Chapter Four

It only took a few brief moments in the aftermath, for her to promise Zeke that she would try to answer as many of his questions as she could, though at a more appropriate time. The swift and fluid appearance of the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad was greatly appreciated, and they set to work with restorations and altering Pam's memory without much prompting. Aron had a good team, and she would tell him as much next time she saw him.
“All set Ms. Browne, was there anything else?” one of the members asked, extending his hand to shake hers.
“No, thank you, that will be all,” she replied astutely, making good on the gesture by offering her own. The two-man team exchanged looks when they were done and then as swiftly as they had appeared, they disapparated which resulted in an audible “Coooooooooooooool!” from Zeke, followed by more staring, mouth gaping.

“They knew you, do they work for you?” he asked, curious, his eyes still wide with what appeared to be excitement. He had quickly overcome the shock of what he had done and the 'discovery' of magic, now wandering confidently and asking questions – his mind no doubt racing to keep up with things.
“Not quite, they work for a friend,” she replied. There was time for this talk later, they still had to wake Pam up. Indicating for Zeke to take his place, Emily meandered to the woman's side and uncorked the vial of sniffing salts, wafting it beneath her nose. As Pam regained consciousness, Emily swiftly slipped the vial back in her pocket, and spoke to the woman. “Pam, are you alright?” she asked, concern saturating her tone. “Can you hear me?” The woman blinked a few times, allowing her eyes to adjust to the light before opening her mouth the speak, “What... happened?”

The story had been that she simply collapsed, and Emily had insisted she have some tea and head home early using low blood sugar as a plausible explanation for the event. She also offered to volunteer to lend an extra set of hands at the Hub for the remainder of the afternoon - this way she could keep an eye on Zeke and put some of his questions to rest. Needless to say, Pam had agreed.

Opting to assist with the more secluded tasks of laundry and dish washing, Emily and Zeke spent a solid two hours discussing some of the ins and outs of magic sometimes using elaborate code words or the faintest whispers. His questions ranged from cauldrons and broomsticks, to green skin and warts, and more practical subjects like school and daily life. Despite his initial shock, Zeke had adjusted to the idea easily, and his enthusiasm and raw excitement was not easily contained. But as the sun continued to set, and the residents started to retire to their make-shift sleeping quarters, it appeared Zeke still had questions on his mind.

“Can it fix my mum?” he asked, breaking the silence as she passed him another soapy dish to rinse. “No,” Emily replied regrettably, “there's a lot that it can do, but there's still a lot it can't. I'm sorry.” So no, magic couldn't heal his mum, not as far gone as she was, cancer was nasty business. Zeke nodded his understanding, letting another moment of silence pass between them.
“Then, what's going to happen to me?” he asked, clearly concerned, his voice shaking slightly. No doubt it was something he had considered a fair bit recently and rightly so as his mothers condition had worsened. There had been talk bout getting Veronica hospitalised, it was beyond a matter of paying fees, it was a matter of making the last weeks or days of the woman's life more bearable. They both knew it was only a matter of time before he was taken away, before he had to move on... and be brave.
“I can't live with muggles, can I?”
Emily smiled, more to herself than anything else, he was a sharp one, that's for sure.
“It wouldn't be practical, no,” she agreed, passing him yet another plate. “Unless they're family,” she added.
Zeke just shook his head, he didn't speak of family much, and she didn't press him to. All she knew was his father had passed, and his mother would soon follow. “When I get into work tomorrow I'll see what I can arrange for you,” she had some contacts she could schmooze, could probably keep him out of their system until something permanent became available – at least.
“Can I stay with you?”
Emily paused what she was doing, letting the gravy slick plate drop to the bottom of the sink. Could he stay with her? Something in the way he asked her, led her to believe he didn't mean temporarily. But that was ludicrous, truly outrageous.
“Until we find you a family,” she replied, opting to go with that.
“No,” he was quick to interject, “I mean... can I stay with you, properly?”
The fact that he emphasised properly, made her feel almost nervous, her stomach writhed uncomfortably. Shaking her head, she replied to him softly, “No, you need a family.”
The look on Zeke's face, his features distorted with pain made something in her chest tighten and ache.
“We... could be a family...” he countered.

Great Mother of Merlin.

“Zeke,” Emily started, preparing to give him a list of reasons why that wasn't possible, only, he seemed to beat her at her own game. Not with a response, but with a hug. His arms were around her middle again, and his chin was resting on her stomach, his eyes staring up at hers. “Please,” he said in a low voice.
This was entirely new territory for her, on the one hand, she was cursing herself for spending so much time with him to begin with, for letting him get so close to her. On the other hand, she was cursing herself for holding back. He wasn't a bad kid, as far as kids were concerned. Zeke was charming, curious, insightful even, he wasn't loud or obnoxious, but he was present. He was sensitive and understanding, but had a fire in him and a small disregard for rules – which she found amusing for the most part – though sometimes mildly concerning. She could tolerate him at least, and that was saying something. On top of that, the kid needed saving from himself, as well as from the muggles. Not only was he a target because of his magic and lack of control over it, but he seemed to have needed her assistance on a number of occasions which only strengthened her sense of duty to him. In addition to this, his mothers words echoed in the recess of her mind, look after him.
“It's too soon to be talking about this,” she finally said, “I'll finish up here, you go to bed and be with your mum, we can talk about this later.”
The look in his eyes told her he knew she was right, and with one last squeeze around the middle, his head hung low, Zeke traipsed from the room.