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 and Emma had arrived back at the mansion after a day trip to the city. It was dinner time, and the couple walked hand in hand to the staff dinner table. The couple sat down in the two empty chairs that were waiting for them side by side. Charles looked up at them and grinned, he had been the only one at the mansion that knew what the couple was up to that snowy afternoon in early January.

"Hello everyone, we have a little announcement," Emma said warmly, her hand interlocked with Logan's and the tall mutant raised his eyebrow in a challenge to the staff who stared at the couple curiously.

"We just got hitched at city hall," Logan said, and the staff stared at them wide-eyed in silence. The two had been incredibly happy ever since Christmas but none of the faculty could have imagined that marriage was in their plans.

"You got married!?" Ororo asked shrilly and shocked not to have been a part of the planning of the event.

"Yes, we wanted something simple. No-fuss for us," Emma said before smiling widely at Logan who grinned down at her. The wedding had been perfect, but their private ceremony weeks early had sealed it for them. The official marriage itself had simply made it official in the human world.

"Congratulations you two. May I propose a toast to the happy couple?" Charles Xavier said warmly, and the newlyweds grinned at the professor who had been the only one that had known what Emma and Logan were up to.

All of them raised their glasses and said, "to the happy couple!"

"Thank you all so much," Emma said blushing brightly and Hank laughed before his huge hand slapped Logan's back in congratulations. There had always been an understanding between the two mutants, one was feral and the other one had enough ferality within him to understand how profound it was for Logan to finally have met his mate.

"The happy couple is leaving after this semester," Xavier told the staff that protested loudly, and Emma felt warmth in her chest at how much her friends cared about their presence at the mansion.

"Why? Where are you going?" Scott asked curiously and Logan raised his eyebrow in his signature quirk at the question.

"We want to live somewhere quiet and perhaps have children someday soon," Emma admitted, and Logan nodded in agreement. He had never considered having children until after he mated with the witch. After their bond had been established, it was a deep need within him to have a family of his own with the wild witch. Thankfully Emma agreed, she wanted to live in peace where she could raise children without them being in danger. Chances were that their offsprings would either be magical or mutants, even both. That meant that Emma and Logan would have to go the extra mile to protect them as they grew up.

"It's difficult to imagine Logan with a group of little Wolverines around," Scott teasingly and Emma laughed merrily, "the only thing that matters is that we can imagine that."

Logan grinned at Emma before giving her a quick kiss on the lips in agreement. They had moved their things together into Emma's room but would be spending most of their time at the cottage until they had fulfilled their contracts with Xavier. After that, they would go on a road trip to find the perfect place for their future home away from it all.

It was a quiet Friday evening in late January. The couple was having their usual legilimens session after a long break due to their marriage, and then they had simply been too busy to return to their usual sessions as school became increasingly busier.

The clouds of terror were starting to surround young mutants that had so far been left out of the loop when it came to harassments by humans that didn't understand and didn't want to understand how common mutants were. A few of Xavier's more obvious mutants had been harassed openly, including Hank McCoy. It had frightened the students and most of the staff to know that the big Beast had been harassed. If he could be harassed, then it was safe to assume that the others didn't stand a chance.

In the dim-lit cottage, Emma's mind was not on the recent difficulties but rather on Logan's recent memory that they had dug up and what it had shown them. It had shown Logan finding a murdered Kayla, his love, laying on the ground and there had been blood everywhere around the murder scene. The whole thing had seemed so pointless and devastating to Emma as Kayla had seemed a genuinely nice woman and it had been painful to watch Logan suffer so much when he found her dead. He had been utterly and distraught, more beast than man as he howled with grief.

Emma's gaze searched out her husband who was not sitting far from her but his mind was decades away, fresh sorrow in his face over a death of a loved one that he had forgotten a long time ago.

"Do you remember anything about her now?" Emma asked Logan carefully after a while when she thought he had been silent too long, it was not good for him to bury everything so deep inside as always did. At some point, it would come bursting out. She didn't want to disturb him but if they talked about it, his memory would perhaps be triggered and possibly a surge of memories would finally come out. Logan's whole memory might be restored in a short amount of time, as they had moved around enough memories for that to be possible.

"I remember glimpses, fractures of our life together," Logan finally replied, his eyes stuck on the dark horizon while he chewed on an unlit cigar and appearing as if he hardly noticed that Emma was there.

"What do you remember?" Emma pushed after a moment of silence.

"She insisted on cutting my hair instead of allowing me to do it myself. She hated spiders and would scream at the top of her lungs if she saw one in the house until I came to kill it for her," he said snorting humourlessly lost in his memories.

"Kayla used to cook my steaks rare and they were perfect every time, she drank beer from the bottle and, like you, she treated me like I was a human and not an animal," Logan said smiling sadly at his young friend whose burdens were too heavy for someone so young. Logan cringed at the understanding gaze Emma gave him, the stoic way she waited for him to unload his thoughts. It was at times like these that he wished that he had never started digging in his past; it wasn't fair on the witch to force her to see his life up-close and personal.

Logan sighed deeply and took a long swig of his beer before continuing, "Kayla was sweet, thoughtful and never left me no matter how much the beast in me wanted to get rid of her and fought me every moment that I stayed with her."

"What did the Wolverine do?" Emma asked, refusing to use the word beast over a part of Logan. He had to get over calling himself an animal, she had a hunch that he would never heal properly to move forward until he would be able to embrace himself for who he was.

"The beast in me snapped at her often and I lost my temper. I often thought she smelled wrong even though I couldn't point my finger on what it was."

"That can't have been easy for either of you. Isn't it important that the man and ... I don't like to call it beast; I'm more comfortable with saying the wilder side of you. Isn't it important that man and the feral side agree when choosing a life partner?"

"It should be, that I would fall in love and my feral side would choose the same person as a mate. It happened with you," Logan gave the witch a small smile, "My feral side did not want Kayla as a mate, there seemed to be something that it didn't like enough to consider her as such. The man I am was head over heels in love with her and didn't want to let her go. Therefore the two sides sometimes battled inside of me making things difficult," Logan admitted quietly, more to himself than to Emma. Something was bothering him about that feeling, something he knew he should remember but still didn't.

"Have you remembered any reason why your feral side didn't like her as it should have?"

"Not that I remember and what else could there be? I remember everything from the time I met her until the time she died," Logan grumbled annoyed. It was good to remember but still, it annoyed him. Each answer he got about his past multiplied the questions that were roaming around in his mind, making him more confused than ever before.

"You're right." Emma nodded in agreement before adding cautiously, "If you would like we could try again and check if we find out who killed her."

"Are you sure that it's okay?" Logan asked suspiciously. Emma had never offered to go twice into a memory in one session. The mutant didn't want her to feel uncomfortable about his relationship from decades ago. The feelings he had had for Kayla were nothing compared to the immense happiness he felt with the witch and he didn't want Emma to feel insecure in any way over what she would see.

"I can't promise you that we will end up where we left off, but we can try. I think it's best you think about the moment when you found Kayla. Just think of that and we will work it from there if we are lucky," Emma said smiling reassuringly at him, there were few things in the world she wouldn't do for Logan.

She understood his need to understand his past and get the answers he was looking for. Even if Emma felt jealous on some level, she still realised it was impossible to compete with ghosts of the past. Both sides of Logan adored her, she was his mate, and the witch was happier than she had ever been. Because of the love Emma had for the mutant, she would help him to dig through the awkward memories of his ex-lover without too much discomfort.

Logan studied her with a piercing gaze for a moment as to understand if she was able to do it and then he jumped at the chance, "let's do it."

Emma sat back in her chair facing Logan who was ready for another onslaught of memories. He looked at her anxiously and she finally asked, "what?"

"So I just think about the moment I found her?" Logan asked insecurely and Emma realized it couldn't be easy to think back on something so painful like losing a lover and hoped the session would ease some of his obvious pain.

"A little before, when you found the bear head. I remember you felt some scent then. I know it's not fun but it's the best idea I've got, and it might give you some answers," Emma said in a reassuring tone as if talking to a scared child that she wanted to calm down.

"Okay, let's go," Logan said exhaling loudly looking much braver than how Emma felt but she smiled reassuringly to him as she pointed her wand towards his face,

"Legilimens."

Instantly Emma was back in Logan's mind as he rushed through trees to where a bloody head of a bear had been tossed carelessly to the ground. Logan's nostrils twitched as a fresh scent of a man assaulted his senses. It was a scent he knew, a scent he had known for a long time. Logan looked warily as if he expected an attack from the forest and instead, he could see claw marks on the trees around the clearing. The gashes on the bark of the trees were deep and bloody. To an amateur, they looked as if a huge animal had made them, but Logan knew exactly who had made them. The long claw marks were bloody and deep. An amateur might have thought some kind of a monster did them and in a way, they would have been correct, a monster disguised as a man.

Logan's workmates tried to ask him what was going on, but the mutant ignored them before running forward chasing after the scent that could be felt over the wilderness. Logan ran at an inhuman speed, urgency pushing him forward as every step brought him closer to the source of the scent that burned his nose.

The mutant broke out of the forest and saw Kayla's car by the side of the road. It was empty and four deep claw marks were through the hood of the car. Logan stopped to scent the air, it was the predator's one and this time it was mingled with the sweet scent of Kayla.

Logan tracked the scent to a clearing and the scent of fresh blood attacked his senses. For a moment the mutant gasped as if he couldn't breathe, the scent of Kayla's blood was everywhere. Confusion took over for a moment before the mutant managed to reel himself in to figure out where the scent trail was the strongest. Logan ran into the forest and quickly came to a clearing, in the middle of the clearing he could see Kayla laying unmoving on the ground, making his throat constrict in alarm.

Running in panic towards her, Logan called out her name repeatedly before finally crouching next to her body. His arms touched her face and pulse feeling that Kayla's body was already getting cold and his sharp senses couldn't hear any heartbeat in her dead body. Her beautiful face was lifeless and her eyes, once sparkling with life, were pools of nothingness, as they stared unseeing into the sky above. Logan closed her eyes quickly, sobbing out her name and rocking her body in his arms for a long time while roaring anomalistically out in pure anger.

Finally, Logan's crying subsided, and he laid Kayla down as respectfully as he could before anger took full control over his body and soul. More animal than man Logan scented the air, the strong scent of a predator who had attacked Kayla was simply too poignant to ignore. Without any decision he was walking away from Kayla, the life he had shared with her and running towards the forest tracking the scent of the man who had murdered her.

Logan ran through the forest only stopping from time to time to smell the air. Somehow, he knew that he was getting closer with each step he took.

When he entered a small lumber town the trail was fresh. The track led him to a pub at the end of town. A pub might have been too high-quality of a name for the shed that was in front of Logan. On the outside, it looked like an old warehouse or a barn that had been changed into a pub for the lumberjacks.

Logan prowled outside the shed and could only scent the one feral scent. The other scents smelled distinctly human and irrelevant to him as his hunt continued.

The vision faded and Emma tiredly shook her head to try to get rid of the light-headedness that was raising havoc on her system. Doing double legilimens in one evening certainly hadn't been a good idea. The witch opened her eyes slowly and was face to face with a furious looking Logan that looked furious.

"AGAIN!" Logan snarled, impatience clearly showing as he lifted her tired, sloping form upwards, urging her to start yet another legilimens session.

Emma's head pounded after the last vision and the witch wasn't sure she could continue. It was a myth that magical powers didn't need time to recharge. They did, especially when trying to work with someone's memory.

"Logan, I'm not sure I can, I'm already knackered and I'm not sure I can manage another session without endangering us both. Magic needs patience, especially this kind of magic that is unchartered territory for me," Emma admitted, trying to hint to her new husband that she was a hair away from collapsing from exhaustion.

"I just want to know what happened next," Logan rumbled at her, his face set in a snarl and the muscles in his body set to pounce at the horror of what the mutant had lived in his memory. His usual hazel eyes shone brighter, much clearer green as if the anger within was somehow bursting out of him.

"Again, please Emma!" Logan growled, the beast inside blocked the man from seeing the witch's pale face or the cold sweat that had broken out on her face after the last session. Emma looked shattered but the beast convinced the man to insist.

"I've never done three in a row. I don't know what will happen to us," Emma said calmly trying to reason with him even if she could see that it was impossible. Logan had never behaved so stubborn and pushy. The painful memory had rattled him, not a combination with the need to hunt down Kayla's killer.

"Just fucking do it!" Logan growled his eyes piercing into hers, challenging the witch to use her magic again.

"Wolverine, you better let me go right now before I do something that you will regret," Emma said in a raspy voice, showing just how angry the witch was getting over the whole situation. If there was one thing in the world that the witch hated it was to be pushed into doing something she didn't want to do.

Cinnamon scent quickly filled the room and Logan's eyes opened wide in surprise as he stared at the angry witch. Emma was about to do something, and he wondered if she would use that moment to attack him. As Logan opened his mouth to beg for forgiveness, he noticed Emma raising her wand with a determined look. Her dark eyes revealed just how angry she was at him, and her lips were set in a silent snarl.

After the session, he would apologize and grovel for forgiveness until the witch would love him again. There was no part of Logan that didn't admit that he had mistreated Emma's patience and pushed her into doing more magic than she was willing to do. The beast in him thought no price too high to know about his dark past, but Logan simply went by instinct and the need to know about his troubled past.

Emma hoped Logan would feel it like a kick in the guts when she would attack his mind. The witch hissed out the word, "legilimens," and forced herself as roughly as she could into Logan's mind without caring if she caused him pain. Logan grunts of alarm at her invasion, albeit asked for, were the last things she heard from the real world before entering Logan's memory.

They were back where they had left off.

This time Emma could feel the rain as it poured down on Logan's face as he stormed determinedly towards the front door of the bar. Just seconds before reaching the door he bellowed loudly, "Victor!" before ripping the door open and almost off its hinges.

Inside were a few town people having a drink at odd tables scattered around the place. By the bar sat a large, dark figure that looked completely out of place there. Emma knew it had to be Victor Creed, even though he looked half-hidden by his large coat that covered his muscular form.

Logan breathed heavily, bursting with anger while he waited for the large mutant to acknowledge his presence.

"Well, well, well look what the cat dragged in," Victor drawled as he turned around slowly to look at Logan with laughter twinkling in his eyes as if he had stolen Logan's toy and not murdered his lover.

The bartender tried to stop the inevitable fight and said to the two men, "guys, whatever this is, take it outside."

As a silent response, Logan's bone claws started to come out of his hands and scaring the patrons of the bar to run for safety. Victor Creed smiled enthusiastically watching the people run for their lives. He was still sitting on the stool by the bar but turned towards Logan.

"Why?" Logan's anger, frustration, bitterness and sorrow pushed into that one word.

Victor Creed replied to Logan's question with another question, "why?"

The larger mutant chuckled coldly, flashing his fangs at Logan before standing up and walking towards him showing his massive frame that still moved smoothly and silently as he marched forward.

"You don't call, you don't write. How else am I supposed to get your attention?" Victor sneered and Logan eyesight focused on the mutant's fingernails that were growing longer with each second. They were the only sign that Victor was readying himself for a fight as the rest of him looked as if he was having a quiet stroll in a park.

Logan took a few shaky breaths before snapping his head up and running to attack. Not a second later Victor did the same while snarling viciously, his eyes gleaming with mischief. A second later he jumped into the air towards Logan; the blow was so powerful that both of their bodies flew through the front door of the bar while the two mutants grabbed hold of each other.

The wind was knocked out of Logan's body when he crashed into the ground with the heavy Victor Creed on top of him. That gave Victor the seconds he needed to strike. He grabbed Logan by the collar of his shirt and flung him to a large heap of lumbered trees that were waiting for transportation. Logan's body slammed heavily into the trees and Emma could hear a loud crunch as a few dozen bones broke in his body. Instantly healed Logan jumped into a defensive stance as Victor came after him again.

The two massive mutants hit, stabbed and punched each other trying desperately to get the upper hand as they seemed so close in strength. Emma tried to focus on the fight, but she felt her attention falter again and again. It was getting extremely difficult for her to keep the connection steady as her magical energy was almost completely depleted.

As Victor threw Logan into a large fork lifter, Logan lost his breath and fell to the ground in front of Victor. As Logan struggled to stand up again, Victor walked close to him with a stern look on his face as if he was the teacher and Logan was the pupil who had just fucked up big time.

Only Victor´s blue eyes betrayed some flicker of emotion, even though for the life of her, Emma could not understand why that emotion was even there to begin with. The large mutant seemed set out to kill Logan and it was simply for his regenerative power that she knew he would come out of the fight unscathed.

"I hate to say it James but frankly I'm a little disappointed," Victor said hinting that Logan was out of shape. He was in a way; he hadn't had fights in almost six years or ever since he had met Kayla. After that, his need had been for a quiet life, without fighting.

"Stay down," Victor ordered but Logan finally managed to get the energy to stand up and attack again. The two mutants assaulted each other brutally, slashing each other wherever they could intent on hurting. Finally, Logan managed to throw Victor away from him towards a high stack of lumber.

Victor showed incredible feline grace as he turned in the air, facing Logan as he landed on the top of the pile. Victor turned a bad situation into his advantage as he loosened the timber, jumped away and let the trees fall on Logan who was too slow to run for cover. The next thing Logan felt was Victor dragging his body from under the pile of massive timber. Logan was dragged up by his collar struggling to stay conscious after all the heavy blows he had gotten.

Victor stuck his face close to Logan's, so they were almost nose to nose before growling at him "Tell me something Jimmy. Was she worth it?"

Logan mumbled something incoherent and then Emma felt her control loosen as her vision flickered wildly for a moment. One moment she was standing watching Victor and Logan, the next moment the vision had completely changed into the dark halls of Hogwarts.

A younger Emma was dressed in her black cloak as she walked hurriedly through the halls of Hogwarts. She was the only student that was out of bed at that time of night as every exit of the school was closely guarded by Dementors who didn't hesitate to suck the life out of anyone who attempted to leave the castle.

A loud screeching sound was heard in the distance and Emma stopped in her tracks listening to the source of the sound. Dementors terrified her just as much as any other person and she was livid that the new headmaster had summoned her the same evening as Voldemort's forces had taken over Hogwarts.

Emma knocked on the headmaster's door with more impatience than she usually showed, she had dreaded the meeting but knew she had to attend it. Times were dangerous times for everyone in the magical community, especially after Death Eaters had taken over the wizarding world.

"Enter," a voice drawled from the other side of the door and Emma took a deep breath to steady herself before walking in and slamming the door as hard as she could behind her to show her frustration of being summoned like a dog to the headmaster's office.

"Miss Winter, a lady as always," Severus Snape said sarcastically from where he sat at what used to be Dumbledore's desk. Emma stared at Snape suspiciously; it was obvious that her former head of house was up to something no good. Then again, she couldn't remember a time when Snape was up to anything good.

The witch looked around the office, her eyes settling on a painting of a sleeping Dumbledore. Emma knew that the other headmasters had portrait paintings at the office but seeing the one of her beloved guardian hurt her deeply and she blinked her eyes rapidly to overcome the tears that threatened to fall at seeing the old wizards face.

Turning towards Snape she hoped that whatever he had to say would be relatively painless and that she could get back to bed. Roaming the halls was the last thing on her wish list after the darker side of the magical world had entered the school grounds.

For a moment Snape didn't say anything, his black eyes studying her as if he was waiting for her to attack him after their last meeting when he had used unforgivable curses on her. It took Emma a while to realize that he was waiting for her to say something. The witch took a shaky breath, grabbing her wand tightly and pointing it towards Snape murmuring the killing curse.

A green glow filled the room and in an incredible display of power, Snape moved quicker than she had ever expected. One moment Snape was sitting by the desk and in the next fraction of a second he had disarmed her, her wand flying to the other end of the office. Instead, Snape stood in front of her, his nostrils flaring with anger as he looked down at her.

Emma was emotional and knew she had rushed things; she should have poisoned the old snake. A frontal attack was not Slytherin forte, and it was obvious by her lack of strategy. The witch had been stupid and would probably pay with her life; the only consolation was the fact that the greasy git had just seen how much she hated him for everything he had done.

"Dumbledore is dead as you might have heard," the dark wizard said coldly staring at the young woman in front of him who looked as if she was about to claw his eyes out. Of course, she had heard, she had been on the grounds of Hogwarts when Snape had murdered Dumbledore. Emma and Harry had tried unsuccessfully to stop Snape and the Death Eaters from leaving.

The new headmaster could see her hands open and close as if she wasn't sure if she should punch him or not. Snape had realized it a long time ago that Emma had been affected heavily by her friends in Gryffindor, making her a total dunderhead in most areas of life, particularly about anything concerning Albus Dumbledore. The boldness of the Gryffindors had rubbed off on the witch, which made her irrational at times.

"You killed him you monster," Emma hissed angrily while getting ready to attack him again, this time with her hands.

Snape behaved as if he hadn't heard her. Public displays of opinions, feelings and loyalty were not his forte, even if the anger was just as in Emma's case. He grabbed Emma by her arms while pushing her backwards to the wall while looking at her with scorn, it was amazing that even in such danger the witch wouldn't shut up about her hate for him. In other times Severus might even have admired Emma for her persistence, but he was just getting aggravated listening to the spiteful, young woman in front of him who refused to give up even if he had disarmed her.

"I can't wait for Harry Potter to find you; he will strike you down you cur. Murdering bastard. You should be burnt at the stake for what you did to Dumbledore..." Emma felt herself getting more and more upset with every word as her fists started to pound angrily onto Snape's chest in an attempt to show him what a disgusting specimen of humanity he was.

"If I were you, I would have the good sense of shutting my gob, but knowing you that won't happen. Don't you understand that there is nobody left to protect you and your snivelling little friends who think they can save the world? You all better wake up and realize that the world has changed, and nothing will ever be the same again."

"You should know as you are largely responsible for the destruction of this school, I hope you are very proud of yourself you prat. Hundreds of years down the drain because of a power-hungry snake," Emma hissed angrily feeling exhausted from all the emotional stress of the day. Earlier in the morning, she had to comfort poor Minerva McGonagall that was heartbroken when she had heard who would be taking over the school.

"I did not call you here for you to attempt to murder me but to listen carefully. This excruciatingly painful meeting will end much quicker if you simply shut up for a moment," Snape said in a bored voice, lifting his eyebrows as daring the young witch to say anything against him.

"Thank Merlin, accio wand," Snape muttered holding out his hand and seizing Emma's wand, ignoring her angry stare as he securely put it up his sleeve for safekeeping. It would not be wise to have Emma hold her wand when he would tell her the reason why she had been called, he didn't know Emma Winter much but enough to comprehend that.

"Right, so before Dumbledore ... passed he had asked me to protect you in case something would happen to him."

Emma chuckled coldly before hissing, "Take care of me! How? By killing me as you did him?"

Logan felt a growl deep in his throat watching the man struggling not to punch her, as if she had gone so far over the line that he wanted to attack her. Emma seemed to realize what he was doing and instead of backing away, she continued her attack, fuelled by rage and love for Dumbledore.

"What, you want to attack me too? You are an unbelievable coward."

That was the moment that Severus Snape lost his patience, a rare thing indeed but it seemed that Emma knew a way to get under his skin. The wizard let go of her arms, grabbed her by the collar and almost lifted her off the ground slamming her into the wall behind her.

"The glorious guardian of yours made me promise to wed you if anything were to happen to him. To protect his beloved Emma from the evil of the world," Snape said, his voice low and dim.

"What? I don't want to marry a monster!" Emma spat refusing to believe that Dumbledore would have decided to put her into that sort of predicament. Of course, she wouldn't, thankfully the witch still had freedom of choice no matter how bad things still looked.

"And I don't want to marry a snivelling idiot that is hellbent on getting killed by Death Eaters. Nevertheless, it seems that I am forced to bind myself to you, putting myself in more danger than I can tell you simply to ensure your safety. It is the only way to assure Voldemort that you are one of us, at least for the moment. The Dark Lord knows about your traitor's blood, he despised your parents."

Snape let her go and walked back to his desk while Emma looked at him confused trying to understand the hidden motive behind his actions. Dumbledore had had no reason to want to push the two together; a union between the two was impossible and always had been. Out of everyone at Hogwarts, the old headmaster had known how much Snape and Emma detested each other.

"Why should someone want to hurt me so badly that I am forced to marry a Death Eater and one of the worst of them by the looks of it? Safe? Married to you? Not bloody likely. I will never marry you."

"You are not using your puny little mind. They know about you," When Emma's face looked confused by his words, Snape decided to finally tell her why Dumbledore had been worried about her.

"You miss high and mighty, are the spawn of traitors. A ridiculous liability for everyone who comes near you, especially for me who is cursed with the burden of having to protect you when you do not deserve it."

The young witch stared at him hurt and for the first time completely speechless, a rare occasion indeed.

"You are the daughter of Edward and Seraphina Winter," Severus Snape said pronouncing every letter with a force showing how much he detested the memory of the deceased couple.

"That was a secret that Dumbledore guarded quite closely because he knew the repercussions if the word would get out. Your parents were one of us, Death Eaters; they left because of your birth and finally died because of you," Snape hissed at her as her form seemed to get smaller with every word. Emma had never known about the darker side of her parents, Dumbledore had never told her and hearing it from Snape she knew it to be true.

"The least you can do is to respect their sacrifices by trying to stay alive no matter how insignificant you are."

"I have the feeling I won't stay alive for long if I am around you. I won't marry you," Emma replied tartly.

"That is certainly your decision just as my decision in the morning will be to send home all the students that come from non-magic households. As you know Hogwarts is a haven at times like this, who knows what dangers those wretched little muggles will find outside the walls of the school. After all, why would a Slytherin care about what happens to muggles?" Snape said in a chatty tone, his eyes glittering in triumph as he snapped his fingers. At the same instant, a house-elf popped up.

"Sir?" the young house-elf asked obediently waiting for Snape's wishes.

"I want you to prepare all the muggle students for their immediate departure in the morning..."

"No, Snape. Please don't do this," Emma muttered as she could feel Dumbledore's wishes cast a cage around her even beyond the grave. The witch knew she didn't want to align herself with Snape, but the decision seemed completely out of her hands.

"So will you marry me, or will you run like a snivelling child, putting others in danger simply because you are a coward?" Snape asked mockingly, a victorious grin showing just how much he had enjoyed that little ploy.

The vision ended and for the longest time darkness embraced the minds of Emma and Logan.

When Logan finally regained consciousness his senses were filled with the tangy metallic scent of fresh blood, his nostrils flared, and his eyes shot open in alarm. The mutant knew that scent anywhere, it was his beloved Emma.

In a direct line of sight, Logan saw Emma slumped over in her chair, the long, dark locks of hair covering her face. The witch was completely out and almost curled up in a foetal position on the small chair, her wand laying on the ground beside Emma's chair.

"Em?" Logan rumbled as he shot out of his chair to kneel in front of her. The witch didn't stir as he sat her up and started stroking her hair out of her face to see if he could wake her up. Emma's face was very pale, contrasting incredibly so with the blood that was trickling from one of her nostrils.

"Emma darlin', can you hear me?" Logan asked and studied her carefully, nervousness etching his features. Logan knew he had fucked up; he had pushed the witch too far. Emma's breathing seemed normal, and the mutant could hear her heartbeat steadily in her chest. Logan extended his arm and dried the blood with the sleeve of his shirt and then stood up wondering what he should do next.

Logan sighed agitatedly and ran a hand through his wild hair in confusion. He couldn't bring her to Xavier's like this; instead, he would wait a moment to see if she would recover from her magic. Finally, Logan decided to lift her into his arms and carefully lay her on the small cot. After making sure she was as comfortable as possible, Logan sat down beside the cot, his sharp gaze never leaving her as he waited for her to stir.

As Logan studied her pale face, his thoughts raced thinking of the things he had witnessed and the inexcusable thing he had done to his young wife. In the early morning, Emma finally awoke and the first thing she noticed were Logan's hazel eyes peering anxiously down at her and as her vision expanded, the witch saw that his face was contorted in lines of worry.

"Hi," Emma mumbled and struggled to get up. Logan put his large hands down on her chest and pushed her firmly down to the cot. The witch wasn't going anywhere if he could help it, what she needed was rest.

"You ain't getting up yet," Logan said decisively and Emma agreed with him when the headache started. It was as if a large drum was booming inside her skull.

Seeing Emma flinch in pain Logan asked worriedly, "what is it?"

"Nasty headache," Emma replied and reached out for his hand as for comfort. His large hand covered hers and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"How do you feel besides the headache?" Logan asked and she quirked his eyebrow at him as if asking if he was serious.

"I feel tired, this shouldn't have happened," Emma said truthfully even though no anger was in her voice. Logan bowed his head in shame at her words. He had spent the entire night thinking of how to discuss what had happened, how to make her understand and how to apologize.

"I wish someone had warned you about me darlin´, that I wasn't any good and that I would end up hurting you like everyone else that comes near me. Maybe it was good that you found out this early in the game that there are times where I am not in total control, that there are moments that the animal within is much stronger than the man. I'm so sorry, please forgive me," Logan stared at Emma keenly hoping that the witch would understand at least a fraction of how much she meant to him. Leaving all magic behind and memories, the woman mattered more to him than he had realized. Without her life would be a very dark place to live and he prayed she wouldn't push him out of her life and terminate their friendship.

Emma was quiet for a while, her thumb unconsciously stroking the back of his hand, giving them both the comfort after the night they had had. Her mind was racing, trying to find a way to explain herself properly and needing Logan to understand how close he had been to ruin their relationship.

"I do understand your need for answers, but your past is very troubled. I ask you one thing, one thing that you have to do to be able to keep me by your side."

"Anything darlin', you know that. Anything," Logan replied huskily, lifting her hand to his lips and kissing it before pressing the palm of her hand onto his chest over his heart.

"Never push me like that again. Forcing me to do something for your gain with no thought of the price I have to pay to make it happen. Never Logan. Not you. If you keep that promise I will stand by your side as long as you want me to," Emma said distractedly, fascinated by the strong heartbeat she could feel under her fingertips. The look Logan had given her ever since she woke up rattled something deep inside of her; there was so much desperation in his gaze. He looked terrified of losing her.

"That's going to be a very long time then darlin´ coz I'm never doing that again and I'm never letting you go. You come before everything, even me knowing about my past. Seeing you after ... unconscious scared the shit out of me, I thought I had killed you."

"Good, then I see a long, prosperous marriage in our future," Emma said and smiled tiredly.

"I don't think we should do this again Emma, it's not worth it. I can't have you get hurt over this. The price is too high," Logan said with what he hoped was a strong conviction.

He chuckled when the witch raised her eyebrow mirroring him even too well. The kid had been spending too much time with him he realized. Quickly Emma's smile turned into a frown when she started to think about the memories they had shared before. She sat up quickly and ran to the toilet to empty her stomach.

"You all right?" Logan asked her when she finished and sat deflated on the floor beside the toilet.

"Been better," Emma replied with a shaky voice before admitting to herself that she was an emotional wreck. Going back to the memory of Snape had been the last thing she had wanted to do and it had stirred up unfinished emotional baggage that she would feel uncomfortable with forever.

"I'm sorry you had to see all that stuff," she said with a raspy voice, her eyes welling up as desperation crept into her soul. A part of her wondered if he would think less of her after knowing how she had been forced into a marriage with Severus Snape.

Logan sat down beside her on the floor, lifted her onto his lap as Emma buried her face in his broad chest. He understood what the witch meant. The mutant had felt the same way about some of the things she had seen when she dug into his brain. It was difficult to be so vulnerable, even if it was in front of a beloved one. To trust someone with your mind and your heart was a difficult situation.

"Shhhh darlin', I understand. It's been hard for me too. Both to see things I did that I don't remember and then seeing you struggling without help. It killed me to see that you were alone, that nobody was there to help you," Logan said and pressed her closer to his chest.

Finally, Logan couldn't hide his curiosity and asked her, "So did you marry that guy?"

"I became his wife the day after," Emma answered, mumbling into his chest and feeling a blush come to her face. What a disaster that so-called marriage had been.

"How did it go?" Logan asked inquisitively remembering the encounter in the pensive. It was more than obvious that the two hated each other.

Emma chuckled darkly, "It didn't, we fought every time we met, and our quarters became our battlefield of choice. Snape thought I was a spoiled child with no survival instinct or any idea of what was going on around me in the world. Instead, I thought he was a murdering bastard. Both accounts were true I guess in hindsight. It was not the best combination for a successful marriage. We ended the unhappy union as soon as the war ended. I was not stupid; the greasy git was my only way to survive. He was second in command and had the authority to be my shelter, but I hated being dependant on him. I hated him for helping me."

"It was a dirty trick he used using the kids against you."

"That's Slytherin for you; I should have seen it coming when he didn't get his way right away. During the marriage, I tried to get my revenge against him, and I failed each time. It's very hard to outwit him," Emma admitted as she thought back on the antics of the very young Madame Snape that did everything she could to spite her husband.

Seeing Emma smile tiredly Logan finally realized that everything was alright between them, he had fucked up, but the crisis had been averted. The mutant was grateful for having found her, she was important to him and seeing her smile tiredly made him grin like a young kid.

"Feel better?"

Emma looked up at him affectionately and nodded. She adored the brusque man. Logan had huge armour around himself but when a person got past that one realized what a good and decent man he was, even if he had the subtlety of a bulldozer when he wanted something.

"Alright, let's get you to brush your teeth and then you're going to bed," Logan said and letting Emma go so she could stand up. As she prepared for bed, Logan waited outside the bathroom and then escorted her to bed. When she crawled under the covers Emma pushed herself into the corner, using as little of the cot as she possibly could. Then she petted on the covers beside her as an invitation for Logan to lay beside her.

"I think we both need some sleep," Emma said looking at him with a little smile on her face. Emma had no problem about sharing a bed with him even if they had had a fight, it was water under the bridge, they both needed comfort after the difficult memories they had faced and what overused magic had done to their bodies.

Logan took the last puff of his cigar before killing its embers in the palm of his hand. By the time he pulled the cigar from his hand, the wound was already healing, and the witch stared mesmerized. From the time they had first met, Emma had seemed charmed by his healing factor.

It had taken Logan a little while to get comfortable as the cot was very small and his body was bulky. Finally, he had settled on his side and Emma's head resting on one of his arms while the other wrapped possessively around her waist.

"Promise me something."

"What?" Emma asked suspiciously, not used to promising anymore without knowing what was going on. Knowing too many Slytherins in her life had at least taught her that.

"If I get a nightmare, get the hell out of the bed. No questions asked," Logan said seriously thinking of the time he had almost killed her in his sleep. It seemed that Emma remembered the incident just as clearly as he did for she nodded in agreement right away.

"Yes I will, I promise."

Logan gave her a wolfish grin before settling his face in her curly mane enjoying the scent that was so uniquely her. It didn't take long before the couple was fast asleep.