranks and protect his own.

As much as he disliked Team One, they were still fellow Aurors and Senior Auror Simmons respected them for taking their oath to protect and serve just as seriously as he did. Because they were fellow Aurors, he was willing to guard their backs just as he would any other. None of this meant he liked them; quite the reverse, actually; but he would sooner resign from a job he loved than betray another Auror.

With a sigh, Auror Simmons ran one hand through his hair and entered the Auror Division bullpen. Almost immediately, he spied Aurors Onasi and Lane in Madame Locksley's office and headed in that direction himself. Entering the office, he found himself the center of attention as the two Aurors and Madame Locksley all swung in his direction.

"My brother?" Lane questioned anxiously.

"He's fine, they're all fine," Simmons replied, turning his attention to Onasi. His voice turned hard and he growled, "Tell me you didn't know Calvin's a Wild Mage."

"A Wild Mage?" Madame Locksley demanded incredulously.

Lane looked puzzled while Onasi's expression was grim, but steadfast. "What difference would it have made, sir? It's not like Heir Calvin can help what he is, what kind of magic he was born with."

"You know what Wild Mages are," Simmons snapped angrily, whirling to pace back and forth in Locksley's small office.

Onasi didn't pull back; he gave Simmons a deadly return glare. "What I know is that neither of those two kids are a threat – not unless you're stupid enough to attack someone they care about and then all bets are off." The Auror crossed his arms, his eyes defiant. "So what exactly did Heir Calvin do that tipped you off, sir?"

Simmons deflated a bit and mumbled, "He healed Parker's leg with the Old Religion."

Lane snorted. "That's it?" he mocked. "The kid heals his uncle's leg and you hit the roof?"

"Roy, shut up," Onasi ordered, drawing a surprised, hurt look from his partner. Focusing on Simmons, Onasi questioned, "What are you going to do?"

"You would have us hide the existence of two Wild Mages, Auror Onasi?" Madame Locksley inquired sharply; Lane's expression turned startled at the hard edge in Locksley's voice and Simmons was prepared to bet his annual salary that Onasi hadn't told Lane about any of the history behind Wild Mages.

"Neither of them have done anything wrong," Onasi argued. "And they're both Heirs of an Ancient and Noble family."

"It's not up to us," Simmons interrupted; he turned away and his voice was heavy. "The Smith sisters saw him use the Old Religion; they know he's a Wild Mage."

Silence fell; Lane fidgeted at the horrified look on his partner's face. Then Onasi whipped around to Locksley. "You can't let the Division of Mysteries get a hold of him, ma'am. Merlin only knows what they'd do with a full Wild Mage in their custody."

Madame Locksley pinched the bridge of her nose, breathing out slowly. "Regardless of what the Unspeakables would or would not do, we cannot suppress the existence of a full Wild Mage – much less two – from the public."

"You know what that would do," Auror Onasi hissed, dismay written across his face. "They'll be ostracized, treated worse than werewolves."

"That may be so, Auror Onasi, but you know the law as well as I do. If a Wild Mage is discovered and confirmed, their existence must be disclosed to the public, lest their anonymity endanger the community in which they reside." Madame Locksley sighed, her regret clear and she added, "You and Auror Lane are excused; go to SRU headquarters and tell Parker what's going to happen. If, after this, he and his people wish to end their association with our world, there will be no repercussions."

Simmons cleared his throat. "Ma'am, I don't think that's going to work right now. In the process of attacking Team One, the Ladies Smith broke the Statute of Secrecy in front of SRU Team Three." Shifting uncomfortably, he continued, "When I left, Team One was explaining the wizarding world and getting Team Three signed onto the Official Secrets Act. Until Team Three is established and trained, I don't think we can afford to let Team One pull out."

Madame Locksley drummed her fingers on her desk, an expression of distaste on her face. After a minute or so of thinking, she nodded to herself and looked up. "An excellent point, Auror Simmons. However, I cannot and will not expect Auror Sergeant Parker to choose between his wards and this division. My decision stands."

Turning towards Onasi and Lane, she met their eyes. "While I understand your motives in keeping Heir Calvin's secret, I cannot let your actions pass without punishment. Once you have informed Team One of my decision regarding Heir Calvin, you are relieved of duty for the next three weeks. This does not apply to your duties in the 12th Division, mind you, but I don't want to see hide or hair of either of you until your punishment is over."

"Yes, ma'am," Auror Onasi gritted out; Auror Lane looked just as angry, but he followed his partner out the door without a word of protest, though his stiff, rigid stance spoke volumes.

Once they were gone, Madame Locksley turned to Auror Simmons. "Prepare a press release about the Heirs Calvin and their identity as Wild Mages."

"Yes, ma'am. And the Smiths?"

Locksley allowed a moue of distaste. "See that they are charged with attempted murder; one count for each Auror they tried to kill. Also one count against Helen Smith for suppressing a Wild Mage's magic."

"What about the kidnapping, line theft, and breaking a minor's wand?" Auror Simmons inquired.

"Drop them," Locksley ordered sadly. "None of that is illegal when the victim is a confirmed Wild Mage."

Simmons inclined his head, accepting the orders as he turned to the door. In the doorway, he paused, looking back at his superior. "Doesn't seem right," he remarked, meeting her eyes.

Madame Locksley didn't respond until her Auror left, closing the door behind him. Then she looked down at her desk, her eyes stinging with regret. "No," she admitted to the empty room, "It's not."

[1] Latin for 'may the wounds be healed'

[2] Old English for 'heal thoroughly'