Here is a story I started over 2 years ago and have never been able to finish. It's a Criminal Minds/Harry Potter crossover.
Title: Wild
Summary: They took and took and took… the Wizarding world took nearly everything she loved. Father, husband… innocence. She hated them all, they could burn in hell for all she cared.
AN: To clear up any confusion in the outset, Emmeline Vance and Emily Prentiss are the same person. In the Wizarding world she's Emmeline Vance and in the muggle world she's Emily Prentiss.
Part 1 - The Damage
London
1st June 1976
"Daddy?"
Caius Vance glanced up from his reading of the Daily Prophet to see a tiny pale hand gripping the door frame and dark brown eyes peering through too long bangs at him.
"Little Emmeline… what are you doing out of bed?" he put the paper to the side and beckoned his daughter to him. Slowly her entire body eased around the door frame until she was entirely in view, standing for another few seconds she stared at him before running across the room and throwing herself into his lap.
"Is Mommy here yet?" she mumbled into her father's chest.
"Soon my girl…" he ran a soothing hand up and down her back "Go to sleep and when you wake in the morning she will be here."
When Elizabeth had been sent to Northern Ireland, no matter how short the time neither of them were comfortable taking their 5 year old daughter into what equated to a warzone. They had decided instead it was time for Caius to introduce their daughter to his home.
The four weeks had been hard for both of them without their wife and mother but they survived. After nearly 10 years away from Britain, Caius had no idea just how bad things were, his home was at war and the Vances despite being a not so ancient and a not so noble house were still old and respected… known… after a single day in Diagon Alley Caius had not taken Emmeline back into the magical world.
After graduating Hogwarts Caius wanted to see the world… not just the magical world but the muggle world as well. The Vance's were one of the few magical families to make sure their children had a solid grounding in the muggle world. He'd somehow ended up giving a car ride to a group of young women in upstate New York and decided to attend the music festival they'd been heading to.
Just about to start her Senior year at college Elizabeth Prentiss had been convinced by her friends to have one last big weekend and agreed to attend Woodstock.
That weekend Caius Vance had stolen her heart and from that moment he happily followed her anywhere she went.
Finding out about Emmeline's impending arrival after only 6 months together had been a shock, Elizabeth had panicked… Caius had smiled and kissed her lightly.
'Finish your degree, go out and change the world… I'll keep the home fires burning for you!'
6 years on Caius was more than content to stay with Emmeline and tutor her in every subject he could think of. Combining all sorts of subjects to be a blend of magical and muggle, making sure his daughter could thrive in either world. As a Vance, Emmeline had been placed on the Hogwarts list as soon as her first bout of accidental magic had been recorded but he and Elizabeth were debating the merits of continuing to home school her. Caius hadn't told her yet but given the state of affairs in the wizarding world he wasn't keen for Emmeline to be exposed to that. They were at war… and he was eager to get out of London before they drew anyones attention.
Most of the time they followed Elizabeth to wherever she was assigned, their time in London was the exception and not the rule. When Elizabeth had called to confirm she was finished in Ireland and was being sent on a two year assignment to Geneva he was relieved. The war wouldn't touch Emmeline there.
Feeling sleep take over the little body Caius stayed where he was cuddling her close… she was growing up and soon would be too old to cuddle with Daddy when she couldn't sleep.
Between the dark room and late hour it wasn't long before Caius joined her.
Sometime around 2am a series of cracks echoed around the outside of the house… four figures in black robes and white masks. Their orders were simple, kill the blood traitor Vance and his mongrel half blood.
The simple muggle house seemed to have no magical protection… from the outside they could find no wards or detection spells.
Inside the house was a different story, Caius was immediately woken by the ping of the ward that detected someone stepping foot on the grounds.
Standing with Emmeline still cradled fast asleep against him he made his way to the master bedroom and pressed her hand against the locking rune hidden in the door keying it to Emmeline… it was an old family rune, not spoken of or shared with anyone outside the Vance family.
They were free to come and go, as was Elizabeth but anyone not directly related to Emmaline would not be able to pass. No spells would be able to get through either… Laying her in the middle of the giant bed she was nearly lost in the sea of blankets and pillows. Pressing his own hand to another Vance family rune on the bed a shield snapped up around her. Until all trespassers had left the grounds Emmeline couldn't leave the bed. The perfect safe place for a young child… a room no one could get into and a bed they couldn't leave.
Making sure she was safe and hidden from view of the doorway Caius flicked his wrist and his wand popped out.
Stepping back out into the hallway he didn't have a moment to register surprise at the robed figure bearing down.. He didn't have time to react when a voice screamed out 'Diffindo'
The curse was aimed true and struck down his chest pushing him backwards as blood started to spill down his chest… he fell just short of the doorway and safety when another figure appeared and pointed their wand.
Their spell was shouted at the same time as Emmeline was woken by the noise and peeked her head into view to see what the commotion was.
'Crucio'
Caius and Emmeline screamed at the same time… one from pain the other from fear.
Emmeline would never be able to tell anyone how long she sat there and watched her father writhe and scream in pain... Blood was pouring out of the wound in his chest… soon it began to seep from his eyes and ears as the pain overloaded his body…
It took him 45 minutes to die… his 5 year old daughter watching the entire time… screaming for him… terrified…
The four men approached the bedroom door and attempted to pass, they made a few token efforts to get through, cast a few common spells and then gave up.
At 3:23 am the dark mark appeared over the Vance home for all to see.
Emmeline felt the moment the bed released its hold on her and fell bloodying her nose in her haste to get to her father.
"Daddy…?" she placed her hands on his chest and shook to wake him up "Daddy?" it wasn't working "Daddy wake up…" this always worked.
"Daddy wake up…!" she sobbed "Daddy I'm scared…"
Uncaring of the blood, Emmeline lay on the chest that had always been warm and safe and comfortable…
2 hours later Elizabeth finally arrived home to find the Dark Mark still floating in the sky and Aurors trying to coax her screaming blood covered daughter from her dead father's arms.
Her magic was flaring wildly with her terror, lashing out at any stranger that got too close, Elizabeth heard one of them muttering something about stunning the child.
When Elizabeth stepped into view Emmeline stared at her for a moment before passing out from fear and exhaustion.
When the Auror's filled Elizabeth in on the meaning of the dark mark and why Caius and Emmeline had been targeted she sucked in a ragged breath.
Why hadn't Caius warned her? Why would he even bring Emmeline to London if he knew this was happening.
He wouldn't… Caius would never bring their daughter somewhere that wasn't safe, it was the whole reason they hadn't gone to Ireland with her…
With the hall and bedroom a crime scene they were in Emmeline's bedroom, Elizabeth clutching her sleeping daughter. A healer had been summoned and quickly fixed Emmeline's nose and noted she hadn't been touched by a spell but she'd exhausted herself.
"Let her sleep for now…" the Healer cast a quick evanesco getting rid of the blood, she patted Elizabeth's hand gently before leaving the room.
Sliding down the bed, Elizabeth put her back to the door and curled her body around Emmeline's to keep her safe…
"Mommy…?" a tiny voice whispered as the sun was starting to rise.
"I'm here my Em…" Elizabeth pulled her in tighter.
"Is Daddy awake yet?" Emmeline shivered violently.
Tears burned and spilled over Elizabeth's face as she pulled a blanket up to cover them. What were they going to do without Caius? How was she going to explain to Emmeline what had happened… barely a day had gone by since her birth that Emmeline and Caius hadn't been together. To have him ripped away like this… her thoughts were interrupted by a light tap at the door.
"Is she awake?" a blonde woman with a monocle stood there, her face full of compassion.
It started almost immediately, the air around them charged up and Elizabeth's hair stood on end as Emmeline clenched her eyes shut.
The woman's eyes went wide enough for the monocle to drop and a quiet crack echoed through the room as a spark of uncontrolled magic arced towards the door. A quiet whisper met Elizabeth's ears.
"Bad… bad… bad… bad… bad… bad… bad… bad… bad" Emmeline chanted… with every repeat the words got louder and the magic got stronger.
"Leave!" Elizabeth hissed "All of you… get out of our house and our lives."
The woman backed away and gathered her Auror's and left as requested but not before leaving a note for Elizabeth outlining how to get in contact with her and warning her to get out of the country as soon as possible.
With the blood cleaned off, Elizabeth stripped Emmeline down and changed her into fresh pajamas and wrapped her in a blanket before calling the London Embassy and requesting a pick up.
Once there she demanded a Doctor be called to check Emmeline and a meeting with the Ambassador, all the while Emmeline was clutched in her arms, still wrapped in the blanket. As they passed a Marine Elizabeth felt Emmeline tense up in fear and she caught him stepping back away from them in surprise.
Elizabeth speeds up to get past him and to the room she's being ushered into by the Ambassadors secretary.
Explaining the events she arrived back in London to are easier than she thought it would be. The Ambassador was wielding unexpected knowledge of the magical world and its current war and managed to fill Elizabeth in on a few more things. The Vance's were apparently a notoriously neutral family who refused to take sides as long as they were left alone.
A physician arrives and checks Emmeline over and much the same as the healer declares her healthy but exhausted.
"Just let her sleep and when she wakes up make sure she gets a good meal." gentle hands run over the nearly black hair.
12 hours after getting home to find her husband dead, Elizabeth and Emmeline Vance disappeared and Elizabeth and Emily Prentiss got on a plane back to Washington.
Elizabeth never asked how Ambassador Golding managed to get Caius' body released and shipped to Washington or how he managed to push through the name change on everything so quickly but she will be forever grateful.
Emily clings to her, day and night, screaming in fear whenever she can't see her mother.
By the time Elizabeth's father arrives for the funeral she is on her last legs, exhausted and grieving not just her husband but her daughter as well.
Her little Em, who danced around the house with her dolls, going on adventures with them, making up stories... was just gone and a husk had taken her place.
Smiles were non-existent and the laughing brown eyes were permanently changed to terror.
Pushing through the front doors of the State Department the Wednesday after returning to Washington, Elizabeth kept her stride slow enough for Emily to easily keep up as their hands were locked together.
The assignment to Geneva was still available to her, and she was still going to take it. Caius was everywhere in their house in Washington and Elizabeth wanted them to have a fresh start.
Maybe if she couldn't hide in her father's dressing gown and shirts Emily would start to come out of her shell.
With a shaky breath Elizabeth placed Emily in a chair outside her bosses office and crouched down so they were eye to eye.
"Em…" she waited patiently for Emily to make eye contact. "Can you please be brave for me?"
Elizabeth could see Emily's thoughts and feelings on the matter… bravery was in short supply.
"I need you to be very brave and stay in this chair" Elizabeth continued "Look over my shoulder and into the room, there's a chair there. The door will be open and I'll be sitting in the chair, you'll be able to see me the whole time…"
Emily nodded slowly as she eyed the distance between her chair and the chair her mother indicated she would be sitting in.
She didn't like it, it was too far away. She wanted to say so but then she looked back at her Mommy and nodded again.
Emily could see her mother was tired and sad… she missed Daddy as well. Nodding again Emily clenched her jaw.
"I can be brave…" she whispered.
The day they buried Caius it was uncomfortably hot.
Summer was nearly at its peak and the sun beat down on them mercilessly.
Seated between her mother and grandfather Emily held herself rigid in confusion as sweat gathered and dripped down the small of her back, neck and forehead.
Her mother let go of her hand and stepped forward to stand at the head of the coffin… she spoke about how much he loved them. How he delighted in telling people about his wife and daughters accomplishments… when Elizabeth laid a hand on the coffin and bowed her head Emily realised what it meant. Mommy had tried to explain it, Daddy had died and they were saying goodbye today… but they weren't.
Daddy was in the box.
Shaking her head Emily tugged on her Grandfathers jacket.
"Daddy shouldn't be in the box…" she whispered, big brown eyes red rimmed and spilling tears.
"Oh Emme...:" he plucked her out of the chair and into his lap hoping to keep her calm. He knew Elizabeth wouldn't be able to keep going with Emily getting more and more upset.
"I don't want Daddy in the box…" her voice grew a little louder.
"Shhh… I know…" despite the heat he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her slight form tightly to his chest.
"No Papa…" she squirmed trying to get down "Daddy wake up…"
Elizabeth paused mid-sentence unable to keep speaking with her daughter's distress so clear and vivid.
"Daddy wake up… Daddy get up... "
It was then Andre realised Emily wasn't with them anymore… like the terrors that ruled their nights she was stuck back in her parents bedroom watching her father die.
Standing with her still clutched in his arms, Andre made his way out of the crowd, he could feel every eye on him as Emily continued to squirm and kick in his arms calling for her Daddy to wake up.
"Caius told me all the time that Em and I were his world…" Elizabeth pushed on her eyes still firmly on her father and daughter "and he was ours… years ago we promised to love, honour and cherish each other. Caius, I'm making a new vow here and now, I will protect and love our daughter. I will teach her everything you wanted her to know, the beauty of the world, the possibilities it contains. I promise she will know you, Emily will know she is precious to us."
In the distance Emily's heartbroken sobs could still be heard...
Elizabeth regarded the young assistant she'd been assigned. Julie was a strange one… she seemed so organised and competent, once she knew what she was looking for the woman could find just about anything. The strange thing was she didn't always know what Elizabeth was talking about… it was similar to when she and Caius had first met… then there was Emmel… Emily's reaction to the young woman. Now Elizabeth always knew when a magic user was close. Emily would close in on herself, the air around her would start to crackle as her magic instinctually lashed out to protect her.
"Close the door" Elizabeth instructed her.
When they were seated, Elizabeth behind her desk, Julie in front, Elizabeth contemplated how to approach the subject.
"She can't control it, can she?" Julie broke the silence first.
"No… any time a magic user is close… It's instinctual. Are you aware of the current conflict in Britain?"
Julie's eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open. Everyone in the magical community knew about the war.
"Emily's father was a Wizard and they were visiting London while I was working in Ireland. From what they could gather a group of wizards attacked the house and killed Caius while Emily watched. She hasn't been the same since… and she's terrified of anyone with magic."
"Because now she equates every magic user with death…" Julie thought for a moment "Because I have magic, I'm a threat…"
"Yes… I can't leave her alone right now but I can't keep her here in my office forever." Elizabeth's gaze drifted to the sofa where Emily slept. "My father is joining us in a few days to help, I'm hoping Emily will start to come out of her shell, start to trust again. You need to warn any magic user not to react to her if they come in contact, the last time a wand was drawn in her presence her magic lashed out at the person and it left them both unconscious for over a day."
"And if you can expose her to non-threatening magic users… did anyone tell you what her magic is doing?" Julie asked and received a mute shake of the head in response.
"Do you know what a repelling charm is?" Elizabeth nodded, yes, Caius had explained that.
"It's sort of like that, Emily's magic is repelling me, it starts with nausea and the vague idea I need to go somewhere else and take care of something. If I don't leave I get a headache and static zaps, if I move away from her it lessens, if I move closer it gets worse. I don't know what would happen to either of us if I didn't move away but I suspect it wouldn't be pleasant for me."
Elizabeth paused to consider this new information "Will she learn to control it herself, or will she need help?"
"That's impossible to say…" Julie admitted "I can ask around if you want. See if anyone's ever heard of this happening before?"
Elizabeth gratefully accepted the offer.
Over the next few months Julie doesn't shy away or avoid Emily, instead she ignores the nearly 6 year old. Slowly but surely there are improvements… they stop finding Emily curled up in corners, instead of bolting through the outer office and to the safety of her mother Emily will walk past, still tense and nervous but without the palpable fear and violent flashes of uncontrolled magic.
That was only for Julie, any unknown witch or wizard that crossed Emily's path was given the same treatment Julie had received at the beginning.
One day not long after the 6th birthday Emily refused to celebrate Julie was seated at her desk going through dispatches from various Embassies working out which Elizabeth would need to see first and which would wait when she felt the quiet vibration of magic getting closer to her. Keeping her head down Julie waited for it to pass as Emily made her way into the inner office. It didn't pass, instead settled right next to her.
Small fingers reached out and tugged at the fabric covering her elbow.
"Julie…?" Emily whispered, only the slightest of trembles in her voice.
Placing the paperwork on her desk, Julie turned to give Emily all her attention.
"What's up sweetheart?" she whispered back delighted that Emily was finally willing to approach her.
"I can't get the bow right…" Emily held up her doll for Julie to see. The hair was braided neatly but the bow she'd woven through was uneven and falling out "Can you help me… Mommy isn't good at bows."
"I sure can…" it only took a few minutes for Julie to patiently walk Emily through the process "You know how you tie your shoelaces… it's just like that."
As soon as the bow was neatly tied Emily bolted back out the door to her waiting grandfather who smiled gratefully at Julie.
It wasn't much but it was a start.
Andre had decided to stay with them indefinitely. Emily couldn't be sent back to school and Elizabeth needed to work so he took care of the now 6 year old, taking her through the lessons she should be getting at school.
He and Elizabeth had discussed him taking Emily to France. She would be safe and free with him on the alps, but with her slowly coming out of her shell they'd tabled the discussion until later on, maybe next summer.
Julie had been writing to one of her teachers from Ilvermorny, asking for advice on how to help Emily and while Professor Armitage had seen many things in her years of teaching Emily's particular situation baffled her. Julie reports that it seemed to be calming down around her from sheer exposure but ramped back up when a witch or wizard the child didn't know approached made the situation unique.
Her magic should have settled by now.
Filius Flitwick watched from a distance. Althea Armitage had contacted him on behalf of a former student and asked for his help and his silence. He'd agreed to meet with Julie Keaton and once she'd told him little Emmeline Vance's story he readily agreed to not just recommend a tutor for the child but keep what he learned a secret as well.
He watched as Julie approached from behind and Emmeline froze in fear momentarily before relaxing as she recognised the approaching woman.
It wasn't unheard of for a child's magic to go into overdrive after a traumatic event but he'd never known it to last this long. More than a year after her father's murder at the hand of death eaters and Emmeline's magic was just as wild and uncontrollable as ever.
Making his way carefully down the small hill he had been standing on he slowly approached Emmeline, her Grandfather and Julie
He was less than 50 feet away from her when he felt it… pushing forward, he gasped at the impossible strength of the magic.
Stopping for a moment he closed his eyes and let the magic wash over him. He could feel the terror driving it. First and foremost he would need to gain a modicum of trust, deciding to stay where he was for the moment Filius lowered himself to the ground and closed his eyes. Breathing deeply he relaxed and waited.
He focussed on his happiest memories with his students, praising them for their successes teaching them… grieving for those that were lost to this war bloody and pointless war.
He pulled up a memory of 17 year old Caius Vance graduating from Hogwarts… the pride in his graduating students… the grief whenever he heard of one of them passing.
For hours he sat there and waited and remembered until a small hand tapped his. He opened his eyes and they were met with wide dark ones full of fear and sadness.
"You knew Daddy?" Emmeline asked.
The three years they lived in Geneva were a time of healing for Emily. The more time that passed the more the trauma lessened.
Not long after her 7th birthday Andre returned to his cabin in the French Alps and Emily went back to school.
After his first summer with Emily, Filius Flitwick contacted an old friend, Gaius Corbin to tutor the young witch. By the time they moved to Morocco the wild and uncontrollable magic had settled enough for her to be around unfamiliar witches and wizards for short periods of time.
In the years to come Filius would occasionally wonder why he agreed to keep Emily's existence a secret. Albus would have jumped at the chance to mentor the young woman, the untapped potential in the American child was dangerous if she wasn't taught to harness it properly but he'd known from the beginning Albus wasn't the right person to help young Emily. The headmaster had his own concerns and demons to battle along with a war to fight. Gaius Corbin was a grey as they came. He supported neither the light nor the dark and was therefore hated and ostracised by both groups.
Albus would have turned the girl into an unknowing and unwilling weapon, blinded her to all but the greater good.
A greater good that would destroy her.
So he watched from a distance as Emmeline healed and learned.
Elizabeth was promoted during their time in Morocco to First Minister, the attention her daughter was given started to wane as work took her focus and Emily seemed to be healing.
For her part Emily never understood why she lost her mother's attention and eventually it morphed to a belief that she was too broken for her mother to love anymore.
That's when the fights started, fights over her education, her interests, her dress… fights over everything and nothing.
Things improved for a time the summer after Emily's eleventh birthday when an owl swooped into their apartment and dropped a letter into Emily's breakfast.
Parchment with emerald writing.
Ms Emmeline Vance
2nd Bedroom
Apartment 36
32 Rue Ait Mzal
Souissi, Rabat
Morocco
With a frown of confusion Emily broke the seal and pulled the thick parchment from it's envelope.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Ms. Vance,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
Emily swallowed hard and dropped the letter as though it was on fire, she had heard of Hogwarts.
"Mom…?" she whispered and clenched her fists, staring at the magic crackling over them. It had been over a year since she last lost control.
Plucking the letter up Elizabeth paled as she read it.
"Do you want to go?" Elizabeth needed to be sure before sending the refusal.
"No…" Emily didn't look up.
"Ok" walking around the table Elizabeth sat down next to Emily and pulled the 11 year old onto her lap "You don't have to do anything you don't want to" she murmured "If you change your mind tell me and we'll find a good school for you. It doesn't have to be Hogwarts…"
Knowing her daughter was in no state to go to school, Elizabeth sent her back to bed and quickly penned a refusal letter telling as much of the truth as possible.
Emmeline was being home schooled for the time being and should the situation change they would be in touch.
Life went on…
Filius Flitwick came to visit in August before she was supposed to start Hogwarts, he didn't try to convince them to change their minds instead setting Emily up with a year's worth charms work and he took her into the local wizarding shopping district to buy her her first wand. They don't stay any longer than necessary and Emily sleeps for 16 hours after they get home, exhausted by the effort of controlling her magic. They'd never tested her control to this degree before, avoiding Wizarding areas.
With a wand and her control improving all the time Emily took to Master Corbin's lessons like few the man had seen in the past.
For someone so terrified of magic she was a natural with charms. Maybe it was Professor Flitwick's influence… maybe it was simply a natural affinity that fear couldn't take away.
Either way Master Corbin wasn't surprised when Emily was able to do certain spells wandlessly once she had mastered them with a wand.
Time continued to pass, Emily celebrated her 12th birthday in Morocco, her 13th in Turkey, 14th in Jordan and 15th in Italy… when Elizabeth didn't arrive home in time to take Emily to dinner as promised for her birthday the teen gave up on her mother.
Emily had never told anyone that she had kept the letter that was dropped in her breakfast that hot summer morning in Morocco. Over the years she'd pulled it out when she was feeling especially lonely. She would run light fingers over the emerald green script and wonder…
What would it be like to live in her father's world? Was she wrong to still hate the Wizarding World?
Why was she judging an entire society on the actions of four people?
END PART 1
PART 2 - The Battles
The next night she went wandering, at first it was to nowhere in particular. Emily didn't know the city well enough just yet to have a destination in mind until she felt the tickle of magic. Not strong but there and without questioning the instinct too deeply she started to follow it. Up and down hills, through side alleys, past coffee shops and restaurant she followed the pull of magic until she found herself wandering through the Farnese Gardens
The magic was getting stronger and stronger the deeper she got into the centre of the gardens until she found herself standing in front of the ruins to the Domus Tiberiana… ancient stones fallen to time and overtaken by the gardens so only a few of the tallest and strongest towers remained.
One of which was the portal to the oldest Wizarding district in continental Europe. For 2000 years the entry had stood through war, famine, pestilence and religion.
Now a lonely 15 year stood before it feeling the pull of its ancient magic on her own. Beckoning her in.
'Daddy wake up!'
With a startled gasp, Emily turned and ran for the exit.
The magical world was not where she wanted to go.
It didn't stop her from returning the next night and the night after and every night for weeks.
She would sit for hours staring at the entry to the world that killed her Father.
Elizabeth never noticed.
Months passed like that with Emily caught between two worlds.
"Oh my dear Emmeline?" Master Corbin sighed as he saw her sitting staring at the portal. He'd sensed for months something was wrong and that night he'd followed her through the dark streets of Rome.
He didn't try to conceal his footsteps as he approached her. It didn't matter anyway, she would feel his familiar magic approaching.
Nor did he bother to sit when he reached her. Staring down at the teen without judgement he waited for her to look up and meet his eyes before speaking. It took several long moments but finally her dark brown eyes met his.
"You are on the precipice of choice, you must choose which way you will go!"
Hogwarts 1987
"Hi…" Emmeline's head shot up at the greeting disturbing her from the geometry worksheet she was trying to get finished.
"I'm Duncan" the boy she vaguely recognised as a Ravenclaw from her year "I don't mean to intrude but… do you know any Dylan Thomas. I have an essay due on 'Light breaks where no sun shines'. I figure a girl that carries a book of 'Robert Frost' around…" he smiles shyly.
"I love Dylan Thomas" Emmeline's eyes lit up and she nods at the chair next to her.
"I'm working on my A levels" Duncan admits as he slides into the chair and drops his books down. "I'm not willing to give up my dream of flying helicopters so… Thomas."
"I'm two credits off graduating." Emmeline admitted shyly "I've got a provisional acceptance into Cambridge to study sociology as long as I pass Geometry and French. I can pass French in my sleep but Geometry has never been my strong suit."
The truth was she hated Hogwarts so far, she'd been regretting her decision since the first night. Duncan was the first person she'd met who acknowledged life outside the Wizarding world. Even the Muggleborns only spoke about what magic could offer in the future. Hearing someone else talk about life and a future in the muggle world was a relief. Everything she'd seen so far made her think of a cult, they were taken as 11 year olds and indoctrinated, brainwashed into accepting the wizarding way was the only way. From what she'd seen so far by the time they graduated Hogwarts their loyalty to magic and the wizarding world was unquestioned.
That afternoon started something. Every night after dinner the two of them met at the same table in the library to complete their non-magical assignments and when they didn't have any to do they met anyway. Sometimes they worked on their Hogwarts assignments, sometimes they just spoke about their favourite books and movies.
One night in late November Duncan gathers up all his courage and presses a quick kiss to her lips as they part ways at the Hufflepuff tower. Blushing Emily grinned and turned to the barrels and tapped out the code to get into the common room.
"See you tomorrow" she ducked through before quickly turning back "Oh, I expect we'll be doing that again…" the door closed on her smiling face.
Christmas 1995
Rolling her eyes at the immaturity Emmeline used a trick Master Corbin had helped her refine many years before. With a loud clap of her hands Harry, Ron, Sirius, Remus and Bill all got a magical smack on the back of the head.
"If you're all finished?"
Later that night Emmeline was curled up by the fire reading her advanced Psychology textbook when Harry slipped into the room and sat across from her. Marking her spot, Emmeline gave her full attention to the teen.
"You did wandless magic earlier…" Harry stated quietly.
"I did" Emmeline knew someone would ask eventually.
"How? Everyone says it takes years to master and very few can do it."
"That's true…" Emmeline considered what she knew about Harry as she tried to work out how to explain her peculiar aptitude for wandless magic.
"So how…?"
"Did I learn?" Emmeline interrupted "I didn't…" Harry curled his lip up in confusion at her statement.
"Harry, where does our magic come from?" she asked.
"Nowhere, it's just there." He stated confidently.
"No… it's not." she corrected gently "Our magic comes from within. It's a part of us, without a wand we can still do magic but it's wilder and more chaotic like your accidental magic. When I was 5 my magic went into overdrive… I witnessed something… very traumatic… as a result my magic would lash out at any witch or wizard that came near me. I was terrified of magic users and was doing wandless magic to protect myself. It took time but I learned to harness and control it, yes I use a wand the majority of the time but I don't need it for certain things." Emmeline sighed, she hated explaining this to people.
"They couldn't even send me to school until I was 15. Yes Bill and I were at Hogwarts together but I was only there for our 6th and 7th years."
"Could you teach me?" Emmeline could see where his interest was coming from. Voldemort was back and seemed to be fixated on the 15 year old.
"Sort of… I can show you where to look but you need to find your own way to harness it. My teacher said the same thing. He taught me how to grasp my magic but not how to control it… I had to learn that on my own."
"Where's your husband?" Harry abruptly changed the subject, his eyes darting to the rings on her left hand.
"On manoeuvres in the North Sea. He's a Helicopter pilot for the RAF." Emmeline watches his reaction carefully.
"You married a muggle…" Harry blinked in surprise "does he know you're a witch?"
"He's a muggleborn… was at Hogwarts with Bill and I" Emmeline clarifies "2 weeks ago I graduated from the FBI academy and I've been assigned to the London office. Neither of us want to live or work in the wizarding world…"
"I don't understand, you're magical, why would you live as a muggle when you don't have to?" Harry frowned not understanding why someone wouldn't want to live in the Wizarding world.
"Why would we live in the magical world if we don't have to?" Emmeline turned the question around "Harry… neither Duncan nor I will back down from this fight. We're in this the whole way but we don't believe that the magical world can give us what we need to live a happy and fulfilling life. Duncan has wanted to fly helicopters for as long as he can remember. The wizarding world doesn't have helicopters and as for me… I never wanted to be part of it. I despise the wizarding world, it makes you lazy and thoughtless… hedonistic… very few think for themselves and question anything. I wasn't willing to sacrifice myself to fit into the world that murdered my father."
Harry sat back… he'd never considered things in those terms before. The Wizarding world had saved him from the Dursleys; he didn't even realise he'd muttered those words until Emmeline reached out and grasped his hands.
"But it's the Wizarding world and their war that left you with them in the first place…" she sighed and watched the teen struggling with the point she's trying to make "I'm not trying to influence you away from the Wizarding world. The muggle world isn't perfect, it's full of human's just like the Wizarding world. Keep an open mind and don't discount one over the other."
Watching Bill and Fleur marry is bittersweet, Emily doesn't join the dancing as happy as she is for her friend. In fact she doesn't stay long enough for much dancing to happen. If Duncan was here with her they would have partied the night away celebrating one of the few reasons they socialised in the Wizarding world for.
"Death Eaters gathering at Hogwarts, meet at Honeydukes."
Quickly changing out of her nice dress and into a pair of heavy duty army pants and boots along with a long sleeve cotton top and warm hoodie, Emily
"Emmeline!" Remus Lupin called out to her and ushered her through the front door on Honeydukes and down into the tunnels.
She's not sure what happened but she ends up alone stalking the halls, letting her magic lose to protect her as it willed.
She doesn't bother using her wand, it will just slow her down.
She finds Bill and Fleur fighting back to back and joins them as they push the death eaters back from
February 2009 - Washington DC
"Morsmordre…" Emily choked...
"Emily…?" Dave could see the abject terror in his co-workers face, not just see it, he could feel it pouring off her in waves and taste her fear in the air as she stared at the strange mark painted on the wall in blood.
"They're all gone…" she whispered "we made sure of it… Bill and I… we tracked down every single one…"
"Prentiss…?" Hotch didn't like the sickly green colour she'd become… this wasn't like her. Prentiss could hold her stomach through just about anything. If something did get to her she locked it down tight and then talked it out on the jet with one of them. Then again… maybe this was a snapshot of what had given her that ability
Locking eyes with Dave, Hotch jerked his head from Emily to the door telling the older man to get her out of there before she puked all over their crime scene.
Gently taking her by the bicep Dave pulled her away from the bloody picture and guided her out of the door, down the stairs and into the back garden. Pushing her onto the step he lowered himself down to sit next to her, their shoulders pressing together.
"Tell me…" he kept his voice low.
"I can't." her dark eyes flashed to his before she dropped her head into his hands.
"Sure you can... "
"Dave…" Emily chewed on her lip for a moment "That's the mark of a terrorist group that was active in the British Isles from the late 60's through the mid 90's. I can't tell you anything else… you don't have clearance."
Dave paused "What's not in the official file... " Emily wouldn't be this scared unless there was something else that had happened. He watched as tears pooled and she bowed her head, the memories nearly overwhelming.
"Caius Vance… was tortured and killed in front of his 5 year old daughter… when the police arrived they found her curled up on his chest covered in his blood crying for her daddy to wake up… "
"You found her?" Dave asked softly as he knew immediately he was wrong, it was the way her shoulders curled in and her hands shook as they swiped at tears "You are her…"
"Mother changed our names to Prentiss after… after..." she didn't want to talk about that night "To hide us… she even changed my first name, just enough to make it harder for them to track me." she sucked in a shaky breath "I need to call this in, you're probably going to be kicked off this case…" it was clear she expected to be pulled in and the team would never know what happened.
"Could you stop it? Get us read in?" Dave desperately didn't want to leave Emily alone with this. More than 30 years on the trauma was still fresh and biting.
Emily shrugged, unwilling to commit one way or the other. First she needed to decide if she wanted the team to know everything.
"Who's Bill?" he tried a different tactic, he didn't get his answer…
Emily's head shot up and her eyes started to dart around wildly. The hairs on the back of Dave's neck went stiff as the air cracked with electricity.
If he didn't know better he would say it was coming from Emily.
Pushing herself off the step, Emily took a few steps out into the yard and turned in a slow circle stopping so her profile was to him her head tilted to the side as her right hand came up tracing something invisible in the air.
"Show yourself…" she whispered much to Dave's confusion.
A low menacing chuckle caused Dave's hand to drop to his holster and unclip his gun.
"I said show yourself" Emily growled as she sent a pulse of magic in the person's direction and received a hiss of frustration in return.
"The rumours are false then…" the voice came back as a silhouette started to appear where Emily was staring.
"Little Emmeline Vance… the last time I saw you was across a battlefield… the current belief in certain circles is they bound your magic because you couldn't control it."
Emily blinked in recognition…
"Merrin Torque… you couldn't take me at 15, what makes you think you'll be successful now?" Emily had never been cowed by bullies, Merrin had seen her as an easy mark when she arrived at school… a Hufflepuff halfblood who came in at the beginning of 6th year with no formal magical education. She was light years ahead in charms, arithmancy, runes and Defense but woefully behind in the other subjects. A supposedly easy mark until her magic lashed back sending 12 students to the infirmary… all immediate threats who had their wands drawn at her… then she made friends with Duncan Gillies and Bill Weasley and she became untouchable.
Behind her Dave watched as her hands dropped to her side, fingers twitching at something he couldn't see…
There was a pattern to it, as though she was tapping out a tune.
"Do you like the presents I've been leaving you?" Torque hissed "I saw what you did to my father…"
A manic laugh bubbled out of Emily's mouth "Do you want to know why… out of all the Death Eaters running through that school I took the time to kill him slowly… painfully?"
Behind her Dave couldn't move from his spot, held in place by a force he couldn't see riveted by what he was witnessing.
"I recognised him… knew the moment he spoke who he was… the first time I ever heard his voice I was 5 years old and do you know what he said?"
Hotch was at the back door with Reid, both frozen as well.
"I don't care!" Torque's face was a tale of rage.
"Diffindo" Emily barely had to mutter the word and a slash appeared on Torque's chest causing the rage to twist into a grimace of pain.
"That's what he did to my father… do you want to know what else he did?" Emily's fists clenched as she struggled to keep a semblance of control.
"Cruc…" she didn't get the entire word out before he apparated out.
After a decade of quiet the magic swirling freely through her was too much. Emily's eyes rolled back in her head as a blast of raw magic reverberated through the yard and she crumpled to the ground.
Finally free to move, Hotch, Rossi and Reid stepped towards their friend.
"Can I help you?" there was a quiet menace to the voice that greeted Bill Weasley as he stood in the door to the hospital room.
Two men sat in the room one on either side of the bed, if pressed he would say they were guarding Emmeline.
"I drew the short straw…" Bill looked at his friend sadly "Given what you witnessed Emmeline do, I've been given permission to read you in on certain events" he paused "given her role in those events Emmeline isn't going to be very happy about that."
"She was born into the magical community wasn't she?" Hotch responded with the same menace as when he greeted Bill.
"Yes, how do you know?" Bill couldn't conceal the surprise
"My grandmother was a squib, so I'm aware of the magical world but not very well informed. There's been a couple of instances where Emily has managed to find people or make connections that… were eerily accurate so I've suspected for a while but have never been able to confirm."
"Magical world?" Dave finally spoke up, his eyes darting between the two.
"There's another world… a hidden society if you will. People born with the ability to use, for lack of a better word, magic" Bill started and paused as he tried to remember the way Emmeline had once explained it "We can manipulate the world around us in a way that muggles… that is non-magical people can't and whether you believe me or not is inconsequential because your belief in it does not nullify its existence." he nodded towards Emily.
"She was born Emmeline Vance to a wizard and a muggle. She has minimal contact with the magical world by choice, including myself and my wife. There are less than 10 people from the magical world she'll willingly deal with."
"Because of her father?" Bill couldn't conceal his surprise at Dave's connection "she said he was tortured and killed by terrorists when she was only five."
"Among other reasons… but that is her story to tell. There are those who believe the magical bloodlines should be kept pure, witch should marry wizard only and no outsiders should ever be included. Those born to parents without magic should be killed instead of being welcomed into our society. The longer you can trace your family lines back the more pure and superior you are. There are those that this belief is so entrenched in, a war was fought over it, a single man gathered those people to him and set out to destroy anyone who disagreed. Entire families were destroyed… men, women, children, they didn't care. If they weren't with them then they died. Their leader was injured and stripped of his power in 1981 which led to a tentative peace for the next 13 years. During that time Emmeline and I met, she transferred into my school for our 6th and 7th years. We've been friends ever since… the war restarted in 1994, Emmeline fought with us and when it was over she left the magical world to live life as a muggle… the magical world has taken more from Emmeline than it ever gave..."
Dave and Hotch regarded the red-head for several moments, both picking up on his glossing over several things. Leaving information out, possibly to protect Emily, possibly not.
"I notice you've been very impersonal in what you're telling us…" Rossi commented and Hotch immediately picked up the thread.
"War exacts a heavy price…"
"Yes it does…" Bill agreed, running a finger absently up and down a scar on his face as he studied the men. "Emmeline's story is her own to tell… but while she is unconscious there are three, perhaps four of us who can get close to her. Her magic is protecting her and is attacking anyone who it doesn't recognise or trust, the American's logged the magical disturbance and came to check it out. When they couldn't get anyone within 10 feet of this room they sent word out to the internationals to see if anyone recognised the phenomenon, we got the alert and my wife volunteered me to come and check on Emmeline. We don't know exactly what happened, only that Emmeline was at the centre of it." Bill finished.
Hotch studied him hard, he, Rossi and Reid had vowed never to reveal exactly what was said in that backyard.
"We're investigating a series of murders throughout Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and DC." Hotch starts "All males in their early 30's killed by a deep slash to the chest that was left to bleed out. At each crime scene a drawing was made on the wall above the body in the victim's blood. Everytime it was a little more detailed… today Emily recognised it… she called it Masarmed… I think?"
"Morsmordre?" Bill asked, his voice cracking in fear.
"Yes" Rossi continued "and her reaction was nearly exactly the same as yours just now. If you're going to toss your lunch the bathroom's through there" he nodded towards the ensuite.
"You're telling me that all this time you've had a way to save people and what… you stood by and did nothing…?" Morgan had never got up in her face like this…
"Morgan!" Hotch snapped.
"No Hotch, people died! Kids got hurt and she could have prevented it. Do you remember Katie James… tiny little girl, molested by her Uncle, tied up, gagged and stuffed in a closet by her Aunt… she nearly died "
"Why do you think she didn't" Emily growled back "I did what I could… I kept her alive while we broke the Aunt and Uncle if I'd done any more we wouldn't have the evidence to convict them..." she takes a deep heaving breath "I broke the law to save that little girl!"
"Yo Prentiss…" Morgan called out across the clearing, the woman in question made her way quickly over to him. With a quick glance around he made sure no one was close enough to hear.
"I do not ask you this lightly… I'm still not completely comfortable with it and I know you aren't either but it's getting dark and temperature is dropping fast… is there any... " he paused and looked for the right word "boogity boogity you can do to find Kelly."
Emily paused… Morgan had taken the longest to accept the existence of magic. None of the team had ever asked her to use magic in their cases. Rossi had been the first to understand, magic was a shortcut, they needed to be able to prove their work and back it up with evidence.
This was different, they were wandering around in Canada of all places looking for a missing teen kidnapped from Detroit by a man whose body count could hit the triple digits. They didn't need to provide evidence on how they found her.
"There's something I can try," Emily nodded. "I need a map and to disappear for 10 minutes."
"Bathroom break it is." Mogan handed over the sheet of paper.
Slipping away from the group Emily found an isolated spot before pulling out her wand.
"Point me Kelly Shane…." she whispered as her wand spun for a few moments before settling to point south east. She marked the direction on her spot on the map and with a quiet crack apparated 10 kilometers south close to the border and repeated the point me.
Repeating everything again, she ended up with an approximate location and made her way back to where Morgan was.
"Turn around" she instructed and used his back as a table and drew three lines from each of the spots she'd been in the direction her wand had told her the teen was. Circling where the three lines intersected she handed the map back.
"She's in there, I can't get any more accurate without some blood or hair of hers, and 12 hours brewing time." She wouldn't meet his eyes, she wasn't ashamed of her abilities but was well aware of how uncomfortable Morgan was. The non-magical world was where she wanted to be.
Late that night, Kelly was safe with her mother and they were all getting a night's rest before finishing up and flying home the next day when Morgan knocked on her hotel room door. She silently let him into the room and waited for him to speak.
"Emily…" he stared "I promise, I will only ever ask you to use magic to find kids… deal?" she nodded slowly, maybe they would finally have that conversation they'd been dancing around for the last 3 months.
"You understand why I hate the magical world, why I didn't want anyone to know?"
"Yeah, they stole things from you, things they had no right to." that he understood, the magical world was her Carl Buford.
"I'm married…" she admits suddenly and at his astonished look she pushes on before her courage leaves her "I met Duncan at school... We eloped after graduation and got this little flat in Cambridge… 18 years old and the worlds at our feet. He studied aeronautics while I was doing Sociology. After we got our bachelor's I went on to get my masters in Criminology and he joined the Royal Air Force… I taught while he did basic and got settled then I applied for the Bureau and requested a spot in the London office… neither of us wanted any part of that world or life…" Emily rested her head on the back board and stared at the ceiling for a moment.
"We had our future all planned out… he'd fly his beloved helicopters and once I had a few years in the Bureau we'd have a couple of kids. When he had his 15 years he'd retire from the Air Force and we'd move to DC so I could join the BAU…"
The darkness he'd always been able to see in her eyes finally had a name.