Chapter Two: Chats with the Team

It was official. Tim was going to lose his mind and his breakfast before he went anywhere near NCIS.

His talk last night had managed to soothe his frayed nerves well enough for him to get a few hours of sleep, but the moment the sunlight came filtering through his window the anxiety and queasiness returned. Tim had spent his whole life trying to keep his magic a secret. His father had repeatedly told him the story of his Great-Grandma Maria, who had told a boyfriend that she was a witch, and was dragged out of her home, tied to the back of a car, and was drug for nearly five miles before her boyfriend and his friends finally let her go. She had abandoned her home the same night and ran off to D.C. Tim had checked his family tree multiple times and hadn't found any record of a woman named Maria in there, but his father had been telling the story since he was six. He did fear telling anyone outside the Wizarding World.

He shook his head as he stepped out of his apartment. He didn't have anything to fear with the team. Abby would probably be angry with him for a little while because he didn't tell her, but that would eventually fade, leaving him to answer all her questions. He honestly looked forward to explain magic to her. If he had to list any muggle that would accept magic, Abby would probably be at the top of his list.

Tony would probably laugh at him at first. Claim that he was getting too wrapped up in his computer game and wanting to be the Elf Lord that he was in the game in real life. Tim figured he could cast the Zipper Lip Hex at Tony to make him see that he wasn't kidding. He chuckled as he remembered sending the same hex at Vincent when they were in school. Tony and Vincent were almost identical in their personalities, right down to the bad relationships with their fathers and the nicknames they made up for him. In the end, Tony would probably have his back, just like Vince did.

He couldn't decide if Ziva would be excited that he was a wizard or if she would try to kill him on the spot. He had heard that some agents of the Mossad immediately killed anyone with any sort of magical abilities. He didn't know if Ziva carried those views as well, but he hoped that, even if she did, she'd be able to overlook it and see her friend and not an enemy.

Gibbs… He couldn't decide how Gibbs would react. On one hand, he hated it when Tim lied to him. On the other he had reacted quite well too many other things that McGee had let slip. The most recent had been three weeks ago, when Gibbs decided to go on a job with him and Ziva and, when Tim when to take off his hoodie, he saw burn mark that Tim had gained when he was seven. His father had found an old branding iron and took it to his side. Gibbs had been furious when he learned what happened. Tim hadn't understood what the big deal was, his father, along with many other pureblood fathers, had done things like this and much worse when he was a kid. Now that there was a possibility that he was a father he understood a little better where Gibbs was coming from. He couldn't imagine putting a red hot branding iron onto his son's skin, much less doing anything to hurt him. He just didn't understand why Gibbs wanted to try and press charges two decades later, after Tim had already been beaten almost to death and disowned when he told his father that he had no intention of joining the Navy. It was too late, wasn't it?

He blinked when he realized that he had reached the NCIS building. He didn't remember getting into the car, much less the drive there. He shook his head as he took the keys out of the ignition. Driving required his full attention and his little stunt could have gotten him killed. Plus, it could have possibly made a little boy an orphan all over again.

That thought alone sent shivers down his spine and a deep feeling of dread to settle in his stomach. He was going to be a single father; he had been thinking about the boy to often to just let Petunia give him to an orphanage if the D.N.A. test proved opposite. Biological or not, he was going to raise little Harry. He was going to give him the life he never had, a life where his father loved him, no matter what.

Tim saw Tony first, as they had entered the elevator together. "Hey Probie!" Tony said, then taking in Tim's appearance, "Long night?"

Tim nodded, afraid that he'd blurt everything out to the senior agent. He wanted to explain to Gibbs first before he told the rest of the team. Clean-up would be much easier if it was only Gibbs. Plus, he really didn't fancy trying to Oblivate an ex-Mossad assassin. That would harder than trying to survive a Killing Curse, English or American version.

As they reached the bullpen, Tim remembered the first time he had heard Avada Kedavra. He had just turned twenty-one and he and Vincent decided to go to England. Their pen-pal, a man by the name of Frank, had been fighting in the First Wizarding War and both had wanted to come and help. They hadn't been on English soil for five minutes before they were ambushed. Barely dodging the bright green curses, they managed to Apparate away to Frank's. Frank's mother had hurried them inside, taking them to the then nineteen-years-old's room.

Both Americans had been completely terrified and shaken by their encounter. Frank had to spend nearly three hours calming them down before he could explain the curse. Then the boys had to explain to Frank their version of the Killing Curse, Momento Mortis, and the part that made it different than Avada Kedavra, its counter-curse, Restitue Animam. The counter-curse only worked up to five minutes after death, but it was better than nothing back then.

Tim struggled to focus on his paper work as his boss stepped off the elevator. He looked up at the Director's office, noticing that Vance was watching him with rapt attention. The man next to him made Tim relax slightly. Vincent hadn't been lying when he said that he would be at NCIS. He gave a small smile at his friend, getting a wink and two thumbs up in return. Shaking his head, but grinning all the same, he wondered how he had managed to become friends with the class clown and keep him after all these years.

"Gibbs, McGee, my office, now!" Vance shouted, causing Tim to jump out of his seat. He glowered at Vince before moving quickly out of the bullpen. He knew that his boss knew exactly what this was about and he refused to make him upset by keeping everyone waiting. Tim just wanted to get this over with.

Vance's office was quiet as he and Gibbs entered. Eye contact was briefly made between Tim and Vince, revealing Tim's fear. The older wizard gave a brief smile, succeeding in calmer the younger to a degree. Gibbs planted his hand on Tim's shoulder, causing the agent to jump, but relaxed again once he saw the comforting smile on his boss' face. "Mr. Smith here says you have something to share with us Agent McGee." Vance said, giving Tim the death stare.

"Yes sir."

"Why haven't you told us earlier McGee?" Vance asked.

Vincent spoke up this time. "He didn't have our permission Director." He said, throwing a glance at his friend, "It's very vital that this information stays between us and whoever else Agent McGee decides to involve. What he has to share has led to the deaths of millions of men, women, and children for over hundreds of years. If anyone he shares this too tries to eliminate him from the living they will be handled accordingly."

This was the Vincent that McGee was terrified of, the 'no-nonsense' and 'death threats' Vincent. It was the reason he worked so hard to stay out of trouble and keep his old friend calm. Vincent didn't make threats, he kept promises. He had killed a man for trying to hurt Tim before; he had no reason that he wouldn't now.

Vance looked fairly intimated by the man in front of him. He looked over to Tim for confirmation and the agent could only nod. Sighing, he turned his attention back to Vincent. "You have my word that I will not let any harm befall Agent McGee because of what is said behind these doors."

Vincent looked at Gibbs. "McGee is my agent," Gibbs said, "and his safety comes before any of my opinions."

"Go on Tim."

Tim startled at the sound of Vince's voice. As much as he wanted to tell Gibbs and Vance, the fear from all of the stories his father had told him held true. He was terrified of how they would react. If they reacted badly, years of hard work and dedication would be lost.

And if he didn't tell them now, the result would be the same.

Tim swallowed his fears and locked his eyes with Vincent's. He would be his anchor and make sure he didn't back out. Or speak for him where it got to difficult. Either way Vincent had his six.

"For hundreds for years, there have been two types of people in the world, the mundane and the magical…"

Tim's explanation lasted for hours. He barreled through the Statue of Secrecy and didn't flinch when he told the story of how it came into effect. He explained the different societies of witches and wizards, from the medieval British community to the modern society of the United States. He let Vincent explain the politics and resumed the explanation when they reached the First Wizarding War. He explained the ruthless ways of Voldemort, though he refused to say the name again, and how many purebloods sided with him. Tim started shaking when he told them that he was a pureblood, but had refused to follow his father's ways and had been disowned. He continually told how he hadn't believed anything that the purebloods or You-Know-Who's beliefs, until his boss head slapped him and told him to calm down and continue. The young man finished with the summer he met Lily and how that had ended to the letter he had received last night.

The room was silent as he moved onto the actual casting of magic. He cast his Patronus, which had changed over the years to resemble a German Shepard and showed his Animangus form, which was an owl, a Spectacled Owl to be exact. Tim and Vincent had a small duel which resulted in Tim being stunned and Vincent to had frog feet. Both men had laughed at Vincent, but Gibbs had demanded that Tim be 'returned to normal as soon as possible.'

The room fell into silence again as the four men took in the information. Tim was shaking and feeling nauseous. Vincent had his hand on Tim's shoulder but it wasn't helping. The only thing that could get Tim to feel normal again was a confirmation from his boss that he didn't care what Tim was, that he was still a valued member of his team. Then he jumped when he heard the one thing he hadn't expected. Laughter.

Gibbs was laughing after learning that his agent was a wizard.

Everyone stared at Gibbs. Tim was honestly wondering if his boss had gone crazy. Gibbs looked at Tim and gave him the largest grin that he had every graced his leader's face. "This doesn't really bother me McGee." He said, "DiNozzo's one too."

Tim felt like fainting. Tony was a wizard too? He must have gone to a different school, because he would have clearly remembered him going to Salem is he had. Tony was only four years his senior, he most definitely would have seen him for two or three years.

"Ziva?" Tim asked. "Does she know?"

"Yes and she doesn't care."

"Abby?"

"She's a squib."

"Ducky?"

"His brother was a muggleborn."

"Jimmy?"

Gibbs had to think on that one. "No, but I believe that Ducky plans to tell him sometime next week."

Tim visibly relaxed after that. He didn't have to be afraid of the team rejecting him! Well, now Tony was probably go to force him into duels, but that was welcomed compared to all the scenarios that had previously occupied his mind. He could prove to Tony that he was a competent wizard. He hadn't gone through Auror training before joining Norfolk for no reason.

Vincent was smiling gleefully. "Alright!" he shouted, "Now that that's out the way, you can tell the rest of your team and after work I'll show you your surprise!"

Tim looked slightly apprehensive about this development. The last time Vincent had said that he had a surprise for him he had ended up with bright green hair for a month and got a severe case of the stomach flu. "What surprise Vince?" he asked.

"If I know you, and I do know you McGee, you're going to take this kid in whether he's yours or not." Vince said smiling like a child who had just found out his school had been canceled all week, "So I took the liberty of taking care of some problems for you!"

"Are you insane?"

"No, I'm just going to be the best godfather ever!"

Tim shook his head before walking out of the Director's office with Gibbs. "Why didn't you tell me before McGee?" Gibbs asked.

"Deep settled fear instilled by my father."

Gibbs face contorted from worry and confusion to anger and rage. McGee flinched, which caused Gibbs to rein in his temper, but he could still see the homicidal urge in his boss' eyes. "Your father deserves to rot in Hell McGee."

"I know Boss."

The moment they walked into the bullpen Ziva and Tony started shouting questions. Tim unconsciously slipped behind his boss, causing the older man to give a small smirk. Tim trusted Gibbs to help him and that made him happier than anything else.

"QUIET DOWN!"

Both Agents went dead silent when they heard their boss yell. Tim flinched a little, but he knew none of his anger was directed at him. Gibbs was just getting frustrated.

Gibbs looked at DiNozzo. "Looks like you're not the only wizard on this team DiNozzo." He said before stalking off, most likely to find some coffee.

Tony and Tim stared at each other for a few minutes before Tim finally found his voice. "I understand if you're upset with me Tony." Tim said, suddenly feeling small and alone, "I should have told you a lot sooner and…"

"McGee, shut up."

Tim started smiling when he noticed Tony's grin. "You think I care that you didn't tell me, McSecrets?" he said, "Let's remember that I didn't tell you either. We're both at fault here Probie."

Tim threw a quick glance at Ziva, who gave him a small smile. "I am not like the other members of the Mossad McGee," she said, "I refuse to kill someone just because they were born with an ability I wasn't."

Tim was going to reply but was engulfed by an over-enthusiastic Goth. "Timmy, you're a wizard?" Abby screeched. "Why didn't you tell me? I would have been totally cool with it!"

"Abigail, please allow young Timothy here to breathe." Ducky said as he stepped off the elevator with Gibbs. "I am sure he had every intention of telling you when he was ready."

Abby detached herself and gave him a small peck on the cheek. "Gibbs said you needed a D.N.A. test done?" she asked.

"Yeah, I do."

"Just bring down the samples when you have them McGee."

"Thanks Abby."

Tim looked until he spotted the clock. It was already 22:00! Had it really taken him the entire day to explain the Wizarding World to Gibbs and Vance?

"Go McGee." Gibbs said, "We'll see you tomorrow."

McGee nodded his thanks and waved goodbye before rushing to his car.

If Vincent thought that he was going to cook and make Tim eat it, he had another thing coming!