A State of Shock

Dominique, Daisy and Jamie all sat calmly on the sofa at the Woods' flat later that evening while the rest of the room was an explosion of voices. They had called in Toby, Teddy, Victoire, Freddie, James, Lila, Molly and Lucy, while Chris quietly stood behind the sofa next to Wills. Dominique questioned the chaser's presence, but Daisy insisted he be there so they would only have to explain everything once. It was a rather large amount of information and he would have figured it out anyway. Not to mention he was just as much a part of the family as anyone.

Iris was taking care of informing the rest of the family – namely the parents and grandparents - at the Woods' country house.

"Alright, quiet! I can't think!" Teddy finally shouted, getting everyone to quiet down. James and Freddie were both grinning as they looked at their cousins on the sofa.

"This is brilliant news," James exclaimed. Dominique frowned at him. "Well, yea, I mean the bit about war isn't, but you lot finally know what you are, so that's good."

"And now you're going to Greece?" Wills said, looking down at Daisy.

"We're leaving the day after my last match," Daisy said. "Nikos wanted to leave right away, but Jamie and I couldn't leave until the winter break or else we'd draw too much attention."

"Not to mention Dad and Nilsson would kill us," Jamie added.

"And it's just you lot and Mum?" Remus asked. Daisy looked over at him and nodded.

"Nikos said that only our kind can enter the village," she said. "We'll be there for the full break. And may have to go back a bit over the summer, depending on things."

"So… in a few weeks' time, you, Jamie and Mum will be off to some island for two months," Alan said.

"Think you two can manage to not burn down the flat in that time?" Jamie asked with a smile.

"As long as Alan doesn't cook, yea I think we can fare," Remus said. Alan glared at him.

"I cook better than you," he scoffed. "It's those two you need to worry about if they come over." He pointed over at James and Freddie at the other side of the room.

"What makes you think we'd go and destroy the best party location in wizarding London?" Freddie asked, seeming slightly offended, though he was grinning which tempered it.

"What are you going to tell everyone?" Wills asked, drawing the attention back to Daisy and Jamie. Daisy sighed.

"Jamie's old injury is acting up so he's going to a specialist hospital for physical therapy. Mum and I are going to keep him company," she said. "You guys can't come into the village, but Mum is thinking about having you and Dad come visit a nearby town for a bit, if you'd like."

"What if Nilsson doesn't let you go for two months?" Remus asked. Daisy looked up at him.

"He already knows half of the story… Mum and Dad said they may tell him the rest if he puts up a fuss," she said.

"So much for keeping this a family secret," Chris said, rolling his eyes.

"As I recall, you're not family," Dominique retorted.

"Neither are Wills or Toby," he shot back.

"On the contrary, I've been considered family for years," Wills said smiling. "As has Toby. Extended, non-blood family. Not to mention, Pix and I getting married-"

"We get it, Wills," Jamie said with a chuckle. Wills grinned and then looked down at Daisy, who seemed listless.

"So… how are you lot feeling about this?" he asked, looking at the two. "Seems like a lot to take in."

"Relieved, I guess. We know what we are. And I'll finally learn to completely control it," Daisy said.

"So no more fireworks? I rather liked the fireworks," James said. Daisy shot him a glare and he quickly shut up.

"I'm ready to learn new things," Jamie added. "The professor said there's more that even Mum will be able to do." Everyone seemed shocked.

"You mean… even Aunt Iris will be training with you?" Molly asked. Daisy and Jamie nodded.

"Apparently she's still rather young by Prostatis standards. He didn't give us an exact number, but they apparently live a very long time," he replied.

"So Jamie and I will outlive all of you," she said, smiling smugly. "I'll be playing quidditch longer than any other player in the League." Jamie rolled his eyes.

"Of course you'd focus on that bit," he muttered. Remus and Alan stared at their siblings, though Alan glanced over at Remus, worried his old jealousies would flare up again. They had just gotten things calm around the flat and the last thing they needed was for him to lay into Daisy again.

Remus sighed heavily and nodded.

"Seems like you three are going to have a tiring break coming up," he said. "You think you'll manage?" Daisy and Jamie glanced at each other and then up at their brothers.

"I hope so," Daisy said, her thoughts quickly turned to what Nikos had said about the connections. She frowned slightly, as she thought about John. Nikos had relieved some of her worries, but she still felt distressed. He said it would come, but what if she hadn't felt John at the party and it was someone else? How did she have that conversation with him? More and more lately she was beginning to wonder if it had been someone else. What's more, if she had felt Wills rather than John. But why would it be Wills? He had always been like a big brother to her. Sure there was her childhood crush, but that was gone during her first few years of Hogwarts. Though, there was a time during her last year where she had entertained certain thoughts about it, but she chalked it up to hormones. She felt her cheeks warm as she recalled a few racy dreams she had had.

But, that was years ago. And she was with John. She loved him. But was there a part of her that had always cared for Wills as well?

Alan watched her a moment before clearing his throat and getting Jamie's attention. He nodded towards Daisy. Jamie glanced at her and then back up at his brother.

"She's worried about the connection," he sent him. Alan glanced at her and back at Jamie.

"I thought she said she felt it with Kingfisher?" he asked. Jamie shook his head slightly.

"She hasn't felt it since the party and it's worrying her. The professor said it would come, but she's worried that it wasn't him," he replied. "She hasn't told John any of this."

Remus caught on that a silent conversation was going on between Alan and Jamie while the vocal conversation picked up around the room, mainly Dominique and Chris relaying more of what transpired during the meeting to Toby, Molly and Teddy. He started scowling at Jamie, who obliged and filled him in. All three of them looked at Daisy, who was still lost in her thoughts.

"Can we talk about this later? After everyone leaves?" Jamie pleaded. He was starting to get a headache. Remus and Alan nodded. Wills caught on to the movement and glanced down at Jamie. He knew they must be talking about Daisy, who was starting to worry him more and more as she sat silent on the sofa.

"Hey, Pix. What's got you looking so serious?" he asked, placing his hand on her shoulder. Daisy jumped slightly and looked up at him, smiling.

"Nothing… just a bit overwhelmed is all," she said. "I should probably get home to John and let him know about the trip." She stood and looked around the room. "See you later." She then disappeared. Wills looked down at Jamie who pointedly looked away, not wanting to let on to anything. He could see already that Wills was not going to be leaving the flat until he got it out of the three brothers what was bothering their younger sister.

They all missed the look of concern that flinted between Molly, Lucy, Dominique and Victoire after Daisy left.

Daisy walked into the flat and looked around.

"John?" she called out, wondering where he could be.

"In the kitchen!" he shouted. Daisy walked in and found him at the stove, busy working on dinner.

"What's this?" she asked, stepping over to smell it.

"Thought I'd do the cooking tonight," he said with a smile. Daisy kissed his cheek.

"Smells good," she replied as she turned and pulled out two glasses from the cabinet then reached for a bottle of wine on the counter.

"How was visiting your parents?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Good… turns out Jamie's neck and back are starting to bother him again, so Mum and I are taking him to this specialized hospital over break to get it looked after," she said casually as she poured the wine and then pushed one of the glasses over to John.

"How long will you be gone?" he asked.

"The whole break," she said. "We leave the day after our last match." John frowned slightly.

"You'll be gone for Christmas," he said. Daisy sighed and turned to lean against the counter, looking up at him as she took a sip.

"I know… I'm sorry about that. But it's important for Jamie," she said.

"Couldn't Lila go?" he asked. "Why does it have to be you?"

"Mum wants me to go. She thinks getting away for a bit will help with… stuff. Besides Lila can't take off work for two whole months," she said with a shrug. He nodded and turned back to the food.

"Just… won't be the same without you here for the holidays," he said.

"We can exchange gifts before I leave. And you can still go to the country house. The rest of the family will be there and you are welcome to stay with Dad, Remus and Alan," she said. "It's not like you'll be sitting around the flat on your own."

John looked at her a moment and then smiled slightly.

"I know, I know. Just seems to be all of a sudden," he said. Daisy leaned over and kissed his cheek again.

"It's three weeks away, John," she said, laughing softly. "I'm not leaving tomorrow and you'll survive without me." She then walked into the living room and grabbed the remote, turning the TV on. John glanced in and studied her as she settled on the sofa. To anyone else, she appeared at ease, but he could see her jaw was tight. Daisy was hiding something from him. He sighed and turned back to the food, silently debating whether to broach the topic with her.

By the time he had finished and the two had settled on the sofa eating, he still hadn't completely decided if he was going to ask her.

"So… where is this place?" he asked, watching Daisy.

"Greece," she said. "It's on this little island away from muggles."

"I didn't know that Jamie was having trouble. He hides it well," he commented.

"He's been on pain potions a bit," she said, glancing up at him. "It's not often, but enough that Dad suggested he get it looked after now so it won't cause him problems later on and potentially shorten his career." John nodded slowly.

"They take visitors?" he asked. Daisy froze slightly and looked up at him from her plate of pasta. "Just thought… if you're going to be there all break, maybe I could come down for a few days."

"I'm not sure," she said, furrowing her brow. "I'll have to talk to Mum."

"Your mom likes me. I'm sure she'd be fine with it," he replied.

"I should still ask her first before we settle anything," she said quickly. John stared at her a moment and then sighed.

"Let me guess… this has something to do with whatever it is you can't tell me," he said, not looking up from his plate. Daisy sighed heavily and put her fork down.

"John, please don't," she begged softly. "I really don't want to get into this again."

"Are you ever going to tell me what's going on?" he asked, his frustration starting to show.

"I don't know," Daisy said honestly. "I mean… I suppose at some point, but right now, I just can't." She picked up her fork and started picking at her food again. "Just… trust me on this." He glanced at her and then sighed.

"Fine."

Nilsson sat silently staring at his desk as the magnitude of what Oliver and Iris Wood just told him set in. His eyes flicked up to the couple, who were sitting across from him with anxious looks on their faces.

"I'm sorry we didn't tell you the full story from the beginning," Iris said. "But you must understand why we didn't." Nilsson took a deep breath and nodded slowly.

"I do," he said, his brow furrowed. "So… you are going to this island over the break to find out more information?" Iris nodded. "And you think this will help Daisy?"

"I don't see how it couldn't," Oliver said. "She'll be among others like her. They'll teach her to use and control her magic. I know she's been doing better lately, but I don't think we really have a choice here. They know more than we do."

"I don't either," Nilsson said. "But… about this danger… are you any closer to knowing what it is?"

Oliver and Iris glanced at each other and then back at the coach.

"We're not," Iris admitted. "But we're looking into it."

"And you, Daisy and Jamie are somehow connected to it, whatever it is?" he asked softly.

"Unfortunately," Iris said, her brow furrowed. "I wish they weren't, but… they're marked. The professor we found says it's an omen." Nilsson nodded again.

"Is there anything I can do?" he asked. Oliver's eyebrows shot up. He wasn't expecting the quiet coach to offer assistance. "I know Oliver said that there wasn't much I could before, but my offer still stands."

"I'm not sure," Iris said. "But… I hope that we won't need it."

"Well, thank you for telling me everything. The past few months make more sense now," he said. And they did. He now saw why Daisy had been so distracted and depressed. It was more than just learning to control her new magic – it was about the fact that she would have to use it someday. It was a scary thought and more than any one person should have to worry about. Especially someone as young as Daisy. She was years younger than even Iris was when she had to fight in the second war.

"So… Daisy has permission to miss the winter break practice?" Oliver asked. Nilsson nodded.

"Of course," he said. "She needs to be on this island more than she needs to be on the pitch. We'll worry about the second half when she gets back."

"Thank you for understanding," Iris said. She took a deep breath and looked at her husband. "Now, I suppose we'll let you get back to your work. We've taken up far too much of your time as it is."

"It's no problem at all," Nilsson replied as they stood. Oliver nodded at the coach and he and his wife left. Nilsson sat back down in his chair heavily. Alone with his thoughts, Lucas started reeling.

A war. Some sort of danger. And Daisy – his tiny, fiery seeker – was somehow tied up in it. He massaged his temples, trying to wrap his head around it. All the old feelings he had put aside for her suddenly came roaring back to the forefront of his mind.

He was happy with Julia. And he certainly was no longer in love with Daisy. But he couldn't help but be more than a little concerned for the youngest Wood and the entire Wood family by extension.

He sighed heavily and looked over at the open playbook on his desk. He watched as a small "D" zoomed throughout the formations.

"Daisy, how are we going to get you through this," he murmured.

"Alright, out with it," Wills said after Freddie and James had finally left. They were the last of the little impromptu shindig and probably would have stayed longer if Jamie hadn't threatened to literally throw them out. It was now just Wills at the flat with the three brothers.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Alan said, walking over to the fridge.

"Come off it, I know you were having one of your secret conversations earlier. Really, you should consider working on keeping a straight face when you do that," he said, sitting down in one of the armchairs and crossing his arms. "I'm not leaving until you tell me what's going on."

Remus and Jamie looked at each other. Alan came back to them, holding out two bottles of beer.

"Might as well tell him. He'll find out on his own at some point anyway," he said before returning to the fridge and grabbing two more. He then walked over and sat on the sofa after handing one to Wills. Jamie sighed and looked over at his captain, noting he was in one of his rare serious moods.

"Right, well, it's about Pix," he said finally.

"Figured as much. Usually whenever your faces go all wonky like that, it's because of Pixie," he said. "What's going on?"

"She's worried because she hasn't felt the connection with John since the party," Jamie said. Wills eyebrows shot up.

"She hasn't?" he asked, leaning back in the chair as he took a long drink of the beer.

"The professor tried to explain to us how it works. Apparently the magic senses deep, personal bonds that we have with others outside our family," Jamie explained. "Someone that we can't live without."

Wills nodded and thought a moment.

"Maybe it just takes time," he said practically.

"That's what the professor said. And he told her it would come. So I'm not sure why she's still worried about it," Jamie said with a sigh. "I suspect she's worried that she hasn't told John and he'll find out."

"That she hasn't felt him since the party?" Wills asked. Jamie nodded. "Reckon that won't go over well when he finds out."

"She's hoping he doesn't," Alan said. "That it'll develop fully before she has to have that conversation."

"Has she been talking to you lot about this?" Wills asked, looking at the three.

"No," Jamie admitted. "I've picked it up in her head. She can't stop thinking about it."

"What if it wasn't Kingfisher?" Remus asked, looking at Wills before turning to Jamie. "You said that was the other thing she was worried about… that it could have been someone else that she felt. Even you said you couldn't tell if it was Kingfisher at the party."

Wills looked up at Jamie, not realizing the two had been aware of what happened. His cheeks started to burn slightly as he prayed they didn't mention it out loud. It was bad enough he was already reliving that awkward conversation in his mind.

"Who else could it have been?" Alan replied. "She's head over heels for him and as far as I'm aware, she's not been entertaining thoughts about anyone else. At least she hasn't mentioned it."

Jamie's eyes flicked over to the chaser, eyebrows raised. Wills suddenly became rather fascinated with the label on his beer bottle.

"She's awfully close to Nilsson… maybe it could have been him. He was there too," Wills offered without looking up.

"Nah, she just sees him as a mentor and older brother type," Remus said, studying the chaser.

"Then it was likely John," Wills said, looking up. His eyes met Jamie's.

"It wasn't me, Jamie," Wills thought. "It couldn't have been me. We both know that Pix doesn't think of me that way."

Jamie stared at him a moment and sighed.

"Whatever this means, best hope that something happens with John soon. Otherwise she just might blow up his apartment," he said.

Coming up on the end... only five more chapters to go on this one. What will happen? Will Daisy ever feel the connection? And who will it be with? Keeping reading and see...

And I'm about 15 pages in on the next story, but still no title and it's all scattered. I've had ideas about certain scenes I want to include so have started there until a clear plot line shows itself and I can fully plan out everything. I do have the first 8 or so chapters plotted out, but everything else is still up in the air. There's a lot of world/character building in the next one that's been holding me up. Man, I can feel JK Rowling's pain with this one...

twilightlover427: Thanks! Glad you liked it! I actually wrote the first version of that one a few weeks ago, but have been fiddling with it ever since until I got a version I'm happy with. It was killing me to draw out finding and actually talking to the professor. But, as I'm sure most have guessed, he'll play a much larger role in the next books to come.

AleenaBean: Haha, I've already decided those and the logic behind them, though I still have to write when they discover them. Well, I've already written when Daisy discovers hers, but that is a long, long ways away.

As always, thanks for reading, following and reviewing!