Bring Them All Back

Daisy nearly collapsed when she opened her eyes. Partially from exhaustion and partially from finding two of her connections had snapped at some point during the fight. How could she have missed that? She looked around the pitch, quickly taking in everything.

Folks were helping each other up, looking over wounds. Dealing with the enemy and rounding them up to be transported to the Ministry. They were all covered in dirt and bruises, but seemingly okay. How was it that they had lost those two? Immediately, she was sick to her stomach – they weren't even supposed to be there.

"No," she murmured as she felt Wills' arms tighten her, holding her up. "No, no, no."

"What is it, Pix?" he asked. She leaned her head against him again, hot tears coursing down her cheeks. Even with the knowledge she could bring them back, it still didn't take away the pain of knowing they were - even if momentarily - gone.

"It's coach…" she said, swallowing hard. "And Blanks… they're gone." Wills held her close as she cried, rubbing her back.

"It's okay… you can bring them back…" he said softly.

"But they shouldn't have died in the first place… they weren't even supposed to be here. This is why I didn't want you all here," she said, the frustration entering her voice. Wills nodded, unsure of how to answer. Instead he just held on to her for a moment until she pushed him away and wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"I knew this would happen," she said hollowly, looking off down the field.

"Pix, it's not your fault," Wills said. She looked up at him.

"That's not what I meant," she said, sighing. "Calantha… she's an elder with the gift of foresight… she saw this moment and showed it to me… she saw that someone I knew would die and I would have to go get them. At the time, it was to show me that I would figure out how to use my gift, but now..." She then straightened her back and looked around the pitch again. "Doesn't matter… I've got work to do."

They walked, looking around. The wounded were being looked over and then sent off to the country house where they would be healed. Daisy looked around frowning as she wondered where they would take the dead. She then saw a small crowd - her team, standing around two forms on the ground. She took a deep breath and headed straight for them.

Nilsson looked nearly untouched. Peaceful. Almost as though he were asleep. Blanks was bruised and slightly bloody, his eyes dull. Sobs nearly broke from her mouth without her even realizing upon seeing them.

"It'll be alright, Pix," Wills said softly in her ear.

"Doesn't make it any easier," she said softly. She looked up, seeing Kelly, Campbell, Cunningham, Bray and Wright standing there, looking forlorn. "How did it happen?"

"We were all together," Wright said. "Protecting each other… and then, somehow they separated Blanks from us… Coach stepped out to protect him. He got hit first…"

"Then Blanks got angry and took off after the blighter that got Coach. Bloody coward hit him in the back," Bray said, shaking slightly in anger.

"Should have been there to look after them," Kelly said, his eyes fixed on the two bodies. "I was off… trying to get to Luce." Daisy frowned, blinking furiously to stem the tears. She should have been there to protect them. Instead, she had been chasing Magnus.

"What's done is done," Campbell said. "They did what they thought was right." Cunningham looked up at Daisy.

"But, you're going to bring them back, right?" he asked. The rest of the team looked up at her, confused. They hadn't told them the full extent of her power - only Cunningham, Kelly and Kingfisher knew outside of Nilsson. "Coach, he sacrificed himself because he knew you'd bring him back."

"What's he talking about? No one can bring back the dead… you told Magnus you couldn't do it," Bray said.

"That's only half true," Daisy said, looking down at Coach and Blanks. "I can bring back the newly dead… those who have a body to return to… I've done it before. With Alan." The team stared at her as she wiped the tears from her cheeks again.

"I know you are tired, Daisy. But… it is best to do it now before too much time passes," Nikos said, stepping up to them. "We still do not know the full extent of the side effects if you let them stay too long." Daisy looked over at him, noting he looked ages older than he did when the fight started. She nodded silently. After getting her bearings, she walked over and lay down on the ground next to Nilsson, glancing over at him. She then looked up and closed her eyes, breathing slowly. In. Out. In. Out.

Suddenly, she was standing before the veil. She took a deep breath and stepped through, looking around. She nearly jumped, finding Blanks waiting there on the other side. He was shocked at first to see her, then launched into the tiny woman's arms.

"Pix, I'm so glad to see you. But… what are you doing here?" he asked, stepping back from her. "Don't tell me after all that, he finally got you in the end."

"I'm here to bring you back," she said. "I can… I can do this. It's my gift." Blanks just shrugged.

"We won, didn't we?" he asked, seeming to take the revelation in stride.

"Yea, we did," she said.

"Well, I'm ready to get back," he said. Daisy looked around.

"Where's Coach?" she asked, her brow furrowed. Blanks went silent.

"I haven't seen him," he said, looking around. "Haven't seen anyone, really. How many did we lose?"

"Only you two," she replied. "Not sure about the raid yet."

"Well… how do we do this? Do we need to wait or do we need to go look for him?" he asked, seeming serious for possibly the first time that Daisy had known him.

"We can look," she said, starting to walk. Blanks followed, uncharacteristically quiet. They continued for what seemed like forever, shadows and whispers swirling around them.

"This place gives me the creeps," Blanks said, shuddering. "I hope it doesn't take long."

"Shouldn't. But then again, even I don't know how big this place is," Daisy said, looking around. "I've been here several times, but everyone I was looking for just showed up." She suddenly stopped a moment, seeing a familiar tall frame just ahead. She smiled, relief beginning to flood through her. "Coach!" Daisy shouted as she ran towards him. Nilsson looked at her, still wearing that indecipherable look of his. She stopped just as she reached him. "Come on. It's time to go back."

He continued to stand and stare at her, his face now looking conflicted.

"Come on, Coach. It's time to go back," she said again, her voice wavering. He looked over as Mara appeared next to him. "You have to go back."

"I don't know, Daisy," he said softly. "We're finally together again." Daisy felt tears prick her eyes as she looked back and forth between Mara and Nilsson.

"But… we need you. I need you. How am I supposed to get on the World Cup team without you," she said, her voice breaking. Nilsson continued to stare at Mara. "Please… don't make me leave you here."

"Lucas," Mara said. "You idiot. You have a chance to go back. Don't stay because of me."

"But…"

"No buts. I've watched, you know. I've seen everything. You have Julia and Hugo to think about. And Mom and Dad. And Erik. And his kids. They need a cool uncle," she said.

For the first time since she started on the Arrows, Daisy saw her coach start to cry.

"But Mara," he said. "I can't leave you here alone."

"I'm not alone here. I'm fine. But you… you need to go. Go back. If anything, do it for me. You have so much left to live for, Lucas," Mara said softly. "All that work… don't let it go to waste." Nilsson stared at her a moment longer before pulling the small blonde woman into a hug.

"I will see you again," he whispered.

"Hopefully when you are old and gray," Mara quipped. Nilsson laughed slightly and stepped back nodding. He then looked over at Daisy.

"Alright, Wood. Let's do this," he said. Daisy breathed a sigh of relief and started walking back to the veil. She stopped just before it, reaching out and taking Blanks and Nilsson's hands.

"Let's go," she said.

The team ran to help Nilsson and Blanks as they stirred and started coughing, while Wills was already bent at Daisy's side as she came to, blinking her eyes open.

"I knew you were coming back, but still scares the daylights out of me when you do that," he said breathlessly as he helped her sit up. Daisy smiled softly and looked over at her team. All of them were going back and forth between checking on Blanks and Nilsson and then staring at her in awe.

"Turns out our Pix is even more amazing than we thought," Campbell said, grinning.

"At least you lot have finally stopped calling me rookie," she said with a grin.

"This rookie is forever going to be in your debt," Kelly said, slapping Blanks on the back.

"Where's everyone?" Daisy asked looking around. It appeared a fair amount of folks had started clearing out while she had been gone.

"Looks as though they're all heading to the country house. Though, I think most of the Prostatis are going back to the island. Gran Weasley and Victoire are already busy. Knowing them, they'll like to give you a look over," Kelly said. "I already sent Luce their way." Daisy nodded and looked at Wills.

"Help me up?" she said. He nodded, helping her stand. Daisy wobbled a bit. Now that her work was done, she felt all her energy completely drain from her body. There was a dull throb in her head as she started feeling woozy. She was grateful for Wills helping her stand.

"Can you handle it?" he asked. She nodded.

"Let's go."


Daisy closed her eyes briefly as she sunk into the sofa at the country house. She didn't think it was possible to feel this tired. The house was full of movement and voices. Gran and Victoire flinted from person to person, checking them over and setting them to rights. Daisy had already waved them off, saying she could take care of herself once she had the energy.

Richards and Witt had already returned with news the raid had been successful. Everyone there had taken into custody at the Ministry with a guard of Prostatis and aurors looking over them. Now that they had a full list of everyone in the Network, the orders to the various governments around the world had been sent out and the next step of the operation to bring them in was already in motion. Early reports were all successful as well.

But this leg would take some time. Word was bound to get out even if they were working under a media blackout for the time being. People would run. The aurors and Prostastis would work together to track them down. Daisy had overheard the two aurors and Teddy speaking with Aleka and Alekos to head up the search – a job the twins readily agreed to do.

Aleka had nodded solemnly at Daisy once she appeared – a silent acknowledgement between the two of what had happened in the end. Daisy wasn't sure what had happened to Magnus' body, but found she didn't care to know.

But for now, her part was done. Even with her exhaustion, Daisy's mind was already starting to whirl. There were many things to think about, but she couldn't settle on one for too long. She was still feeling woozy, but she couldn't attempt to rest until she heard from the aurors.

"So, it's done?" she asked, opening her eyes and causing everyone around her to go quiet. Teddy and Richards looked at her.

"For the most part, yes," Richards said. "Still more to pick up, but we'll get them. We've also taken Hardwick's grandfather into custody."

"What about Hardwick?" Wills asked.

"Found him locked up at Headquarters. He's also in custody. And neither will be getting out anytime soon," Richards said. Daisy nodded.

"Losses?" she asked.

"None," Richards replied. "Thanks to all the information from the twins, we were able to avoid them."

"Good," Daisy said. She looked around the room. "If it's alright, I think I need some rest." She pushed off the sofa and started towards the stairs. Wills moved to follow her. "Alone, please."

He stopped and watched stunned as she continued off. He glanced over at Jamie.

"What's going through that head of hers?" he asked. Jamie slowly shook his head.

"She's… overwhelmed. Give her some time. It's been a tough day," he said. Wills nodded and looked back towards the stairs before sitting down.

"Alright, Wills. Your turn," Victoire said tiredly as she walked over to him.

"I'm fine, Vic," he said, trying to wave her off. "Shouldn't you take a break? Surely all this work isn't good for the baby."

"I'm fine, but that bruise and those cuts say you're not," Victoire said, starting to look him over. Wills sighed.

"Fine."


Daisy collapsed on her bed in her old room and stared up at the ceiling. Her mind was still too busy to sleep. Taking a deep breath, she slowly let it out, going over everything that had happened.

They had faced the Network and won. It was over. That was the first thought that reached prominence in her mind. The next that followed was that in a way, it wasn't completely over. The press would find out soon enough and they would want to talk to her – again. Then there was dealing with other parts of the aftermath. There would be dealing with the Network and cleaning that up – granted that was a job for the ministries around the world, not Daisy.

Then there was all the mental stuff. She worried about Toby and how he was going to deal with being held captive. How her family would deal. She also was stuck in her own head – she had been in battle. Every time she closed her eyes she saw Magnus' look of shock as he fell over.

But this was over.

Daisy wondered what this meant for the Prostatis as well. She hoped their involvement would bring the remaining few suspicious of them into the light. And then there was quidditch. Would the rest of the season be cancelled? They would have to fix up Appleby and Falmouth stadiums. There was likely to be an investigation – to make sure Hardwick was the only player involved.

It was over.

The words kept going through her mind. Over and over. It was over. But it wasn't. Not completely. Now the big question was what came next? What did she focus on first? Where did they start? She suddenly had a deeper understanding of her parents and what they went through. Rome wasn't built overnight and setting things to right would take time.

More than that, what did she do next?

Of course, she'd go back to quidditch. That was a given. She found herself eager to get back on a broom. With everything going on in her mind, she felt the only place that made sense was the quidditch pitch. But where did she go in terms of her gifts?

Her thoughts drifted to the veil and a shiver went down her spine. He was there now. Magnus. Daisy started shaking at the thought. There was the chance she would see him again. Of everyone, she was the only one who wouldn't truly be free of him – not as long as she went back through the veil. She hadn't even thought of it when she went to get Nilsson and Blanks – her mind was focused on finding them and bringing them back.

But now… she could feel the old fear of the place slipping back in.

"Do not be afraid, Daisy. This is your gift and you must use it – use it wisely, but use it nonetheless…"

Daisy looked around her room, sensing Athanasia was speaking to her. She shook her head as she took a deep breath.

"I'm not ready… not yet," she said aloud.

"Ready for what?" Wills asked softly from the door. She sat up and looked over at him. "I know you wanted to be alone, but I just wanted to check on you. I hope you understand." Daisy nodded and smiled slightly, suddenly eager to have him there.

"I'm… he's there, you know," she said softly. Wills walked into the room and sat next to her on the bed.

"Who's where?" he asked.

"Magnus. He's beyond the veil now," Daisy said. "I can't go back there. What if I see him?" Wills stared at her a moment before pulling her close to him.

"Even if you do see him, he can't harm you anymore, Pix. He's dead. There's nothing he can do," he said.

"But what if…"

"If there was any way he could harm you over there, don't you think you'd know by now?" Wills said softly. "You've been over there loads of times. And Voldemort and Grindelwald have been dead for decades. You haven't even seen them. I'd like to think they're all locked up in some sort of special hell, to be honest."

Daisy sat back and looked at him, frowning slightly.

"You think?" she asked.

"Wherever they are over there, you're safe," he said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Daisy looked away, nodding slightly. She appeared dazed.

"I just keep thinking, what if I go and I see him?" she murmured.

"Pix, I think you need to sleep," he said. "You're exhausted. Now is not the time to think about this. You've got plenty of time later to worry about it." She looked at him and nodded again.

"Yea, I think I need to rest," she said. Wills gently laid her back on the bed and then pulled off her shoes, making her comfortable. "Wills…" She reached out and grabbed his hand. "Stay with me." He nodded and walked around to the other side of the bed, crawling in next to her and wrapping his arms around her.

"Whatever comes next, it'll be okay, Pix," he whispered. "We'll get through it together." There was no response. He looked closer, noticing she had fallen fast asleep.


Almost to the end! Just a couple more chapters to go...

cjconnor326 - I'm glad you've enjoyed it!

twilightlover427 - Haha! You read my mind! Just wait...

AleenaBean - Well, I initially was going to have him die or disappear at the end of the last book, so I guess that one stuck in my head as I was finishing up this one.

As always, thanks for reading, following and reviewing!