Chapter Text
Jemma took a deep breath as she exited the common room and felt around her neck just to make sure her binoculars were still hanging there. She was headed to the Great Hall to meet up with Daisy and her friends before the final championship game, and she was going without her bag. All she really needed was her binoculars and her wand (she never went anywhere without it). Since it was a Saturday, she didn’t have to wear her robes either. She made sure she was comfortable in a pair of jeans, some sneakers, her navy blue zip up hoodie, and her Ravenclaw scarf.
Jemma had very high hopes for the game because she wanted the season to finally be over to focus on exams and the end of the year. Also, she knew the recruiters would be watching and that was something Daisy was interested in. Even if they were only fourth years, it was at school events that names were saved until graduation.
It was only because she was anxious and on high alert that she noticed the bat swooping through the hall near the ceiling.
“Darwin…?” Jemma called out. It was odd to see him here, even if she was in a corridor with windows open to the air outside. Usually he waited until she was in the Great Hall and delivered her mail there. She followed the bat around the corner onto to come to a complete stop and jump when she nearly ran face first into Wanda.
“I’m sorry!” Jemma squeaked. “I thought you were Darwin.” She chuckled and let out a pent up breath. She really was on edge today.
“I know,” Wanda had a frown on her face that quickly raised a red flag for Jemma. They hadn’t really been talking recently since Jemma had been prioritizing her time with Daisy. Nothing necessarily bad had happened between Jemma and Wanda though. Maybe she was also nervous about the game and had nobody else to talk to.
“Are you alright?” Jemma asked her. Wanda was silent for a minute and kept glancing over Jemma’s shoulder into the hallway. It made her turn her head to look, but nothing was there. When she turned back, her eyes widened. The tip of a wand was pointed right at her chest. “What’s going on?” Jemma didn’t want to believe that Daisy had been right this whole time and that Wanda was up to something this close to the championship game- but she had also been dealing with Ward long enough to know to reach for her wand in her back pocket.
“ Confundo !” Wanda beat her to it. A pulse hit Jemma in the chest and she wracked her brain to remember what spell the incantation was from to possibly do something about it.
“I’m sorry, Jemma.” Wanda sighed.
The walls started to tilt for Jemma and even though she didn’t feel any physical pain or injury, her heart started hammering out of her chest for no apparent reason and beads of sweat formed on her brow. What was the spell? Jemma couldn’t remember. Her hand fell back to her side- away from her wand- as she struggled. She could barely hear what Wanda said next.
“It’ll wear off in a few hours- I just need them distracted.” Wanda said, and then Darwin was flying out the window again. Where was Darwin going? Where was Jemma right now?
Jemma spun around in a circle and became increasingly panicked when she realized she had absolutely no idea where she was. Nothing was familiar about the stone walls and Jemma didn’t know how to find her way home- each hallway seemed to stretch on indefinitely.
What had she been doing? She had been trying to find Daisy. Where was Daisy? Jemma wandered through a hall at random, running her fingertips along the walls as if that would somehow show her the way or prevent her from getting more lost in the labyrinth of corridors. She ventured down a flight of stairs and, when she passed through the doorway, her stomach bottomed out. Below her were many flights of moving stairs. She was supposed to know which ones to take… but she just didn’t. Where was she even trying to go? All she could remember was that she was trying to meet Daisy.
“Daisy?!” Jemma called down the massive stairwell. How was she supposed to find Daisy in the massive enchanted castle if she didn’t know where to look? She ventured down the stairs and was about to step onto the next flight of stairs when it suddenly jerked into motion and Jemma had to catch herself. She wobbled on one leg, pitched forward, and felt like she was definitely about to fall when a strong set of hands grabbed onto the back of her hoodie and jerked her to safety.
“Why are you walking around lost like a first year, Simmons?” Ward’s voice made Jemma reactively jerk out of his grasp. Though he seemed to be in the middle of a weird personality shift, Jemma didn’t forget everything he had done to her.
“Back off,” Jemma grunted. But something he said rattled around in her head like a swarm of angry pixies. “Lost… I’m lost…” she murmured. That was why her hair stood on end, her heart was pounding, and her eyes were wide. She should know where she was… but she didn’t. She was completely and utterly lost.
“Uh… are you okay?” Ward waved a hand right in front of her face and Jemma smacked it out of her personal space.
“I just need to find Daisy.” Jemma huffed.
“She’s in the Great Hall, most of the team is loading up on breakfast. I was just there.” Ward informed her. He was being surprisingly helpful… except it still didn’t help.
“The Great Hall?” Jemma asked. This made Ward’s face shift.
“Something is definitely wrong with you.” He scoffed. Even though Jemma knew something was wrong, she still took offense.
“I just need to find Daisy.” Jemma repeated again. She wanted to find her and get out of here… but she didn’t even know where home was or where she was supposed to be.
“I’ll take you to her.” Ward sighed. He waved for her to follow him and set off on another set of stairs.
“I really don’t think this is right.” Jemma shook her head. Where was he taking her? Suddenly it dawned on Jemma that this was Ward- she had no way to tell he was leading her in the right direction and not off somewhere dangerous to be with him. She stopped walking.
It took Ward several paces to realize Jemma had slowed down, but when he did he groaned and ran his hand down his face.
“No good deed goes unpunished, right?” Ward grunted, mostly to himself. “Come on.” He seemed to have lost patience with her and grabbed a fistful of her hood.
“Let me go!” Jemma shouted at him and tried to knock his hands away. She grabbed for her wand in her back pocket, but Ward yanked it out of her hand. Jemma was already in fight or flight mode from the panic of feeling totally lost, so Ward manhandling her only made it worse. She jerked against his grip, only able to struggle so much since he basically had her by the throat. He dragged her along down the stairs and through a hallway and Jemma kicked at his shins and clawed at his hand behind her head every chance she got.
“I’m trying to help you!” Ward groaned and thrust his arm out, fist still clenched tightly, so Jemma was at an arm’s distance and unable to land any of her swings.
“Uh, Daisy…” Bobbi put down her fork, a big bite of egg still on it, and elbowed Daisy in the side. They had been waiting for Jemma, so her eyes had been back and forth from her plate to the door, so she spotted Ward when he entered, practically dragging Jemma by the hood of her jacket.
Daisy had too much coffee. She simultaneously almost spit out and inhaled her mouthful of scrambled eggs when she turned her head and saw the scene heading their way. She jumped to her feet and climbed out from the bench - though she wasn't reaching for a wand - as they approached. "What the fu-,"
“I swear it wasn’t me, but she’s definitely charmed or jinxed or something.” Ward announced before anyone could pull a wand on him. Jemma’s struggling momentarily ceased and she stared up at the expansive ceiling, floating candles and all, wondering how the hell she had gotten here and how she was supposed to get out of the massive castle.
Daisy's eyes widened to saucers. Her eyebrows disappeared up her forehead. "Jemma?" She reached for Jemma's bicep. Who the fuck would put a jinx on Jemma - especially if it wasn't Ward?? "Where did you find her?" Daisy asked Ward.
At the table, Natasha reached over and set her hand on Bobbi's knee and squeezed. She glanced across the room toward the normal table where the Koldovstoretz Team of students congregated. Wanda was missing, it seemed. A word that sounded like, "Blyad," left her mouth in muttered Russian, an exasperated, 'fuck.'
Yelena caught it and an immediate conversation bounced between the two in their native tongue. Though Daisy had been picking up a lot more words and phrases, she was too distracted to keep up with it. It ended with Natasja gently hashing her using her favored nickname for her little sister.
“Daisy! There you are.” Jemma let out a big sigh of relief and squirmed free of Ward’s grip on her. He let her go, probably trusting Daisy to be able to wrangle her anyway. Jemma leaned in and practically whispered into Daisy’s ear. “We have to find a way out of here,”
“I stopped her from falling off the Grand Staircase.” Ward grumbled and crossed his arms. “It’s like she’s forgotten all about Hogwarts.”
Bobbi jumped to her feet despite the hand Natasha had on her knee and got right up in Jemma’s face, like her eyes could have some kind of answer.
“Jemma, do you know where you are?” Bobbi asked.
“Not at all, I don’t-“ Jemma shook her head and her eyes started to water. She recognized Ward, Daisy, Bobbi, and everyone… She even knew the castle felt familiar… but everything was scrambled and she wanted to get out. “I don’t know how to get out, I can’t-“ her speech was choppy through short breaths and it was clear she was starting to panic as more people- all of whom she still recognized- started to look at her like she was crazy.
“If she used obliviate I don’t care about the game, I’ll knock her right off her broom.” Bobbi growled, getting ahead of even Daisy.
Daisy just about blurted out that if Wanda used obliviate on Jemma, Daisy was going to murder the woman. The panicked, fearful look on Jemma’s face stopped her. "Hey, Jems," she caught Jemma's hand and used it to pull her closer. "Let's go get some air, yeah?" She asked. Jemma kept saying they needed to get out of their right? She looked at Bobbi. "Take my gear to the locker rooms." She turned to the table. "Nat, Trip, come with us?" She nodded her head then looked at Jemma. "I'll get you out of here, okay?" She tried not to panic but her heart was racing in her rib cage. She needed to tell Her parents about whatever this was, figure out if they could fix it but first she needed to get Jemma outside so she, hopefully, didn't panic too much.
“Daisy-“ Bobbi started to protest, since she didn’t want to leave to get ready for the game while Jemma was like this, but she stopped when Daisy asked Natasha to go with her. She trusted Natasha at least to help take care of Jemma for her. So she nodded and grabbed Daisy’s broom and her duffel bag.
“Air… right.” Jemma nodded furiously and grabbed onto the hand Daisy had on her bicep.
“Just don’t be late for the game.” Ward threw in a last word. He knew Daisy would probably choose Jemma over a game, but still. They had gotten this far.
Daisy paused before passing Ward. "Thank you," she said, trusting he'd understand it was about helping Jemma and not about the reminder of the game. It felt weird thanking Ward but she could unpack that later. She squeezed Jemma's hand and led her out of the Great Hall.
Trip stuffed a biscuit in his mouth and hopped up, jogging past them to grab the doors.
Natasha climbed from her seat. "Yelena," Nat spoke to her sister in Russian. "Go and find Papa. Let him know we need Professors Price and Carter as soon as possible, down by the pitch grounds. Got it?" She asked.
Yelena nodded. She vaulted from the bench in her Hogwarys gear, face painted for the festivities. She turned to Thomas. "C'mon, let's go!" She dashed off.
Nat gave Bobbi's arm a reassuring squeeze. "I'll make sure she gets to the pitch in time, Lapochka," she promised, she leaned up on her toes and stole a quick kiss. "Nadrat' zadnitsu," she added before she pulled away and jogged to catch up with Daisy and company.
"We're going to do more than kick some ass," Elena climbed from her seat and gathered her gear and Bobbi's with Mack.
"Is it really a traditional quidditch game if someone doesn't lose a limb?" Mack asked.
"Keep it within the rules, hotshots," Trish caught up with them from down the table. "Fair game is fair game, just dodge the penalties. If you red card or force a forfeit, she wins. Literally."
“And we all know that’s the only thing she cares about.” Bobbi snapped, but she was nothing but soft in the moment when Natasha kissed her.
Jemma inhaled sharply when they stepped through the archway into fresh air, hoping desperately that the pit in her stomach and shiver down her spine would ease. She was not so lucky. The massive castle behind them had been one thing, but overlooking the quidditch pitch and the forest beyond made her feel even more hopelessly stranded.
“This isn’t right either…” Jemma’s fear was boiling right at the surface, about to overflow. That’s what she had felt like this whole time, like she was on the edge of losing it. “I don’t know where to go, this isn’t it. I’m just lost.” She kept insisting. Even as she said it she couldn’t be sure what she meant.
Daisy stopped their progression. She forced her own panic as far below the surface as possible for Jemma's sake alone. "Hey," she turned to face Jemma and reached out her free hand to Jemma's cheek, hoping to direct her gaze away from the things around them. "Focus here okay?" She smiled. "I know it doesn't feel like it, but I promise, we won't let you stay lost." She really would murder Wanda if she did something to permanently harm Jemma. And she'd gladly take whatever prison sentence came as the consequences too. "Do you remember anything before you felt lost?" She asked. "It's okay if you don't, we'll get you fixed up no matter what." She assured. What would Daisy do if this was a lie, though?
Both of their eyes locked and Jemma tried to focus like Daisy asked. Her eyes wanted to dart around them at all times, but she forced herself to take a deep breath and stare at Daisy’s face. That was the only way that she didn’t feel like she was lost. She knew every bit of Daisy’s features and she felt comfort in knowing at least that.
“I know it’s a spell, I know.” Jemma’s forehead broke into a sweat and she fought to give herself clarity. It sounded almost like she was reassuring herself. “Which spell…” she muttered. There had to be a way to fix it. “Wanda used a spell…”
For a moment Jemma’s focus faltered and with it, went her grip over her emotions. She pulled her face out of Daisy’s reach and whirled around, trying to analyze her surroundings. If it wasn’t the castle or the pitch, wherever she was supposed to be had to be beyond the forest… “I can’t be here.” She blurted, spiraling again.
Daisy felt the anger boiling within her when Jemma fully confirmed it was Wanda. Tournament be damned, Daisy was going to maim the girl. "Jem, wait!"
"Whoaaaa, easy girl!" Trip caught Jemma's waist gently when she broke away. She flashed her a bright grin. "I don't smell that bad that you've gotta run away from a friend, do I?" He made a joking show of trying to sniff at his own under arm.
Nat frowned as she watched it all play out. "We'll take you wherever you need to go for now," within reason at least. "Where do you think would be best?" She asked.
“I don’t know!” Jemma cried out and stepped away from Trip. That was the whole point- she didn’t know where to go- so why was Natasha asking?
Where did she need to go? She had known to find Daisy, she had to have been trying to find Daisy before the spell.
“The game.” Jemma’s eyes widened. Her memory was mostly intact. She was able to recall that Daisy had the championship game today. She knew they went to Hogwarts together… she just couldn’t visually recognize where she was. “It’s not a memory spell.” She grumbled, trying to work her way through it. “Just a feeling, just… lost.” The word was on repeat, but it was the only word to accurately describe it.
Nat and Trip put their hands up in surrender, unsure what to do. They exchanged a glance.
"The game's going to start soon," Trip said.
Daisy gave no shits about the game right then. It could go on without her if necessary. reached out and held her hand out to offer it to Jemma. "Okay, it's not a memory spell, so...it wasn't obliviate?" Fuck, she hoped not.
Natasha stepped closer but then stopped. "Confundus?" She asked. "She feels confused but she knows who she is, she knows who we are."
When Natasha spoke, Jemma’s eyes zeroed in on her. It took everything in her to figure out why it felt so right.
“Confused-“ Jemma blurted out the word. That was what it was. She felt lost, she felt confused. “That’s it.” She pressed the heels of her hands to her temples to try to slow her spinning head. “A few hours.” She added. A few hours to what? A few hours to get wherever she desperately felt like she was supposed to find?
"Fuck," Daisy cursed.
"What's the counter spell?" Trip asked.
"Finite?" Nat wondered aloud.
"We're not going to test out theories here." Daisy said, as much as she wanted to help Jemma quickly.
"An excellent choice, Miss Johnson," Professor Carter made it to the group.
"Yelena found you," Nat sighed with relief.
"Yes, Professor Price is on her way as well," she nodded. "The speed of youth," she smirked and then eyed up the situation. "Ever the trouble magnets, at it again I see? What's all this, Miss Simmons?" she tried to. Call Jemma's attention.
“I’m lost.” Jemma repeated again. As more and more people started to arrive, she felt the itch to flee. All she wanted to do was fly until she felt like she was on the right track.
“I need to fly away from here.” Jemma mumbled. She was agitated and scratched at the back of her neck.
"Jem, no-,"
"Miss Simmons if I recall correctly, you have a great distaste for hopping on a broomstick," Peggy very calmly cut Daisy off. "Let's leave that to Daisy and the Quidditch Team, shall we?" She asked.
Daisy tried to stay calm, though she shot a cagey glance at Trip then Natasha. Trip just looked confused. Nat's brow furrowed, her eyes shifted from Jemma to Daisy to Professor Carter.
"It's possible someone's hit her with the Confundus Charm," Daisy blurted to Peggy.
“It was Wanda.” Jemma broke through with a brief moment of clarity. It was the sting of betrayal. Jemma had been one of the only people to give Wanda a chance, and this is how the girl had repaid her. “I thought she was Darwin.” The thought of Wanda flying out the window made Jemma itch to use her own animagus to escape and try to find her way, but she knew she wasn’t supposed to.
Peggy’s face remained as neutral as possible. An extra crease filled a space between her eyebrows and her lips pressed into a disconcerting line for a moment as she took in the information provided. “We’ll sort those details out later,” She assured
Daisy frowned and watched Jemma carefully. “Where will you-,”
“Daisy, you’ve got just about enough time to make it to the pitch-,” Natasha glanced toward the stadium.
“Fuck the game,” Daisy cut Natasha off. She hadn’t meant to snap at Natasha specifically, but she honestly did not care about the game right now when Jemma was struggling the way she was because of the spell.
“She did this to keep you out of the game,” Trip pointed out.
“It’s a fucking game, I don’t care!” Daisy snapped at Trip, who put his hands up in surrender.
“Daisy,” Rosalind admonished Daisy’s tone as she finished jogging to catch up to the group. Daisy shrunk just a tiny bit but she didn’t move from her spot next to Jemma.
Peggy glanced at Rosalind. “Confundus charm, likely. She thinks she’s lost.” She reached out and gently touched Jemma’s arm. “Jemma, would you like to find your way with Professor Price and I for a bit?” she asked.
Jemma flinched when Peggy touched her, only because she was on edge and going in and out of confusion. It was difficult to function because some things were so clear, like who everyone was and how she felt about them, but it felt like the issue of her location was constantly an emergency.
Daisy had a game- Daisy had the game to get to. Jemma pressed her fingers to her temples as if massaging them could clear away the haze. She could muster enough focus to realize that Wanda did this to her to get to Daisy and the team, and she didn’t want Wanda to win.
“You have to beat her.” Jemma told Daisy. She turned to Professor Carter and took a deep breath. She had a lot of trust in the woman for many reasons, so she knew she wouldn’t lead her astray.
Daisy blinked. She froze for a moment. Of course she wanted to kick Wanda’s ass, both on the pitch and off, but she didn't want to leave Jemma when she was in distress like she was under the spell.
"Jem-,"
"You heard her," Natasha interjected. "That was an order, wasn't it Trip?"
Trip arched his eyebrows and Natasha shot him a pointed look. "Huh? Oh! Yeah, definitely! You can't let her down now with the, uh...state she's in."
Daisy's eyes never left Jemma. "Jem, I don't want to leave you like this until you're ok-," she started to reach out for Jemma.
“I’ll be okay soon.” Jemma took a step back and put out a hand to stop Daisy’s advance. It wasn’t that she didn’t want her physical comfort and reassurances. She just knew that if she let Daisy touch her again, she was going to want to cling to her until the bottomless pit in her stomach closed up. Having the strength to tell Daisy to go wasn’t something she would be able to do twice. “It means a lot to the whole team and the whole school, all our friends… don’t let her plan work.” Jemma said. She tried to project confidence, but her arms still crossed over her chest and wrapped around herself. Her eyes kept bouncing around their environment, trying to make sense of it. Maybe being in one closed room would feel better than this, so there were fewer options of where to go.
Daisy hesitated. She watched Jemma cross her arms over herself. She bit the corner of her bottom lip. Her eyes landed on Rosalind. “Mom-,”
“It’s alright, darling. Jemma’s safe with us,” Rosalind offered Daisy a reassuring smile and reached out to squeeze her shoulder.
Daisy took a step back from the group. She looked at Jemma one last time. Finally she gave a nod before she turned and began sprinting.
“Do kick their ass out there!” Peggy called after her. She turned to Trip and nodded her head in Daisy’s direction. “Go with her, make sure she makes it to the locker room.”
Trip gave her a salute then gave chase after Daisy, though he was only half as fast as her. Natasha stayed put. Her promise to Bobbi had been that she’d make sure Daisy made it to the game. That promise was in progress, and she felt sure it’d be upheld. Now she’d stay with the Professors and Jemma.
Peggy and Rosalind exchanged a glance before each eyed Jemma up. “Calming Draught?” Peggy asked Rosalind.
“It won’t break the spell, but…” Rosalind leaned her head back and forth as she considered it. “Couldn’t hurt to give it a go.”
Peggy turned to Jemma. “How do you feel about a stroll to my office, Jemma?” She asked.
“I wouldn’t know since I haven’t got a clue where it is.” Even under a spell, Jemma was able to come up with a witty joke. “Just… don’t leave me alone, please?” She requested. The constant skin crawling sensation was impossible to ignore, but it was better with people she trusted around her. Even if she felt completely lost, there were people she trusted to know their way.
Natasha held her hand out to offer it to Jemma if she wanted or not. "You're stuck with us until Hogwarts demolishes Koldovstoretz," she said with a small, reassuring smile as the group began to move.
Daisy made it to the locker room, breathless and sweating. She ran into Ward first. "Don't look so relieved to see me, it's weird," she joked between huffs of air. She - lightly - slugged his arm in the most jovial way she had possibly ever interacted with him as the others heaved a round of relieved sighs.
"Jemma?" Elena asked.
"She'll be alright," Daisy jogged to her belongings to finish tugging on her gear. "She demanded that we beat Koldo into the ground, so," Daisy was still breathing heavily as she pulled her game robes over her gear. "Tell me how we're going to fly circles around Maximoff and make them look like fools?" She grinned. Trish opened her mouth ready to scold but Daisy added, "Within the rules, yeah, yeah." She assured and chuckled.