The MAIM Project

Bones has a secret. A secret that her latest case with Booth will uncover. Crossover. BB

"Today is a great day," Professor Dumbledore began, tapping his spoon against his goblet to attract the attention of all the students. Tempe hushed Fiona, who is turn hushed their other friends, Cynbie and Alden. "I'm sure that you are all aware that You-Know-Who has been terrorising our world for far too long – in excess of seven years, should one care to measure it. His reign is, after all, the reason that many of you are here," at this point he eyed the table filled with children not yet at school age, all of whom were there only as a result of the Child Protection Act of 1976. "I have very good news for you all. Voldemort has been defeated. He will no longer be a threat to any of you."

Cries of what and how filled the hall. Tempe grinned. She had only been there for a month, and now that You-Know-Who was gone, they'd let her go home.

Silence followed Tempe's statement. Suddenly everyone was looking at her. "What? How?" Booth demanded instantly. Angela's face had morphed almost instantaneously into a sympathetic gaze.

Tempe mentally cussed, abruptly realising what Fiona's body being found meant. "Fiona was killed when we were both 20. We met when we were five, I went to school with her until I was thirteen. We kept in contact. Fiona was my best friend," her eyes gained a faraway look just thinking about the lost companion. Then, rather unnecessarily, she indicated the picture. "This is Fiona."

"How do you know she was killed when she was 20?" Booth pounced on it immediately, going straight into interrogation mode.

Tempe rolled her eyes and shook the veil of nostalgia from her back. "Well, for one, I examined her remains. Also, that's when she went missing."

Both looked suitably chastised as he muttered out an apology. "What else can you tell us? Do you know anything about any of the other victims? Who were the main suspects at the time?"

Tempe thought for a moment. "It was a gang hit. The Death Eaters." Her voice seemed detached. Booth and Angela allowed her a moment.

"Death Eaters, huh? Doesn't sound too friendly." Angela tried to give some levity to the situation. Her attempt flailed like a fish out of water and died. "Why would a gang have wanted to kill Fiona?" she tried to change the topic.

Tempe squeezed her eyes shut briefly, realising who she was talking to with Angela's enquiry. When no answer to her question was forthcoming, Angela repeated her question.

Booth put a hand on her arm. "Relax, Bones is going to answer the question." When there was no response from Tempe, he looked at her, "You are going to answer the question, right?" his voice wavered slightly, as if he were staring to doubt the validity of the statement.

A tear fell from the corner of her eye and she brushed it away, furious that she had let it escape in the first place. She opened her mouth and forced the words from her throat, half strangling them on their way out. "I can't."

Booth looked stumped. He watched, unsure of what to do while Angela comforted her best friend. She wrapped an arm around her shoulder and rubbed her back while the tears slipped out one by one. "Sweetie, just tell us. We aren't going to hate you or anything." She handed her a tissue.

Tempe mopped her face dry with the tissue and shook her head, her hair flicking around. She wiped a strand from her mouth. "No, really, I can't. I want to tell you, but I can't." Panic coloured her tone.

Booth and Angela exchanged a glance of concern that wasn't lost on Tempe. She decided to ignore it, and waited for their next question. "Tell us what you can, then."

There was silence as Tempe shook her head again. "There's nothing else I can tell you."

Booth slipped a glance at Angela. He tried a different line of questioning. "Tell us a bit about Fiona."

Tempe drew the picture towards her and reached for Angela's pencil. She turned it over, and rubbed out the skin tone. She picked up another pencil and began to shade in her face. "She had the palest skin you've ever seen. You could see her veins through it." She spoke slowly as she edited the picture. The grey blue eyes became brighter, more filled with life. Thick brown hair wrapped itself into plaits on either side of the head. "She always wore plaits. I've never seen her in anything different. She was one of those people who always looked exactly the same every time you looked at them, but never boring. She never even got a tan."

"So she spent a lot of time indoors?"

Tempe shook her head as she stared at the unmoving picture. "No. Her favourite pastime was sport, actually. She just didn't tan because of the weather. It was cold enough that it didn't have any effect on her skin tone. Scotland's a bit like that."

" Scotland?" Booth gave her a look, and Angela looked stunned as Tempe nodded.

"Our school was in Scotland. Every year on September first, we'd get the train there from London, and every year, Fiona almost missed it. She was never late for anything else, but she always nearly missed that train." Tempe let a melancholy laugh escape and she sighed. "When I turned fourteen, my parents decided that I needed to go to a more local school. I still spoke to Fiona once a week, if not several times. We lived in completely different countries and it was hard to find time between homework, school, sleeping and the time difference, but e managed it. Sometimes I even spoke to Cynbie and Alden, but not so much."

Tempe looked up at them both. "Booth, can you do me a favour?"

Booth nodded immediately. "Anything."

A smile twitched on Tempe's lips. "I need you to arrange a meeting between Cullen myself. Can you let him know that I will arrange for Madam Herron of the DMLE to be present?"

Booth nodded, confused at the instruction. "Just one thing, Bones," he said as she walked out the door.

She paused and looked at him. "What is it?"

"I need Fiona's full name."

Tempe nodded. "Fiona Rebecca Bones. Born 12 August, 1976" Booth stared after her, feeling slightly sickened.

All this time, he'd been calling her by the name of her dead friend. She'd asked him not to, but he did it anyway. He cursed mentally as the guilt set in. He pulled out his cell. "This is Agent Booth…"

"Fiona? You still awake?" Tempe sat up in the bed that was far too large for her. Fiona sat up in the one next to her. Cynbie, hearing the ruckus, slipped into consciousness. "I'm gonna miss you guys," Tempe told them.

They all agreed. Cynbie pulled them into a group hug. "I'm never gonna not be your friend,," she promised them. "You're the best friends ever."

"We'll keep in touch, till Hogwarts" Fiona agreed. "Do you swear?"

They all nodded, and clasped their hands together. "We swear." A pulse of light lit the room, but was gone as soon as it came. The three girls hugged.

"We go home tomorrow." Tempe stated. It was funny to think that she hadn't wanted to come. Now she was having trouble leaving. But she couldn't wait to see her Mom and Dad.

Authors Notes: I'm not very happy with this chapter. It just doesn't seem to flow as well as it could. And is it just me, or does everyone seem very out of character? Well, I guess I am making a very big leap with the whole Tempe is a witch thing anyway. So, drop me a line, tell me what you think of it. And, there was a mix up - I posted the wrong chapter, skipped two. SO I'm posting everythin up to hat chapter now. Sorry guys.