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.

The numbness and deep darkness that had engulfed Emma like a thick blanket ever since the final stand against Voldemort had finally dissolved from around her without her even noticing. It had taken a long time; it wasn't until March when Xavier pointed out something that shocked the witch. The professor sneakily told the witch that she seemed more carefree than upon arrival and Emma realized with an afterthought that the professor was spot on. Sure enough, life was not all unicorns and butterflies and never would be, but Emma felt more willing to enjoy life.

Logan was at the foreground of this drastic change in her, that much was evident to all those that knew Emma. The mutant's stubborn way of smashing through her defensive walls had disarmed the young witch and Logan had managed to worm himself into the deepest corners of her heart. Coming to Xavier's had changed her life for the better in mere months. Quite possibly, letting a hairy, old mutant into her life, had been the best decision of her adult life.

Logan was highly annoyed late Thursday afternoon in late March. He had had a shitty morning in the Danger Room with useless teenagers, which were too busy keeping their hormones in check than actually being able to fight worth shit.

The final blow to his mood was when he met Ororo outside the room and she told him that Rogue and Emma had had a serious clash. Details were not clear, something about Rogue saying something to the teacher, her making the girl stay late for detention and then no one knew what happened after that.

After a lot of grumbling Logan finally decided to find Emma and try to sort out what had happened between the two females that were the closest to his heart. The mutant didn't want to get stuck in the middle but something inside told him that it was more than a little tiff.

After trying to find Emma to no avail Logan went hunting for Rogue. The girl finally admitted to having verbally attacked Emma in front of the class saying something along the lines of that the teacher shouldn't be working at the institute since she was not a mutant. Logan was furious when he could smell that she was lying. His Marie, more like his own kid, was lying to him for the first time since they had met in Laughlin city.

That made the mutant furious.

A part of him knew that Rogue had not meant to hurt Emma's feelings and that she was more jealous than anything because he had fallen in love so suddenly with the witch. Rogue had told him that Emma had given her a month's worth of detention and forbidden her to go on dates for that time. It was probably the harshest punishment ever given to a student at Xavier's making Logan even more curious to hear from his wife what the hell had happened between the two.

Ororo had been less than impressed with the detention and had told Emma so but she hadn't budged saying, "you don't know what happened in there and it's my class to discipline as I see fit."

It was not often that Emma was so abrupt to people and let alone to Ororo who was one of the few that the witch seemed to like.

After going to the cottage and seeing it empty, there was only one place Logan could think of where Emma could be hiding away from the mansion. He was not happy to suspect that the witch was alone at their favourite bar, because it verified that something bad had happened between the two females.

As soon as he entered the bar Logan could smell Emma's scent; the cinnamon scent he would recognize anywhere in the world. The bar was almost empty but for a few regulars and Emma sitting by the bar drinking a large cup of hot cocoa.

Even from a distance, the witch looked miserable, and Logan chewed his cigar in annoyance as he walked closer to her. The closer he got to her, the stronger the cinnamon scent became, making him wonder if she had been using magic. Logan sat next to her ordering a drink, deciding to leave Emma to start the conversation.

The witch was silent not even greeting him as he sat down; instead, she stirred her cocoa absentmindedly while staring into space deep in thought. Logan drank his shot and another one before looking sideways to the witch that sat so quietly beside him. She looked tired and not as upset as he would have thought after seeing all the drama back at the mansion with Rogue and Ororo's ruffled feathers.

Emma seemed to take no notice of him as she traced her finger over the bar, on deeper inspection he saw that she was tracing the lines of the wood as if she was lost in a trance.

"Usually I enjoy watching your beautiful face darlin' I think we should head off to the cottage, what do you think?" Logan said carefully, not knowing how to approach the witch when she seemed so disconnected from everything as she tried to gather her thoughts.

A humourless snort was heard from Emma as she turned to look at him with a sad expression on her face. It was an expression he had not seen since the very beginning of their friendship.

Logan called to the bartender for a beer and another cocoa before dragging Emma with him to the booth furthest away from the counter. He was going to make her talk even if it would take the entire evening.

The couple waited in silence for their drinks and after the waitress left Logan looked impatiently at Emma, hoping she would say something, but she didn't. Granted, Logan tried, he tried to be patient but finally, he just burst with impatience.

"What the hell is this darlin'? Are you wallowing over some stupid shit that Rogue said?" He murmured, getting sick of Emma being so quiet.

"What words?" Emma asked hollowly as if she was not quite connected, as if a part of her was worlds away.

Logan swallowed hard, why did he have the sudden feeling that Emma was about to bolt? Why was his chest constricting so painfully at the thought of her leaving him? Was it because that was what he did when things got difficult or because things had been worse than Rogue had made him believe?

"Rogue said she had said some shit about you not belonging at the mansion."

"Yes, that she did," Emma replied and chuckled roughly sounding more like a witch than he had ever noticed before. The cinnamon smell became stronger in the air and Logan stared at her; concern etched into his face.

"So what if she did, why are you so upset over that?"

Emma looked at him thoughtfully while wondering just how much she should tell him. The gruff mutant knew her better than she cared to admit. To anyone else at the mansion, it would sound like a logical explanation to why she was upset, but not to the bulky man that sat in front of her. Logan had an internal bullshit detector; he would not buy the official explanation and she would never expect him to.

"I don't know if I should go there," Emma said discouraged, knowing that Rogue was one of the few that Logan cared about. The witch didn't want to ruin the relationship between the two or get between them somehow as Rogue seemed to fear so desperately.

"Dammit woman, the kid lied to me and you better not do the same," Logan snarled, slamming his massive fist down on the table, showing her how upset he was over the situation.

"Fine, I will tell you," Emma said giving up to his fierceness and waving the bartender away who was walking towards them to check on what the commotion was at their table.

"Rogue was very agitated today and I put her in her place like I do with everyone who misbehaves. Rogue didn't like the fact I asked her to stay after class as I wanted to set up detention. She spat at me that I did certainly not belong at the mansion amongst all the mutants," Emma said stopping to take a large sip of her drink and taking a moment to collect her thoughts.

Logan didn't say anything; he scowled at her and waited for her to finish her story.

"Then she stayed behind and she became furious with me when I forbade her from going on dates with Bobby for a month after calling me a monster. If she only knew what monsters are really like she wouldn't be calling me one," Emma muttered quietly to herself.

"The situation was under control until Rogue ripped off her gloves in a fit of anger and decided to come after me."

"What do you mean she came after you?" Logan growled, no one went after his mate, not even Rogue, without consequences.

Emma was serious when she looked at Logan not knowing how else to explain what had happened, "I mean, she wanted to drain me, and I was barely able to stop her from doing so. The situation rattled me Logan," Emma said, her dark eyes filled with anguish.

"Rogue scared you?" Logan asked shocked. After everything that the witch had seen in her life, it surprised her husband that the witch had been rattled by an emotional teenage girl, even if she was a powerful mutant.

"To be honest I was more afraid of myself," Emma clarified trying to find a way to explain what had happened without the Wolverine making the situation even worse.

"How so?" Logan asked curiously, the witch had never seemed afraid of her reactions before. Not even from her memories of the vicious war she had been a part of.

"I don't know how to explain it, please don't get angry at me for what I will tell you," Emma said, her eyes staring into his, willing him to understand that she needed him to stay calm while she confessed to him what burdened her.

"Shoot," Logan said gravelly, not sure he would like what she had to say. Hell, he was sure he wouldn't like it.

"When Rogue came after me, I tried not to show her how concerned I was. Before I understood what was happening, my hand had gone up to my sleeve where I always keep my wand. I ... I would have assaulted her, even done something unmentionable. I... I would have cursed her and most likely would have killed her if Scott wouldn't have knocked on the door. A second later and how knows, Rogue might even be dead now," Emma took a shaky breath and pushed onwards, she had to get it all out before she would start crying. The tears were already blocking her vision.

"How sad is that? A teacher killing a student. I am a monster, and I should quit today," the witch sniffed before finally breaking down defeated before sobbing desperately into her hands.

Emma was racked with the guilt of how close she had come to a life-threatening situation. The witch had underestimated how infatuated the girl was with Logan and had not realized how likely a hormonal teenager was to use her powers unwisely. It was something Emma should have remembered from her past as the trio and herself had been impulsive in their use of magic in their Hogwarts years.

Logan watched her silently for a moment before reaching out and caressing her curly hair softly. After a while, the witch leaned into his touch for support, but the crying didn't stop. If anything, it got worse.

"I'm sorry that Rogue put you in this situation, but you have every reason to defend yourself against someone who means you harm, even if that person is Rogue. Even if that person is me. Do you understand me? Even if it's me."

"C'mere darling," Logan said, abruptly pulling her to him in a bone-crushing hug while chewing annoyed at his cigar. He was fuming at Rogue for what she had done; her dangerous mutation could have easily killed his mate. Mutation was never a joke, but Rogue was burdened with the most dangerous mutation he knew of, she had to grow up and take responsibility for it.

Logan squeezed Emma tightly and was surprised when he felt the witch move around uncomfortable until she crawled onto his lap. Emma needed to feel him close to her, to feel safe and be able to trust that while he was around there was no way she could injure anyone. She pressed he face into his hard chest, his scent filling her senses and calming her down. Logan tightened his hold of her, making her feel protected from the world and hidden away in her cocoon. His gesture of protectiveness told Emma more than thousands of words ever could.

When Emma finally stopped crying, she sat in Logan's lap trying to calm herself down. The endless crying had done her no favour as her head was fuzzy with emotion; it had been long since she wept like that. For a long, while she sat in his lap, her head pressed to his chest listening to his steady heartbeat.

A comfortable rumble came from his chest soothing her further, her husband was purring in an attempt to soothe his mate. It worked and the witch traced her fingers over his chest in a thoughtless pattern. With her fingertips, she could feel the vibration of his chest and she was mesmerized by the feeling of security and love she was cocooned in.

Logan put his chin on top of her head playing with a lone strand of her hair that curled around his fingers making him feel warm inside. Even in the shady bar, which was slowly filling with patrons, Emma and Logan felt as if they were the only two people in the world. Sometime later the witch felt herself nodding off in the protective embrace that Logan had provided for her.

Logan let the witch sleep a while in his arms but after getting surprised gazes from the staff he grumbled, "I think we should head off before you fall asleep."

"Too late," Emma mumbled sluggishly and snuggling into his chest while trying to fall back to sleep.

Nevertheless, Logan didn't allow her to. It didn't matter how good it felt to have her sleepy and willing on his lap. He lifted his arms away from her body, trying to give her a hint to move off him. Emma looked peaceful with her face pressed on his chest and didn't seem to have any inkling that she was supposed to leave. The mutant pushed her very gently off his lap and onto the seat next to him. While she was rubbing her eyes to get them working again, he put money on the table to cover their tab.

"Come darlin'," Logan finally said dragging her out of the bar and driving slowly to the cottage. Logan had decided while in the bar that she wouldn't go to Xavier's until she was ready to. His instinct told him that she needed more time before heading back to work. Things might not go well if Rogue and Emma would meet face to face so soon after their clash.

Emma had fallen asleep as soon as he put her into bed and had not stirred while Logan looked at her deep in thought. He had made a decision but knew that Emma would be furious when she found out. Therefore it was better to have it over and done with while she slept. The witch's foreseen anger didn't bother him; it was in her best interest after all.

Logan headed to Xavier's office. Even though Logan hadn't told Emma at the time, he had taken Rogues actions very seriously. Using her mutant power like that against someone that she thought couldn't defend themselves from her, was an extremely serious situation.

Charles Xavier had to deal with it before Rogue would kill someone or get killed herself.

The day after, Emma woke up to a delicious scent of bacon cooking close to her. The witch opened her eyes confused and immediately saw Logan grin wolfishly at her before winking cheekily as he stood by the stove cooking.

"I'm cooking breakfast, want some?" Logan said too cheerily for her very sleepy brain, that didn't understand why the hell Logan was cooking breakfast in the first place. The mutant never ate breakfast, so the witch stared at him startled.

"Merlin. It's too early to be this cheerful, go away," Emma mumbled grumpily before dragging the cover over her head, hoping to be able to sleep some more.

Logan laughed at that. Countless people had complained about many things about Logan through the years but being too happy was not one of them.

"Get up," Logan said dragging the covers off her. The witch looked dishevelled, her curly hair sticking in every direction while her naked body rested tiredly on the cot.

"Breakfast in five minutes, that should give you time to get cleaned up," Logan shouted at her like a drill sergeant, before turning back to the stove.

The witch grumbled annoyed as she got up and walked towards the bathroom to take a shower. A while later she came out again feeling much better. Logan had his back at her but she knew he had heard her coming in, he had super heightened senses after all.

He turned around smiling widely at her and looking relieved when he saw that his wife looked better. Emma walked to where Logan was standing, her arms wrapping around his waist before she looked curiously into the pan to see what Logan had cooked for them.

"Hungry?" Logan asked teasingly as he watched Emma looking greedily at the food.

"Yes, I'm starving," Emma said smiling up at him before giving him a quick kiss.

He winked at her and rumbled "what was that for?"

"Thank you for taking care of me when I was such a mess. It feels wonderful to be this loved," Emma said patting his back affectionately.

"You're welcome darlin'. Put drinks on the table and then we have to talk," Logan said seriously and the witch eyed him warily before nodding in agreement. This was not a conversation she looked forward to. Not by any means.

Logan hated when Emma looked at him like that as if she was certain that his words would hurt her. One look was a better strategy against him than most weapons because it dragged out the man as well as the beast in him. Both seemed equally interested in protecting Emma and keeping her safe from the world.

While they were eating, Logan finally said what he had been waiting to say ever since Emma woke up, "I spoke to the professor."

She watched him warily and seeing that truly annoyed him. Emma, as his mate, should trust that he would always do what was best for her, but her past seemed to have made the witch distrustful of anything that went on behind her back.

"About what?"

"Rogue and you," Logan admitted not feeling sorry at all. It had to be dealt with and he had been the best person to do that.

"Why would you do that? Knowing that Charles might fire me?" Emma said with an accusing tone that was sounding angrier with every word.

"Look I will not have Rogue attacking anyone, let alone you. You are my mate, and I will protect you!" Logan said trying not to let her tone go under his skin. The mutant knew he had to try to rein it in, to keep the conversation cool while he got through what had been said.

"If I had wanted Xavier to know I would have told him myself Logan. I didn't need you to run to him behind my back!"

"You were too busy running away to take the time to talk to anyone!" Logan snapped and felt the feral side of him skim the surface as a warning. Things were not going well; he had not expected the witch to get so livid over his actions.

"What happened had nothing to do with you. That is why I didn't tell you!"

After a few moments of glaring competition between the two, Emma surprised both of them by putting her arms up in defeat to try to calm down the situation. She wanted everything to calm down before an argument would break out. The witch didn't want to fight Logan; he was too precious to her.

"What did Charles say?" Emma asked in defeat knowing better than trying to argue with her husband. They were both quick-tempered and arguments could turn ugly far too quickly for her taste.

"Charles was not happy. He's going to have private sessions with Rogue. It's dead serious when a kid thinks to use her mutation like that."

"What about me?" Emma asked fidgeting and worried that Charles would have some problem with her. Nothing had happened but there had been a real possibility of it the day before.

"Nothing. Even if you would have acted, it would have been in self-defence. But you didn't so there is nothing to talk about," Logan said trying to hammer into her head that she had done nothing wrong. However, Emma looked at him in disbelief as if he were crazy to have so much confidence in her.

"Do you hear me? You did nothing wrong!" Logan barked sounding like a drill sergeant again, before stomping out to have a cigar so he wouldn't strangle the stubborn witch that had so low confidence in herself.

Emma stared after her husband as he left the cottage and a second later, she could see him lighting a cigar and biting down at it in annoyance. It seemed that Logan had done her a massive favour by going to the professor and smoothing things out when she was unable to.

The witch stood up and walked to the veranda to Logan. The large mutant wrapped his arm around her and dragged her into his side, as he so often did. The mutant pressed his face to the nape of her neck and breathed deeply in, a contented rumble coming through his chest.

"Why are you scenting me so much these days?" Emma asked curiously and the mutant gave her a small grin, his hazel eyes twinkling with humour.

"Because your scent has changed, you smell even better than usual," Logan said, before sniffling her once again.

"How better?"

"Good enough to eat," Logan said and laughed happily before pulling the witch closer to his chest for a kiss. When the kiss broke Emma felt she needed to apologize to her husband that had had her best interest at heart even though his methods were often slightly unusual.

"Forgive me Logan, I know I can be an idiot. Thank you for helping me," Emma murmured, and Logan looked down at her with a quirked eyebrow as if he wanted to say something but was trying to keep it inside.

"You're welcome difficult witch," Logan murmured before kissing the top of her head and embracing her tightly.

A few days later Xavier called Emma into his office to discuss what had happened. Logan had wanted to join her, but Emma had refused as she wanted to face the professor alone. Xavier welcomed Emma into his office and after she sat down the professor said to her, "we have to discuss your wand, my dear. I understand that it's a habit to have it on your person but I'm afraid that something serious might happen one day. I have already set up appointments to work with Rogue to work on her issues and now it's time we find options for you as well."

"I agree," Emma grumbled not enjoying having to admit her shortcomings to someone like Charles who always seemed so perfect in everything he did.

"Don't be angry at Logan for talking to me," Xavier said perceptively, chuckling when he saw a blight blush come over her cheeks and neck.

"Logan spoke to me because he worried about your wellbeing and he cares about Rogue. He just wants peace between you two."

"Yes, I know. I simply must protest as I seriously doubt that you can help me with controlling my magic, since you know nothing about it," Emma said before adding quickly when she saw that Xavier looked at her in surprise, "forgive me that came out harsher than I had wanted."

"It's quite alright; I never thought you were without flaws as no one is," Charles said and almost chucked aloud when Emma's dark glance almost pierced through him. At least he knew that the witch was willing to put up a fight, that she wasn't willing to roll over and play dead.

Emma quickly decided to change the conversation, she had no appetite to discuss her control of her temper or lack thereof to someone as stoic as Xavier, "So how do you suggest to control my magic in case of an accident?"

"I could try to set up some mental barrier and see if that works," Charles advised instantly knowing by Emma's reaction that she didn't like his suggestion at all. Emma bit her tongue as if she wanted to shout at him and he wondered how close she was actually to doing so.

"No offence Xavier but I don't like someone in my head, and I worry that putting mental barriers might somehow ruin my ability to do magic in the future. After all, it's not long until Logan and I will leave."

"What is your suggestion then?" Charles asked curiously needing to know what the witch wanted to do. They had to find some compromise, something that would stop a potentially lethal situation from forming. He was already working with Rogue and needed Emma to show interest as well in keeping the peace in the mansion.

"I think it's safest for everyone in this house that I keep my wand tucked away in my room while I'm inside the mansion. I haven't used magic at all in the mansion, so while I'm here I will keep it in the room I share with Logan," Emma said, and didn't explain that she had promised Dumbledore to use only small spells to not be tracked until Harry and Ginny would return. Legilimens used very minimal magic even though it was potent and was nearly undetectable by others.

"I agree with your decision and thank you for suggesting this, but please, have it on your person when you are outside these walls. I want you to be safe and sound. With the mutant protests all over the country, it might not be safe out there for you since you have been seen with mutants."

"I assure you that I plan to have it with me when outside. Without my wand I feel naked," Emma said smiling and feeling as if she had underestimated Xavier. He was not the meddling kind; his tactics were freer than she was used to from Hogwarts. The professor allowed people to reflect on their problems and then try to come up with a solution without meddling too much.

Emma left feeling reasonably happy with the compromise, as happy as she could be having to part with her beloved wand while at the mansion. It was a temporary situation, in three months Emma would head to Canada with her beloved and things would be much easier for the both of them.