50 Shades of Malec

Head of the Institute

MAGNUS'S POV

Yesterday did not go well. It was full of demon trapping, sacrifices, and a million other things. We lost Lydia because of my inability to babysit a Seelie while gathering ingredients. 

I shook my head and found myself walking through the halls of the institute. I heard crying in a room and I pushed the door open. It was Josephine. I cleared my throat, not really knowing what to do.

She stood up quickly. "Oh, um. Hello, Mr. Bane. Sorry, I was just, uh, thinking."

"Thinking, hmm? What were you thinking about that would make you cry? And by the state of your face, it looks like you have been crying for quite some time." I looked at her, waiting.

She gave me a sad smile. "It's the anniversary of my family's death. They've been dead for nine years. Valentine killed him."

"I find that... talking, helps me clear my head. Why don't you tell me about it?" I sat down on the bed next to her. "Is this your room?"

It was a beautiful turquoise gray color and the sheets were gray. She had a single desk in the corner and a bookshelf. 

"Yeah. I asked for one away from people because of my... issues." She chuckled.

"Well, let's get started, Josephine."

"If we are going to talk about this, Mr. Bane, you have to call me Jo. That's what my parents called me and no one has said it since." She looked up at me.

"I am honored, Jo. You have to call me Magnus though. Deal?" I held out my hand. She shook it.

"Deal."

She took a deep breath and the Institute's alarm went off.

She leaped up and ran to the Ops center. I quickly followed.

"What's going on?" She looked around at everyone in the room.

Jace stepped forward. "There was a drevak demon attack. A mundane is dead. We have Shadowhunters out there trying to kill it. It's being handled, Miss Maxwell."

"Please, call me Josephine. As long as you have it handled, it is of no concern of mine. Thank you for handling it, Mr. Herondale." She turned away and immediately collapsed.

I reached to catch her saw the stab wound on her stomach. Alec had his bow and arrow out and every Shadowhunter in the building whipped out their weapons. I felt the energy around me. 

"Whatever it was, it's gone. If it were here, I would feel it." I picked her up with my magic and lay her in a bed. Alec grabbed his stele and brought it over her iratze. She sat up immediately and screamed.

I  grabbed her. "Hey, it's me, it's Magnus. Jo, you're okay. You're fine." I wrapped her in a tight hug and she held onto me for dear life.

Alec started to walk out, she began shaking her head.

"She wants you to stay, Alexander." He walked back in and sat down.

"I was going to tell Magnus this morning, but... You need to know because this can incapacitate me from time to time. I have moments where I freeze up and I can't move. That's because of my past." She leaned against me and was shivering.

I waved my hand and she immediately warmed up. "What about your past, Pumpkin?" I raised my eyebrows.

"How do think I became the head of the institute?" She waved her hands.

"I, uh, was wondering that exact thing. And where are all of your runes? You don't seem to have any?..." Alexander looked truly perplexed.

"You'll find out soon enough." She shuddered. Still leaning against me she tried sitting up and failed.

"You need to sleep, Pumpkin." I tried laying her down but she resisted.

"No."

That was all she needed to say and she said it with such force that I had no choice but to comply. Alec came over and sat down on the bed next to her. "Let's begin."

Josephine placed her a hand on each of our foreheads and memories came rushing in.

THESE ARE JO'S MEMORIES FROM HER POV INSIDE OF MAGNUS'S HEAD

I was 4 years old when Valentine captured my parents. I walked through the halls of my house after hearing Mommy and Daddy scream. I saw my brother, sister, and parents cowering in the corner of the living room. There was a man standing there holding a cup. He kept on saying something. "Drink from this cup and you will be free." He kept on walking towards them, my mom screamed. I yelled, "Momma, no!"

The man turned to look at me and smiled. He walked over to me and pulled a dagger out of his pocket. He held it against my throat. "Drink from this cup, or your baby dies."

My dad stepped forward. He mouthed 'I love you' to me and he took a drink. The man took the cup back from him and my dad collapsed and was convulsing. He stopped moving and he died.

"Looks like that was a bad batch. Let's try again." He filled the cup a second time and offered it to my sister Emily and my brother Dylan. They both died. He filled it a third time and my mother died. He looked at me and smiled. I broke away and ran to my family's bodies. 

I shook my mother. "Momma? Please wake up! Wake up? Daddy! Emily! Dylan! WAKE UP!"

The man stepped towards me. "Do want some juice? Perhaps they'll wake up then."

I nodded and took the cup from his hands. I drank.

I woke up hours later with a strange marking on my forearm. I felt weird, stronger almost. It felt good. 

The man stepped towards me. "You're awake, good." He grabbed me and I screamed as I was injected with something. I lost all ability to see, hear, or feel. 

I woke up in what seemed like hours later. The room looked significantly different. I got up out of bed and walked over to the desk in the corner. There was a note on it. 

"Dearest Josephine, I will see you soon, Valentine."

I walked over to the closet and grabbed some clothes. They were way too big for me. I put them down and walked over to the mirror. I screamed.

I looked at my reflection, I was short, about 5 foot 2. I had light brown hair cascading halfway down my back, hazel eyes, fuzzy pajama pants, and a loose fitting t-shirt. I wasn't four anymore. I knew that much. I grabbed the mirror and threw it. I saw that there was a note stuck to the back of it. 

"If you have found this note, Josephine, I was not with you when you woke up. You are now 13. I had a warlock slow your aging process and put you into a stasis where you would be unaware of what was happening. I will see you soon. -Valentine."  

I heard banging on the door. "Open up! It's the Clave. Give yourself up!"

The door flew off of its hinges. People dressed in all black came in.

I was knocked out and the world faded away.

MAGNUS BACK IRL

I came back to reality and Josephine had collapsed on her bed. 

"Josephine, are you alright?" Alec looked sincerely concerned.

She sat up again. "Yeah, I'm fine, just a little drained."

"I've never heard of anyone but a warlock doing that with memories." I looked at her. "You're not a warlock are you?"

She shook her head. "No, but I do have to finish. If I don't, I don't think I'll be able to do it later. Where we stopped, I got taken into the Gard and tortured because they thought I was in league with Valentine. They eventually used the Soul Sword and began training me. I became the best Shadowhunter out of them all."

Her hands were back on our foreheads.