Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Marvel characters or any of the X-men. The same can be said of the wonderful world of J.K. Rowling. I am not making any profit, but simply having fun. I did however create Emma Winter.

Memories and dreams are in italics.

Edited in March 2021 during lockdown.

Logan was in an old, tattered kitchen that was so clean that it didn't seem that the inhabitants had eaten there in weeks or even months. The only mess was on the kitchen table that had astonishingly many empty beer bottles scattered around. It didn't seem that Logan was interested in food either and that was good as the fridge had nothing but beer in it, that and a bottle of ketchup. He bent down to rummage through the fridge looking for a beer type that suited his fancy.

As if sensing a presence behind him Logan asked, "Hey John, wanna beer?"

"Sure man, why not? We won't go anywhere for a few days so we can afford a little R&R," John replied casually as he crossed his legs on one corner of the table looking at ease. A smile tugged on his lips as he watched the bigger mutant curse as his head hit one of the shelves of the fridge in his enthusiastic hunt for Molson's. It was the beer of choice for the Wolverine; he had probably been drinking it since it went into production some seventy years earlier.

Logan shut the fridge, walked to the table, and handed one beer bottle to John who was dressed in denim almost from head to toe as if he was heading off to a rodeo. The only non-denim items were the black snakeskin boots he always wore.

Logan lit a chewed old cigar, and the two men drank in silence for a while until John asked, "Why didn't you go out?"

"Wasn't in the mood," Logan answered shortly. It was obvious that he had something on his mind; John seemed to know the man well as he didn't push him for answers but waited patiently for Logan to open up.

Logan drank the bottle down in one gulp and then got up to get another one.

"Another one?"

"Still working on my first one," John replied smiling at Logan who grumbled something back.

As Logan sat down again he asked John, "So where are the guys?"

"They all left a while ago. Needed to blow off some steam. How come you weren't with them? Usually, you're the first one out of here."

"Yeah, wasn't in the mood tonight."

"I hear ya; this mission was a disaster from start to finish."

"Yeah, no kidding," Logan replied ruffling his hair and making him look even wilder than usual. With every mission, the mutant hated what he did more, and he knew that his time on the team was coming close to an end. Things couldn't go on like that for him anymore, the guilt was eating him alive.

John cleared his throat awkwardly before asking in a strange tone, "Were you thinking of cleaning up at some point?"

Logan stared at him in question before looking down at himself in surprise, his once white t-shirt was covered in blood and his cargo pants were no better.

"Shit, I forgot," Logan said before taking a large swig of his beer showing how distracted he truly was.

"No kidding," John grinned stealing one of Logan's signature comebacks. It lifted Logan's mood a bit as he had uncharacteristically been feeling sorry for himself. It was a very unusual trait for the Wolverine to sit and mope over missions.

"So you have been down here all evening drowning your sorrows?" John asked and looking towards the empty bottles scattered all over the table. The Wolverine had incredible stamina for alcohol as displayed often when the team went out to the local pub. There wasn't anyone that could drink Logan under the table except for Victor Creed.

"Yep, nothing else to do in this shithole. I swear it's getting worse with every mission," Logan said bitterly and slamming the beer bottle on the table making beer foam float out of the bottle and onto the table.

"They are not getting any easier that's for sure," John replied carefully. They were trapped, to get out without Stryker having them killed was near impossible but for Logan and Victor who had regenerative powers.

"Don't you get tired of this John? The destruction and the endless killing of innocent people just so Stryker can get what he wants. We are his dogs, his army from hell."

"Of course I get sick of it Logan, I'm not a monster like Victor who seems to enjoy spilling blood and torturing men, women and children."

At his words, Logan ground his teeth and a wild glint came to his eyes as if the mutant's words had brought back memories that he was not willing to discuss, as if some of the missions had cut him too deep. All of the men on the team were somehow mentally scarred after all the horrors they had seen, all but Victor who seemed absolutely content.

"I've known Victor a very long time and the little humanity he had is fading with every mission. Soon I won't be able to stop him when he goes berserk," Logan admitted with a grumbling tone. It wasn't often that Logan admitted failure at something, and it seemed to surprise John to hear him acknowledge it so freely. The team had all noticed Victor's vicious side but had always hoped that Logan could stop him if things got out of control.

"That doesn't sound good for the rest of us. I´ve stopped counting how many times he has tried to kill one of us. I don't know what we would do without you."

"Get used to it, after the next mission I'm leaving. It's enough, we've done enough," Logan said defensively. He had been thinking it over again and again for a few months and finally the last mission was the straw that broke the camel's back. Logan had had enough; he couldn't take any more of working as a mercenary for Stryker.

"What about Victor? Think he will go with you?" John asked curiously, wishing there was some sliver of hope that he could get rid of the wild mutant that the whole team was afraid of. It was obvious that he wasn't a big fan of Sabertooth, no one was.

"If he won't, then you'll have a big problem on your hands. But at least he won't be my problem anymore," Logan said, in his heart, he was quite certain that Victor would stay on as he enjoyed the free rein that Stryker had given him.

"No matter what, I'm glad we met Logan, even if it should have been under better conditions," John smiled and clinked his beer bottle against Logan's.

"Ditto bub, even if you were a pain in the ass most of the time."

"Aw man, why do you have to ruin everything with your big mouth? We were having a moment here," John complained. Both of the men laughed warmly.

The memory ended.

"You know what I hate about this memory stuff. It leaves me with more questions than I had before I knew anything," Logan said after been quiet for a while as if he was trying to digest what he had seen.

There were few moments in Logan's that he felt tired mentally, simply tired of trying to figure out who he was and what he had done in his long past. Sometimes he wondered why he even bothered to try to find the solutions. After fighting Charles Xavier for so many years to get to know what was inside his mind, Logan had finally stumbled on the solution by getting help from the witch. It was not Emma's fault that the process was going slowly or that he was getting impatient for answers. Logan had been impatient for answers for more years than Emma had been alive but somehow it felt like he was running out of time.

"I know you are, but we are progressing Logan. One day I'm positive that you will get your memory fully restored, or close to it anyway. I can't guarantee completely, of course, you must understand," Emma said as she stood by the stove waiting for her coffee to get ready. She had already pushed some whiskey Logan's way and he was sipping on it while smoking a cigar.

"Do you remember anything about John?" Emma asked hopefully while pouring her cup of coffee half full of sugar. Sugar was her vice, and it tasted the best with bitter coffee.

"Vaguely. I have a feeling he was a good man; I think I liked him but..." Logan quieted as if not certain about something before taking a large swig of his drink and chewing so hard on his cigar that she thought it would break in half.

"But what?" the witch inquired curiously before sitting down next to Logan by the kitchen table.

"John is dead. I don't know how I know that, but I'm certain he's dead," Logan said feeling sorrow for the loss of a friend he didn't even remember much of. It was his gut instinct that told him these things and as always, Logan knew better than to go against his nature.

"That's a pity, I would have hoped you could have tried to find him to help you with questions about your past. I'm sorry Logan," Emma said with disappointment in her voice as she eyed her empty coffee cup wishing she had made a little more.

"Yeah well, that ain't gonna happen," Logan grumbled angrily at the witch for saying what he had been thinking himself. He had loved to think that John could have been out there but that wasn't going to happen, his intuition told him as much.

Emma didn't reply to his angry remark. She knew Logan was hurting, and his frustration was understandable. Even though the mutant was getting some answers, it never seemed enough to quench Logan's thirst for his past, it would never be enough until his memory was fully restored. Every time Emma found some answers for him it was certain that Logan wondered what was behind the next corner. Even though Emma understood the impatience, it was difficult to see the one she loved so frustrated that his whole past hadn't opened up to him in a few sessions.

After Logan finished his drink, he eyed her for a few moments without saying anything.

"What?" she asked curiously wondering if Logan was going to talk more about his memory or push her for her own.

"I'm waiting to see yours," Logan said and crossing his arms on his massive chest and quirking his eyebrow at her making the witch smile understandingly at him. Emma understood the need for distraction when painful things appeared in his memory, she felt the same when she saw something uncomfortable from her past.

"I already put the memory in the pensive. Go check it out," Emma replied warmly and that was true. As soon as Logan had turned his back on her for a moment, she had extracted her memory and placed it discreetly into the pensive. This was not a memory she wanted to visit any time soon, not even if Logan was with her.

"How come you ain't gonna watch it with me?" the mutant asked curiously, the witch had always come with him to visit her memories and Logan wondered what made that memory different.

"Not this time, living it was enough," Emma replied shakily and pointed him in the direction of the pensive that was waiting for him. Logan walked over to the table and looked in her direction. The memory had to be uncomfortable for her he understood as he watched her walking out to the veranda as if she didn't even want to be in the room as the painful memory of the past.

Logan took an unconscious deep breath and pushed his face into the silvery mist of the bowl that was waiting for him to unpeel yet another layer of Emma's memories.

Emma was fast asleep on a large four-poster bed when Logan entered her memory. The bed had dark green curtains that were pulled back to reveal her sleeping form. A mahogany nightstand stood next to the bed, on top of it were a few books scattered about and a lit candle. Its light was enough to show that Emma had been exhausted when she had gone to bed, so much that she hadn't even bothered to take off her school uniform or to crawl under the covers for warmth.

It was obvious that Emma was still at Hogwarts as her attire was still the typical school uniform that Logan had seen often before. A long, black cloak was draped unceremoniously over a chest that sat at the bottom of the bed.

Logan looked around the room, it was large enough to hold many students but only Emma's bed was in there. The windows were few but quite large and curtained in silver drapes while the walls were covered with dark green tapestries that held images of large snakes.

Suddenly there was a loud tapping at her window, Emma groaned loudly and dug her head deeper into the blanket as if the sound would disappear if she did so. Just as the young witch was about to drift back into a deep sleep the tapping started again more insistent than before.

Emma cursed into her pillow before throwing her feet off the side of the bed and grudgingly getting up. As soon as her feet touched the cold stone floor, she jumped back grabbing a pair of sneakers to protect her feet from the cold dungeon floor.

While she was putting on her shoes the tapping intensified as if whoever was on the other side was getting very impatient.

"Bloody hell I'm coming!" she growled while stomping to the window, ripping the curtains away and stepping up on a chair to open the window that was high up because she lived in the dungeon as did all the other Slytherins at Hogwarts. Her hair was unbound, and her large curls were pointing in every direction showing exactly how fresh out of bed she was.

Outside, in the darkness, waiting for her sat a majestic red and yellow bird with a letter wrapped around its right leg. The bird was watching her intently as if it knew her and that she had taken way too long in answering to its rapping.

"Fawkes! What in Merlin's name are you doing here?" Emma breathed surprised and reached out to carefully stroke the bird's beak. Its black eyes bored into hers for a moment before it screeched loudly and lifted its foot to gain her attention to why it was visiting her in such a place as the Slytherin dormitory.

"A letter for me? Since when does Albus use you as a messenger?" Emma asked the bird even though she knew there would be no answer. Albus Dumbledore never used his familiar as a messenger; it was way below a creature like a phoenix to go flying around with messages for anyone.

Fawkes seemed to agree with her that it was indignant as he screeched again in a complaint. Emma untied the envelope; ripped open Dumbledore's seal and pulled out a letter. As soon as she opened the letter a necklace fell out and down on the floor.

"What the ...?" Emma mumbled and jumped off the chair before bending down to grab the necklace. The witch stared at the necklace, which was very old, with a large sapphire and diamonds set around it on a gold pendant attached to a long gold chain.

The confused witch opened her letter to find why Albus wanted so badly as to send her a letter instead of flooing her like he always did.

My dearest child.

I do not have much time to explain. The necklace was my mother's, she cherished it and I hope you will think of me with love each time you wear it.

I hope and wish you happiness in any endeavour you will face in your future.

All my love

Albus

"Why does he sound as if Albus is saying goodbye?" Emma asked aloud feeling bewilderment and turmoil within her at the cryptic message from her foster father. Something was very wrong. Why on earth would Albus say goodbye to her via letter rather than coming to her?

"Where is Albus? Fawkes can you take me to him?" she asked the bird who was still waiting by the window. It was a known fact that the bird and the headmaster had a special connection that no one understood the depth of. The only way for others to beckon Fawkes was by being wholly loyal to Albus Dumbledore as Harry Potter had accidentally done in the Chamber of secrets.

The bird tilted its head at her voice and stared meaningfully at her. Emma repeated her question, "please, I need to make sure that he's all right."

Fawkes gave a shrill cry, before turning around and flying from the window and into the darkness. Emma stuck her head out the window and saw that the bird was flying gracefully in circles just outside as if it were waiting for her to follow.

Emma climbed out of the bedroom window that she had so often snuck out of when she was younger. No one would notice her leaving, that was the reason why Salazar Slytherin had chosen the dungeons and lower levels of the castle for his dorms. It was a plus to be a Slytherin with a fantastic escape route, especially for Emma who was so strongly bonded with the golden trio.

The witch looked around trying to find where Fawkes was; finally, she heard his cries and ran in the general direction of where she thought they were coming from. The school grounds of Hogwarts were vast, and they felt even larger in the darkness. Many times she slipped and fell on the ground but never dared to use her wand to light up her way. The witch was certain she would be found out immediately if she did, either by Snape or Filch. Something dangerous was happening for Albus Dumbledore to send her a farewell letter instead of coming in person.

Fawkes headed to where the Astronomy Tower was located, flew in large circles around the tower and made a piercing loud cry before disappearing into the night. Emma reached the ground by the tall Astronomy Tower, there seemed to be a lonely figure lying on the ground.

As she came closer, she could see that it was Dumbledore's seemingly lifeless body, his face turned upwards as if he had been staring at the stars moments before he passed on. When Emma reached his body, the witch threw herself to her knees before putting a hand on Dumbledore's shoulder as to try to shake him awake.

"Albus! Are you all right!" Emma sobbed even if her mind registered that the wizard was lifeless. Of course, he was, a wizard his age wouldn't lay on the ground in the middle of the night stargazing, no matter how odd he was.

"Oh Albus please wake up, I can't lose you too!" Emma cried even harder covering her face in her hands and hoping that it was just a nightmare, that she could wake up and everything would be as it should. Somebody had to come to help her. Minerva could help her. Perhaps there was something that Minerva could do, after all the old witch had been around the world for a long time.

Emma finally decided to cast a Patronus Charm that would send Minerva a message of what had happened. The charm was in a nutshell positive energy that could be used as a protective shield against dark creatures like dementors or to send messages. It was impossible to forge as each witch or wizard had their own Patronus that they kept as private as possible in case messages would be intercepted it would be easy to find out who sent them by the animal the Patronus was.

The predicament with casting the Patronus charm was that to make a proper Patronus one had to think happy thoughts and under the strain Emma was under it was almost impossible to do so. Every time Emma tried to conjure one her mind blasted her with images of Dumbledore lying dead-like on the ground and nothing would happen.

Finally, she managed to conjure one and a silvery ghostly shape glided out of her wand creating a small falcon that flew around her in circles as if it was awaiting orders from her. Emma looked around confused, how on earth could she describe the situation to Minerva without the witch thinking she was crazy. She finally took a shaky breath and spoke to the Patronus that was still gliding around her.

"Minerva, come to the grounds by the Astronomy Tower, something horrible has happened. Please hurry!"

The falcon flew towards the Gryffindor tower and would reach Minerva McGonagall in mere moments. Emma turned back to Albus and stroked his long white beard lovingly while tears flowed freely down her cheeks.

"Emma!" an urgent voice, that Emma knew so well, shouted out to her in alarm.

It was Harry and his voice was filled with desperation as he waved urgently for her to follow him. When she didn't, he pointed down the hill towards Hagrid's cottage that was on fire. Darkly clad figures surrounded the cottage and there was no mistake that they were Death Eaters. Seeing Draco Malfoy's almost white hair glimmering in the light of the fire verified that.

"Come, we have to catch them!" Harry shouted encouragingly and that finally got Emma moving. She took a few hesitant steps from Dumbledore as if she didn't want to leave the wizard like that, but with each step, she became more confident and together the two friends ran towards the slope. Hagrid's hut was quite a distance away and most of the way was downhill. They couldn't even apparate there as there was no way to do so on Hogwarts grounds, generations of Hogwarts headmasters had seen to those defences.

"Dumbledore... It was Snape!" Harry snarled out emotionally as they ran feeling winded but still wanting to catch their prey. They attempted to be stealthy, but their tired gasps echoed in the night and from time to time they stumbled in the darkness as they descended the steep hill.

"Dumbledore trusted Snape, he bloody well trusted him," Emma sniffed, feeling out of breath from all the running over the Hogwarts grounds. She was not the sporty type and never ran unless something was after her. Chasing Death Eaters was an exception from the rule, they needed to get to Snape before he would leave the school grounds.

"Slytherin snake, I knew he wasn't to be trusted and Dumbledore didn't listen," Harry snarled, anger taking over the sorrow he felt. Emma didn't even comment on his famous hate for the Slytherin house, this time the anger was justified, the head of her own house had murdered Dumbledore.

They knew they had been spotted when green and red sparks were shot at them from Hagrid's hut. Both of them shot out whatever curses they could think of. Practising with Dumbledore's Army had helped to prepare them for wizard duels. The difference was of course that Death Eaters never played fair, especially not in war.

"We have to get Snape, he can't get away," Harry shouted with his Gryffindor courage, always ready to throw himself into danger. Emma was starting to second guess his plan; it would go wrong somehow. It always did, and she wasn't interested in things going wrong when Death Eaters were concerned. Her survival instinct roared at her to get away before it was too late but her loyalty to and the trio stopped her. There was no way she could leave him and then have it on her conscience if something bad happened to him.

The Death Eaters were more than Harry and Emma had realized at first glance. A few of them had been waiting by Hagrid's hut while Dumbledore had been murdered and were disappearing off the grounds through portkeys. As the two friends reached the hut, they saw the last of the Death Eaters disappearing into thin air as their portkeys pulled them away. The only two people that were left were Snape and Bellatrix Lestrange. Unfortunately for the two teenagers as both were well known for their viciousness in wizard duels.

Snape looked still like the teacher Emma had loathed all those years at Hogwarts. Even in the still night, mere moments after killing Dumbledore, he looked as if nothing was out of the ordinary and that he was just on an evening stroll. That was to say if one did not notice his wand arm that was raised in defence against his students. That didn't shock the two friends, after the events of the evening they were beyond startled as their world had trembled and a parental figure for them both had disappeared from their lives.

It seemed that even the famous potion master indulged in foolish wand-waving from time to time, especially as the famous boy who lived sent one curse after another his way. Harry's intent was clear, he intended to strike Snape down, how he would do that or what the consequences would be, did not matter to him. The boy was simply ruled by immense hate that narrowed his peripheral vision down into only Snape, nobody mattered besides their hate-filled standoff.

Meanwhile, Emma was face to face with Bellatrix Lestrange who was circling Emma as if the young witch was her prey. The difference between the skills of the two witches was apparent, it would never be a fair fight and the older witch knew that. Her mad laughter crackled in the night air as she skipped happily closer to Emma.

On a handful of occasions, in unavoidable skirmishes connected to the trio, Emma had been unfortunate enough to see Bellatrix Lestrange. Nevertheless, Emma had never had the displeasure of standing so close to Draco Malfoy's horrible aunt.

Bellatrix had probably been attractive once, her bone structure was fine and elegant, hinting at aristocratic family blood. Her long, frizzy black hair made a stormy mass that surrounded her face emphasizing the fact that something was off with the witch. Even though her choice of wardrobe wasn't too nice it was still a known fact that witches and wizards alike dressed in exuberance rather than style.

What usually terrified people about Bellatrix were the large, black eyes that mirrored the ruthlessness that lived inside. Her reputation was terrifying to anyone who knew of her; even the most hardened Death Eaters went out of their way not to aggravate her. It wasn't only that Bellatrix was quick to anger, or that she was completely ruthless when it came to the lives of those around her. What put her in a special category, was her admiration and love for Voldemort. She was so loyal to Voldemort that many of the Death Eaters were nervous to be around her because of the danger of the repercussions from the Dark Lord.

"Look who we have here, one of Dumbledore's little lap dogs," Bellatrix said tauntingly at Emma who immediately sent a disarming spell towards Bellatrix. Experience in duels showed clearly as the older witch blocked the curse as if it were nothing. For a while, the two women sparred, attacking, and blocking each other's advances without a hitch.

It wasn't until Harry shouted out a curse she had never heard before that Emma's concentration fell momentarily and that was enough to open up an opportunity for Bellatrix.

"Sectumsempra!" Harry roared and shot the unknown curse at Snape. Emma stared at Snape and wondered what would happen if he would be hit by the strange curse. Emma didn't see what the curse would do as Snape blocked it easily with an angry sneering face. Bellatrix was cunning and used Emma's momentarily hesitation to hit her with a curse that sent the young witch flying into the air as if she was a ragdoll.

Emma groaned in pain as she landed with a sick cracking sound on the ground just by Hagrid's hut. The flames from the hut heated her body in the cold night air as if it were summer. The young witch knew she had to get up, if she wouldn't, death would come for her. Seeing Bellatrix advancing on her forced Emma to get up from the ground before running behind the hut to give her a few seconds to try to find an escape plan for her and Harry.

"Come out, there is no place for you to hide," Bellatrix sang as if Emma was entertaining her immensely by hiding away.

Emma decided to use the same curse as Harry had used only moments before, perhaps she would get luckier than he had. It was worth a try anyway. The weak curses that the Dumbledore's Army had practised were simply not potent enough when the adversary was Bellatrix Lestrange.

"Sectumsempra," Emma mumbled as soon as she reached the corner and could hear Bellatrix instantaneously howling with pain as the curse hit her abdomen and cutting deeply into her flesh.

"You mudblood bitch!" Bellatrix howled furiously at Emma who was trying her best to hide from the infuriated woman who looked very Machiavellian in the light of the fire.

"I'm going to kill you," Bellatrix rasped and clutched her abdomen while pointing her wand at Emma who was in shock over the damage her curse had made. Granted that Bellatrix deserved everything she got as she was a monster; Emma couldn't help wondering where one of the golden trio would have picked up such a curse. She looked around for Harry and finally noticing his unconscious body on the ground not far from her.

If Harry was unconscious, then where was Snape?

Emma's heartbeat got frantic with terror as she looked around anxiously trying to locate the bat of the dungeons, the young witch was quite certain he was sneaking up behind her so she turned towards Hagrid's hut to look for the murderous potion master. There was no one there.

"Looking for someone?" Snape's voice asked close to her and startling Emma into turning again to where Bellatrix was standing. Snape stood there with a calculating look on his face, "Petrificus Totalus."

Emma felt her body stiffen up, her legs and arms snapping together close to her body as if she was a wrapped up mummy. The bounds of a full-body bind made her body stiff as a board, seconds before Emma fell backwards, her body crashing loudly once again to the ground.

Within seconds two faces entered her vision as Emma was forced by the bind to stare up towards the sky, not so different from how she had found Dumbledore by the Astronomy Tower. The faces were of course of Bellatrix and Snape who both had smug looks on their faces as they looked down at their latest victim.

The woman lifted her wand, pointed to Emma's chest and said, "I'm gonna kill her for what she did to me."

Emma tried to move, scream, do something, but her body wasn't obeying her as it was locked in the body bind. The only sign of her distress was a gasping breath that showed very well how terrified she was being under the mercy of two horridly dangerous Death Eaters.

Snape turned to look at the woman next to him and said in a bored voice, "she can't harm you now, you need a mediwizard if you want to see another day in the service of the Dark Lord."

"I don't care Severus, avada ke..."

As Bellatrix started uttering the killing curse Snape tore her wand out of her hands. It was a deed that simply was not done in the magical world; one never ripped a wand out of a witch's hand. It was considered the highest act of rudeness one could ever commit and it was rarely done.

"Are you so dense as to kill her now when there could be witnesses to your actions? The Dark Lord commanded stealth not brute force. I hate to tell it to you but killing everyone in your path is not stealth. It's idiocy!"

Bellatrix winced in pain as she grabbed her wand back from Snape.

"What do you propose we do then? Send her off her merry little way?" Bellatrix asked ironically taunting the potion master. They had always had a very strained relationship and rivalry was fuelling it on even further. It annoyed Bellatrix beyond words that Voldemort trusted and kept Snape so close when he could have had her as his right-hand person. It had put seeds of distrust into her mind; she wanted to idolize Voldemort without being annoyed by Snape's presence.

Snape looked at Emma with cold eyes. The young witch was trying to utter a sound, anything in the hope to getaway. It was obvious to her that whatever was coming her way was bound to be bad. That frosty look in Snape's eyes never bode well for anyone, especially not his students or anyone else he disliked.

Snape lifted his wand and Emma knew whatever was coming had to be bad by the look of glee that filled the older woman's face.

"Crucio," Snape drawled and immediately an immense pain filled Emma's senses. There was nothing but pain and no way to express it. Her teeth bit down hard on her tongue and a metallic taste filled her mouth giving her only a momentary distraction from the pain. Snape hit her over and over again with the unforgivable curse and Bellatrix's laughter became louder each time.

Finally, distressed shouts and hollers could be heard echoing in the distance from the Hogwarts grounds; Dumbledore's lifeless body had been discovered by frantic faculty led by distraught Minerva McGonagall.

"They have found the old crow, we better leave now if we don't want to be sent to Azkaban," Bellatrix said grinding her teeth in annoyance at the lost opportunity of torturing the young student.

"Prepare the portkey; I will join you in a moment."

Bellatrix said nothing but grinned wickedly at Snape before slowly trudging off noticeably in immense pain after the curse she had received from Emma.

Snape turned to Emma and said scoldingly, "This should teach you and the idiotic friends you have not to stick your noses where they are not wanted."

Then he sent a curse at her that rendered her unconscious.

Logan stepped out of the grounds of Hogwarts and into his cottage on Xavier's property. His mind and heart were heavy after seeing what Emma had gone through in her short life. With every step, for each memory, there was a deeper explanation to why Emma was as messed up as she was. It wasn't normal or healthy, by any means that a teenager had had to go through such pain. The magical world was crueller than what was considered normal and those that lived in it were much more prone to get themselves into trouble.

Perhaps the reason was that witches and wizards relied so much upon magic to help them through every mundane event. They all lived and breathed magic which made them all more reckless with their lives. It made Logan admire Emma even more for distancing herself from the magical world and trying to stand on her own two feet. It couldn't always be easy for her as shown by her flaring temper and sudden frustration that sometimes came over her. It happened every time she couldn't use magic for the simplest and most mundane things that she had always used magic for in the past.

Seeing his memories had often been uncomfortable but Logan didn't fool himself. When dealing with his past, there was bound to be a lot of shit. He was brutal, rough and angry. The people he associated with were often the same, all but the few he knew from the Xavier's.

Logan turned around and saw Emma sitting in one of the two old chairs that were in the room, and the witch was staring at him with sadness pouring out of her, dark eyes shone with untold emotions that Emma was trying her best to suppress. It didn't seem to Logan that she wanted to talk about her memory as she often did. By distancing herself and refusing to enter the memory with Logan the witch had shown that she didn't want to re-live the events from that evening a few years earlier.

It surprised Logan to see such a distinctive characteristic of his shining through as Emma glanced at him, warily prepared to put up a wall of defence if Logan started to dig too deep. The witch usually played her hand too close to her chest; it wasn't healthy for someone her age to be that secretive. Seeing how she kept everyone at safe distance and only let Logan under her skin was reason enough to know that she had needed their sessions just as much as he did. They both desperately needed to face their pasts so they could move on together.

As the mutant walked closer to Emma she stood up from the chair and Logan was certain that she was thinking of bolting out the door as he had sometimes done when the pain of the memories had gotten too much. The witch surprised him by throwing herself into his arms for a long, tight embrace. Neither of them said anything for a long time, instead, they simply stood there giving each other the comfort they needed.

"I'm sorry darlin'," Logan muttered before kissing the top of her head and enjoying feeling Emma melt into their bear hug. He rested his chin upon the top of her head and decided to wait until she would break free. After a while, he realized that Emma didn't want to be let go, that she was getting comfort from him that she didn't want to miss. For them to get more comfortable, he walked to the chair and sat down with Emma in his arms, his muscular arms holding the witch tightly to his chest.

It only took Emma a few seconds before she had made herself perfectly comfortable on her lover's lap. Her head rested in the crook of Logan's neck and the fingers of one hand were drawing invisible symbols on his chest. Every time her ghostly touch lingered somewhere too long a deep rumble went through Logan's chest and a gentle smile grazed Emma's lips when she realized that Logan was purring softly. It was a sound Emma had never heard coming from him before and it lifted her spirit to hear the comforting sound from the mutant she loved so dearly.

Logan had growled at her and other members of Xavier's countless times, but the purring she had never heard that before. The sound felt both reassuring and soothing to her. The strong scent of cigars and whiskey made Emma feel even more at home on his lap. She snuggled even closer to him and sighed contently when his arms tightened even more around her making Emma feel comfortable and protected.

Emma could feel his beard rub her forehead as he looked down on her face to check if she was asleep. The witch wasn't far from dosing off, Emma sighed contently as Logan started to stroke her hair affectionately. The witch felt a hot breath on her face and felt Logan kiss the tip of her nose tenderly moments before she fell asleep. The only sounds in the cottage were the low crackling noises of the tobacco burning in Logan's cigar and the loud purring from the extremely content mutant. An affectionate gaze came into his eyes every time he looked down at the sleeping woman snuggled tightly into his arms. Love, Logan felt nothing but love for the sleeping witch in his embrace.