Rabastan Lestrange could not believe his luck. Or how stupid these mutants seemed to be. A small amount of the Inner Circle was sent to different areas of the United Kingdom, prowling the muggle streets under disillusionment charms for any signs of mutants. It was difficult, since powers varied from mutant to mutant. He and Augustus Rookwood were in Wales when they overheard two young girls talking quietly in a dark alley. One was tall and blonde, with a thick Russian accent. With her was a shorter girl with black and pink hair, clearly a native to the area.

"You must go with them," Magik had been saying to the younger girl. "They will protect you from a greater evil."

Pixie was still confused. "How can you be so sure?" She questioned. She hadn't known Illyana for very long, but she already trusted the other mutant with her life. Still, Megan Gwynn was skeptical.

"They'll help you, I promise," Magik replied in a reassuring tone. "But you must swear to me that you won't tell them you've met me. No one can know." Once her brother had entered the country, it hadn't been hard for Magik to track him down. She watched, unnoticed, as they gathered a few mutants for their cause. She wasn't at all surprised when they approached Pixie, as well. While tailing them, Magik had gathered the reasons behind their visit to the country. In truth, Illyana still found the concept of wizards unbelievable. Then again, she was a mutant.

"How do you know them?" Pixie asked curiously. Before a response could be voiced, she added, "You do owe me some answers, you know."

Magik sighed, nodding. She didn't blame Pixie at all. "My brother is with them," she replied shortly. She then repeated, "But he can't know I'm here. He doesn't need to. I plan on returning home in a few hours. If he knew I was here, he would just worry about me."

Megan Gwynn hadn't been expecting that answer, and nodded in understanding. "I see, don't worry. I'll keep your-"

Illyana Rasputin stopped Megan midsentence, glancing down both sides of the street cautiously. "Something's here," she muttered cryptically to the other mutant. "We must leave."

Megan nodded slightly, a worried expression crossing her face as she glanced at each of the alley entrances in turn. "Where should we go?" She couldn't see anyone.

"Fly to England. Find my brother" Was the short, murmured reply.

"What about you?"

"Leave me," came the concise order, "Now."

Rookwood realized that their presence had been noticed and shot a Stupefy at the blonde girl.

"Run!" The blonde yelled, as she fled in the other direction, Stunning Spells still flying at the two girls. A shimmer appeared around the smaller mutant and fairy-like wings were suddenly visible on her back.

Lestrange didn't know what had just happened, but decided better than to question anything in the heat of the moment. He began down the alley, Rookwood behind him.

Megan took to the sky, watching the other mutant from the corner of her eye. She began West, in the opposite direction as Illyana. Turning back for a split second to check on her friend, Pixie watched from a distance as Illyana fell to the ground. The cloaked men turned to look up at her, but didn't get a chance to attack. Pixie flew away into the night, following her fallen friend's advice. She had to find the mutants who offered her a safe haven in America.

Back on the ground, the two Death Eaters prodded and examined the stunned mutant before them. "Incarcerous," Lestrange said, his wand pointed down at the body. Ropes shot out of the end of his wand and wrapped themselves around her body. He then bent down to grab a hold of her wrist and, without waiting for his partner, Apparated back to Headquarters.

XXX

When they weren't teaching the new mutants, Scott and Jean took some others in search of more new mutants. Today the Professor was having them locate Alison Blaire in Gardendale New York. It didn't take long to drive from Bayville to Gardendale, but the mutant they were searching for wasn't in her house. "Do you know where we may be able to find your daughter?" Scott asked as politely as possible, while receiving a hate-filled stare from the girl's father.

"She's off with her friends," the man simply repeated.

Jean placed a comforting hand on Scott's shoulder. "Sir, we must speak to you about an important matter concerning your daughter. If you could let us inside, we'll explain everything."

The man was about to say something when an old woman appeared behind him. "You should let them in, Carter," she said, "see what they have to say." The man stood silently for a few moments before finally complying. The old woman led the five teenagers into a living room. "I'm Bella, and I apologize for my son," she started. "I am curious as to what you have to say about my granddaughter. Are you friends of hers?" As Alison Blair's grandmother spoke, the father followed silently into the room and stood quietly by the doorway.

Jean decided to speak for the rest of them. "Not exactly," she replied, "but we would like to help her. We believe Alison has developed mutant abilities and we would like her to join the rest of us at the Institute."

"I knew you looked familiar," Carter said, before his mother could respond. "You've been on the news with the rest of your school. She isn't going."

"Carter, that decision is Alison's to make," the grandmother said. Her tone was gentler than anything.

"Alison already has a future, she's going to law school," he said. "Being found out as a mutant could jeopardize that."

"Yet another choice that Alison alone must make," the old woman replied.

"Mr. Blaire," Jean decided to cut in, "regardless of how many people know she's a mutant, she is one. She can't run from her powers, and without proper training she won't know how to hide them, either. The Xavier Institute can help her control them." Jean turned to Bella. "But you're right; it is her choice to make. The sooner she decides, however, the better. Do you know when she'll be back?"

The grandmother glanced at her son and sighed. "She won't be long. We sent her out to pick up a few groceries," she answered, much to her son's chagrin. As if on cue, the front door opened and the teenager they had been waiting for appeared in the doorway.

"I'm home," the new-comer announced, before noticing the company. She placed the grocery bags on a nearby table slowly, eying the group of strangers, "What's going on?" She asked, glancing between her father and her grandmother. They both looked to Jean, who took it upon herself to explain.

The room was silent for a few moments after Jean's retelling of their purpose. Bella sat calmly next to her granddaughter, who didn't say a word. Finally, Mr. Blair broke the silence. "There, I think my daughter's reaction says everything. She doesn't want to go to your mutant school. She's staying here and-"

"Dad," Alison's voice cut him off sharply. "I do want to go with them." Her voice was quieter now. She turned to face him. "Remember when I preformed in middle school and everyone was blinded. That was my fault. I need this. I need to learn better control over my powers."

Jean watched the girl in silence. She knew that was only half of what Alison wanted to tell her father. She wanted to leave so her father would stop pushing the idea of law school on her. She wanted to perform like her mother did. She wanted to tell him that she knew her mother had been an actress, and question why he had kept that a secret. Alison Blaire didn't say any of it.

Jean glanced back at the father, inner turmoil raging within him. He didn't say anything for a time, one couldn't argue with that logic. Eventually, he turned his head away and consented with a slight nod.

XXX

Pixie followed Magik's brief instructions, flying as close to England as she could get before landing near an empty road and continuing her journey on foot. She was in an uninhabited area, not counting the large manor she could see through the trees up ahead. 'I wonder who lives up there,' she thought. The building seemed to grow larger as she neared it. The road before her curved, and as she followed it she noticed that it would take her right up to the gates of the house. The Manor had an extensive front lawn, and she could see apple trees planted only a few meters away from the surrounding wall. "I wonder..." Pixie muttered to herself. It wouldn't be too hard to fly over and pick a few apples. The owners would probably never notice, and if they did it shouldn't matter since they're rich.

On the other hand, they probably had a lot of security. Maybe even guard dogs. Pixie couldn't risk getting caught. She had to find Magik's brother. She knew she was told not to tell them about her, but now that Illyana had been kidnapped, everything was different. She had to tell them... Just then, Pixie's stomach growled. "It shouldn't take too long..." she finally reasoned to herself with a sigh.

Pixie flew over the gate and made a beeline for the trees, not bothering to land. She wouldn't have been able to reach the apples from the ground anyways. The apples were a little smaller than the ones sold in the grocery, but she soon found that they were much more delicious. "Maybe just... three," she muttered as she hovered near the tree and grabbed the closest ripe apples nearby.

"Hey!" Pixie almost dropped everything, as she froze where she was, facing the tree. She couldn't see who had caught her, but could tell it was a girl that didn't sound much older than her. "What are you... doing?" The voice asked, considerably closer now. It sounded as if the girl wanted to stop her question earlier than she did, but thought against it. Pixie slowly lowered to the ground and turned around to face the owner of the apples. To her surprise, the girl wasn't alone. A boy, clearly her brother, was with her. They looked very similar, though the girl's hair had purple streaks.

"Sorry," Pixie started lamely. She didn't know what else to say. It was obvious they figured she was a mutant, or something otherworldly, but she couldn't very well tell them that she was searching for her friend's brother because she was kidnapped and she wanted to return to America with them. The pair of siblings before her didn't seem to be paying attention; they were staring at each other. It looked like they were having a conversation, but their lips weren't moving. Under normal circumstances, being ignored like this would annoy her. Then again, she flew over their wall and was stealing their apples.

Eventually, the boy turned to her. "Who are you?" He asked in a demanding tone. "And what are you?" Unlike his sister, he didn't seem to care much about manners.

"My name's Megan Gwynn," she started, not bothering to lie. "I'm a mutant, as I'm sure you've already figured out."

At the word mutant, the girl glanced quickly at her brother. They seemed to share another mental conversation before she was the focus of their attentions once again. "What were you doing here?" She asked.

"I was hungry," Pixie stated. She proceeded to tell them the rest of her story, no longer caring. She hoped that honesty would help her get out of their faster than lying would. Plus, she was a bad liar. The boy's expression, Pixie noticed while speaking, remained blank. The girl's remained mostly surprised. There was silence for a few moments after she finished. Again, the two seemed to speak to each other. It was only now starting to annoy the mutant. Finally, the girl turned to her and spoke.

"These people you're looking for," she began. "Were there four of them; two older men, a woman, and a young man around our age."

It was Pixie's turn to give them the suspicious looks. "How'd you even know that?" She asked. She hadn't said much about who had come for her. Though she mentioned the visitors, her tale mostly focused on the conversation with Magik.

"We're mutants as well," was the answer. This time it was the brother who had spoken. "They approached us this morning while our parents were out. They don't know about it, they would try to stop us if they did..." For the first time that night, Pixie noticed that both were carrying backpacks. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. What luck she had! Not only were they mutants, but they were heading toward the same people she was.

"So you know where they are?" Pixie asked excitedly. The small nod of affirmation was all Pixie needed to mentally burst out in joy. She remembered where she was just in time, and was able to avoid making a noise. "So, you'll let me go with you, right? I won't get in trouble for being here or... stealing your apples?" She asked, ending in an apologetic tone.

The girl laughed as loudly as she thought possible under the circumstances. "You're fine, don't worry, Megan," she assured her. "I'm Elizabeth Braddock, by the way. But most just can call me Betsy. My brother here is Brian."

The group exited the property quietly, they had a key and were able to slip through the thankfully quiet gate. Betsy explained in more detail the visit from the American mutants, and where they were asked to meet them, if they wanted to go to America. She also explained their mutant powers. They were both simple enough. Brian was super strong and fast, and Betsy was a telepath. So far she couldn't do much other than read and project thoughts, and project herself onto the astral plane. Pixie thought they had great powers. She herself only had retractable pixie wings, hallucination-causing 'pixie dust' and the soul dagger, ever since her very first encounter with Magik.

The three mutants were heading towards a town that was only a kilometer or so away. An easy enough distance to walk. They had been told by Magneto to meet them in the pub and hotel called "The Snail's Whale."

"That's an odd name for a pub," Pixie commented as they finally entered the small town. She let the other two lead, as they had been into this place many times before.

XXX

The Blackbird landed in the mansion's hangar and opened to allow Professor Xavier, Storm, and a new mutant out. The last was a girl of about sixteen. She had long red hair and a completely silver body. The professor mentally called all of the X-Men to another meeting in the dining hall. There were two new faces in the Institute tonight, and Charles would make sure they were welcomed by all.

Everyone was gathered by the time the group of three reached the large room. It was the only room that fit everyone, even with some at Hogwarts and Magneto's team also in Europe. Upon entering, they were joined in the front of the room by Jean and Alison Blaire. Charles wheeled his chair around to face everyone. "Students, I'd like everyone to meet Alison Blaire and Cessily Kincaid," the Professor said, getting straight to the point. He indicated to each one in turn, allowing everyone to make side comments for a moment. He stopped them after a bit. "Jubilee, Alison will be your new roommate," he informed her, "and Cessily will room with you, Rahne." He then went back to addressing everybody in the room. "Please, try to make them feel as welcome and comfortable as possible. They will begin attending Bayville with you in a week."

With everything said and done, the meeting was adjourned; Charles returned to his office with Cessily in tow. For her, there was one last piece of business to attend to. Her mutant appearance would require a bit of disguising, and Charles had just what the sixteen year old would want. The image inducer, an exact replica of Nightcrawler's, was given to her.

After a quick tutorial, Cessily left and headed toward where the Professor said her room was. She entered and found her roommate ready for bed. Rahne Sinclair jumped up and greeted the new mutant eagerly.

"You can call me Wolfsbane," Cessily was informed.

"Why does everyone have nicknames, anyways?" The newer girl asked.

"Identity reasons, I guess," Rahne answered, sitting back down on her bed, and motioning Cessily to do the same.

"I guess that makes sense," Cessily said as she sat down as well. "Spiderman never reveals his real name, after all." She shrugged, glancing around the nice room. Her things had already been piled onto her own bed. She looked back at her roommate. "So what's your power?" She asked.

Rahne gave the girl a wolfish grin and began to shift into one. Cessily laughed, saying, "That makes sense." Rahne nodded and barked once before morphing back. "That was incredible, Rahne," Cessily informed her. "That's a real superpower, not like what I have."

"Your power seems pretty cool, too," Rahne denied. "Your body's just metal, right?"

"Not exactly," Cessily responded. She shut off her image inducer and placed her hand on the bed between them. "It's actually non-toxic liquid mercury. I can change the shape to almost anything, I can become a puddle on the floor, and I guess a few other things." To prove this, as she was speaking Cessily's fingers elongated and sharpened.

The other mutant's mouth dropped in amazement. "How is that power worse than mine?" Rahne half-exclaimed, half-asked. "It sounds like you can do anything!"

"I doubt it," Cessily replied. "And I can't look normal without this image inducer."

"That doesn't mean anything, Cessily," Rahne assured her.

"Except that I'm stuck hiding behind this watch," Cessily interrupted her. "Before I got here, immediately after my powers manifested, my parents refused to let me out of the house, or near a window. They said it was for my own safety, but I'm not an idiot. After everything that had happened recently, they couldn't deal with the thought of having a mutant daughter..."

Rahne was silent afterwards; her parents hadn't been like that, but she knew many other X-Men in similar situations. "Sorry for rambling," Cessily finally said, breaking the silence. "I'm a little tired, I had a long flight."

Rahne nodded. "Night, then."

XXX

Sabertooth, after confirming their identities, allowed the three younger mutants into the hotel room. They had secured a few of the rooms above the pub for the night, to await the sibling's decision. Needless to say, the Acolytes were surprised to see Pixie with them.

The room was occupied by Colossus, Magneto, Mystique and Sabertooth; the three mutants were already familiar with them. The two other mutants in the room were introduced as Thomas Jones and Theresa Cassidy.

The Acolytes weren't a very talkative group, but the younger mutants had a lot to say to each other. "How'd you end up here, Megan?" Theresa was the first to ask. "I thought we were only waiting for Betsy and Brian."

"Well, a friend approached me earlier tonight and told me I should travel to America with you," she began. As she said this, she turned to glance at each of the Acolytes in turn. If she had to guess, Colossus was probably Illyana's brother. "Actually, during that conversation, my friend was kidnapped. I was able to fly away, but she was hit by something – a strange beam of light – and fell." She turned to Magneto, as it was clear that he was the leader. "I came hoping that you would help find her."

Magneto, and everyone else, had been listening intently to the story. "This friend of yours was a mutant?" Magneto asked. At Megan's nod he continued. "Who is she?"

"Illyana Rasputin." Megan had barely gotten the first name out when Colossus suddenly crossed the room and stood, towering over her.

"My Illyana?" He asked quietly. Despite the intimidation Megan felt, none could be found his voice. Worry and fear, however, were evident. He also spoke with a thick Russian accent, and his features she could now see closely resembled Illyana's. There was no denying that they were siblings. Megan could only nod solemnly.

"I'm sorry," she replied, but he wasn't listening. He had turned around and returned to his spot by the window, glaring down the streets outside. Megan turned back to Magneto. "You would be able to help her, right? Will you find Illyana?"

Magneto glanced at the solitary mutant by the window before replying. It was true that Colossus only worked for him because Magneto had threatened his family, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to help. "I will see what we can do once we arrive in America," he said in response.

"America? You can't just find her now?" Megan exclaimed, half annoyed. She wouldn't have come all this way just to leave the country before finding her friend.

"The only way to find your friend is through a super-computer and a telepath, both of which are in America," Mystique explained impatiently. Those who actually knew her found her temper surprisingly tame.

"Fine," Megan replied after a pause. She had no argument, and could find no way to do it herself. "When are we leaving?"

"Morning." This firm reply was from Colossus. It seemed that the abrupt departure hadn't been planned, but under the circumstances, no one was objecting.

XXX

Illyana woke up in a dark, small dungeon equipped with only the cot she was lying on. A heavy wooden door stood in the middle of the wall opposite her, a barred window at her eye level allowing her to see through it. The room was dimly lit, though she could see no light sources. She moved to the door and peeked outside. Her cell was at the end of a long corridor that led to a spiral stone staircase. There were other doors, similar to her own, along each wall.

She chose a spot on the ground to concentrate on and attempted so summon a stepping disk. This was to no avail. Illyana's concentration and powers were being blocked by some unknown force. Normally her Soulsword would put an end to the magical bonds on her, but she couldn't even summon that. Illyana was about to return to the cot when she heard voices and footsteps from the staircase. She rushed to the door and watched them approach. Two cloaked, hooded, and masked figures neared the door; they had stopped talking when they saw that she was awake. Before Illyana could react, their wands were out and pointing at her through the bars. One figure shouted "Silencio" and the other "Incarcerous."

The ropes that shot out of the second wand wrapped themselves around her. Illyana was knocked backwards at the force and in surprise, she would have yelped if she had been able to make a sound. Unable to get up, the mutant struggled against the ropes as the two Death Eaters entered the cell. The ropes tightened as she moved, and Illyana soon learned to remain still. The wizards didn't say a word as they each grabbed her by the arms and pushed her toward the staircase.

She was led up the stairs and through a series of dark corridors. A few attempts at using her powers told her that they still wouldn't work. She resigned herself to waiting and watching for an opportunity to get away. It was futile, though. She was powerless, outmatched, and in unfamiliar territory.

Illyana was stopped in front of a set of large wooden doors. One power that Illyana did still maintain, probably because it required no concentration, was the ability to sense magic. Through the doors was an enormous amount of power. The doors swung open slowly and light filtered into the hallway. Illyana was pushed inside and she took a good look at her surroundings. Torches lit the large room, which looked like a dining room without windows. A long table stood in the middle, cloaked and masked figures sitting at each side. At the head of the table was a high backed chair with another figure. The power, Illyana sensed, emanated from him. Behind this man was a roaring fireplace. There were only three empty seats at the table, the one at the end right in front of her and the two on each side. She was forced into the seat directly across the sinister, powerful man.

The young mutant waited anxiously before the others, who only seemed to stare and whisper quietly amongst themselves. Illyana watched the man on the other end of the table. To be frank, he scared her. She knew he was capable of a lot, but wasn't sure of the extent. He'd disabled her powers somehow, after all. She knew nothing of his world, except that they weren't supposed to know that mutants existed. At least until recently when the humans found out and it was made public in the muggle world.

The man at the head of the table stood as the others took their seats. He raised his goblet and, in a very sarcastic manner, toasted her arrival at their dinner table. "I must say we are quite honored to host such a powerful being," the man continued, placing the glass down and withdrawing something long and thin from his robes. To Illyana it just looked like a stick, but she knew it was much more. "Your power, however, is only second to my own. Imperio."

A light shot out of the end of his 'stick' and Illyana braced herself for impact. She never felt pain, though. Instead, she relaxed. Illyana suddenly felt very happy, as if everything from the past twenty-four hours never happened, as if she was home with her siblings and parents. She then heard a voice. It was soothing, and seemed to exist only in her head.

"I am Lord Voldemort," it said. "Stand up and come around the table to me." The words were commanding, but the voice was compelling. Illyana did as she was told, she didn't have the urge to fight when she felt so great. She stopped when she reached the armrest of his chair, and awaited more orders. She could hear him speaking to the others, but she didn't bother paying attention to what was being said.

Moments later, the voice entered her mind again. "Show me your powers." Illyana complied again, making the Soulsword appear in her open hand. The blade wasn't too impressive, but the Dark Lord could tell it was powerful. The sword disappeared a moment later, so Illyana could display another power. She teleported to the other side of the table. "Walk back over here," the voice commanded. Upon returning to his side, Lord Voldemort addressed his followers yet again. She half-listened to what was being said, uncaring because she was still floating around in her state of ease and happiness.

XXX

A/N: Okay, so I've had most of this written for a while, I just put off the very end because I wasn't exactly sure where I was going with this. I really hope you like this chapter, though you probably hate me for taking so long with it… I also want to make sure the story as a whole isn't too confusing for anyone. I know I jump around a lot between different groups and there are a lot of characters now, so if you review could you please address that somewhere? Thanks in advance! And on that note, I do hope you continue to read and review. Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long, but I make no promises so you can't hold me to anything! I kid, I kid.