“I haven’t seen him. But now I know which house he’s in,” Wyatt whispered to his parents as they made their way towards the Great Halls’ doors. “We’re supposed to go share the dorms with them right?”

“Yes,” Leo nodded. “The only Head of House who refused was Snape, and frankly I don’t want any of you kids with him.” Leo had not liked Snape, he had nothing against the Slytherins but he had agreed with the Headmaster that by assigning his students to one of the Houses he was also agreeing to them having to answer to that Head of House, just as the Hogwarts students, and the last thing Leo wanted was Snape having any power over his students.

“Then assign me to Gryffindor. I made friends with a pair of twins who might help me, and he’s a Gryffindor.”

“Then, you’re assigned,” Piper smiled. “Go find them.”

He nodded, and gave his mother a quick peck on the cheek. They walked behind the Durmstrang delegation and Wyatt was resisting the urge to vomit at the Headmaster’s simpering over Victor Krum, who apparently was famous for playing something called Quidditch. He groaned and just hoped they’d walk fast but he bumped into one of the Durmstrang kids when the delegation suddenly stopped. Craning his neck to see what was going on he could only see Karkaroff staring open mouthed at three Hogwarts’ students. He was about to ask what the hell was going on when a gruff growling voice said:

“Yeah, that’s Harry Potter,” Wyatt’s, Piper’s and Leo’s head snapped at once to look at the Hogwarts’ students and their eyes zeroed on the middle one. A boy with black hair and glasses, who was looking definitely uncomfortable. A boy who looked a lot like his mother. Even more than in the picture Wyatt had seen where his hair had been a lighter brown. With the black hair their resemblance was exacerbated.

“Chris,” he heard his mother’s whisper.

They missed Karkaroff’s reaction and the other guy’s, a man full of scars holding a staff, glaring contest as they only had eyes for Chris.

He looked so much like the Chris Piper and Leo had known and yet so different.  Where Chris had been overconfident, always sure of himself, this boy was looked anything but. Uncomfortable with people staring at him while the Chris they had known would have just raised an eyebrow not letting it bother him.

Piper was struck by the fact that this Chris was younger, much younger than the one they were used to. She had been left to imagine her son growing up, imagine how his first steps would have been, imagine his first day of school. And all she had to go by was her twenty-two year old jaded, somewhat neurotic and completely mission-holic son from a future they had prevented. For the first time she was presented with the thought that maybe a big part of what made that Chris that way was the future they had prevented. A hard future, full of war and death, and that maybe she didn’t know anything about this Chris.

This Chris was on the short side, while theirs had been tall, but maybe he just hadn’t hit a growth spurt yet. Her experience with Wyatt, who had suddenly grown taller than his father last year, told her that. His hair was darker, probably a glamour, and it stood in every direction,  instead of the elegant straight hair he had often left fall over his face. Reminiscent of the hair style he had sported that first day he had entered their lives. He wore round glasses and there was a scar marring his forehead that had never been there before, but that Piper knew had cursed her son to be Voldemort’s main target. But she wouldn’t let him have Chris. She wouldn’t let anyone prevent Chris from living a long happy life. The life he had more than earned fourteen years ago. No, there would be no Elders or Voldemort who would stand on her way.

Leo was mesmerized, his son, how he had longed to see him again. It was taking all his will not to grab the boy and hug him like he’d wanted for so long. Only the thought that he’d probably scare the boy to death stopped him.  He was here, breathing, living in front of him. Years of nightmares, of feeling his son’s body slip from his fingers as he vanished into thin air came crashing into Leo leaving him breathless. He gulped and shook himself mentally. No Chris was safe, and he would do everything in his power to make sure he stayed that way. His family would be united again.

 “You!” Karkaroff said and the other guy answered:

“Me,” and Wyatt was actually relieved when the guy told Karkaroff “And unless you’ve got anything to say to Potter, Karkaroff , you might want to move. You’re blocking the doorway.” Because Wyatt had not liked the way Karkaroff had looked at his brother and wanted him far away from Chris. To be honest he didn’t like the gruff man either but at least he was helping. Karkaroff swept away with his students and the other guy stared at him as if Karkaroff was the scum of the earth. Then he turned to Chris and said:

“Watch out for that one Potter.”

“Yes sir,” Chris nodded warily.

As the Durmstrang delegation left the Halliwells reached Chris and his two friends and walked out the doorway with them just in time to hear the boy next to Chris sigh:

“And here I was thinking we’d have a calm year with no death threats.”

“Not a chance Ron,” the girl snorted and Chris chuckled and he must have heard Piper’s sharp intake of breath because his head turned around and he caught the three Halliwells shamelessly staring at them.

“Are you lost?” Chris asked politely, even though Wyatt felt an irritation coming through their bond. Chris must have thought they were ogling the Boy Who Lived, but he still gave them the benefit of the doubt. “Do you need help finding the house you’re in? I heard one of the kids say that the student’s from Magic School would spread through the houses.”

“Are you three okay,” the girl asked. “You look pale.”

Wyatt was the first to recover and shook his head, “No sorry. Just, hum, a little overwhelmed. Magic School isn’t this big. Right dad? Dad? Mom?” he said firmly.

“Yes, right, sorry,” Piper said. “A little overwhelmed.Yes,” she nodded and then forced a chuckle, “I’m always trying to get a normal life and it doesn’t get farther from normal than this.”

“No,” Chris chuckled. He could relate, though he loved the Magical world he’d give anything to be normal in it, without being singled out because of things beyond his control. Being a freak, no matter where he was. “Which House are you staying in?” he asked Wyatt again. “I suppose you two must be in the teacher’s wing or something. Er- is there a teacher’s wing?” he turned to Hermione who rolled her eyes.

“Yes. Of course there is, it’s in-“

“Hogwarts a History,” both boys said together. “When will you ever read it?”

“Unfortunately, I haven’t so I can’t help you there. But maybe we can ask the twins. I bet they know,” Chris said turning to Ron who nodded.

“Gryffindor,” Wyatt finally answered. “I’ll be in Gryffindor.”

“Oh, so are we,” Ron said. “If you don’t mind being seen with lowly fourth years. We’ll show you the way.”

“No, I don’t. Wyatt Halliwell. These are my mom and dad. Headmaster Leo Wyatt and Piper Halliwell.”

“Wow, you’re one of the Charmed Ones,” Hermione said reverently. “I read all about-humh.”

“Don’t mid her,” Chris smiled putting his hand over her mouth. “We have a bet going on that she managed to smuggle a book in her mother’s womb.” Hermione glared at him. “Let’s go find the twins and then we’ll take you to the tower. I’m Chris by the way. Harry Christopher Potter, but my friends call me Chris and these are Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.” he finished nodding towards the Entrance Hall and walking ahead.

“I don’t know why I am friends with you two hooligans,” Hermione muttered.

“Because if you weren’t you wouldn’t be able to boss us around,” Ron said and Chris chuckled.

“So, how is Magic School? I heard your magic is different from ours,” Chris asked.

“It’s not different per say. It’s used in a different way and therefore develops differently,” Leo explained in what Wyatt liked to call his lecture mode. “But the core is the same. Actually-“

“Chris!” a voice called from the entrance doors and Chris’s face lit up in a bright smile. Piper’s heart squeezed, she wanted to see that smile directed at her.

“Remus!” Chris cried and all three children ran toward a haggard looking young man and Chris embrace him warmly. “What are you doing here?”

“Professor Dumbledore needed to talk to me and I decided to take the chance to deliver this personally,” he took an envelope from his robes. “My dog has been very restless and I was afraid what he might do to it if I left it at home.”

Chris took the envelope with a huge smile and reverently stored it away in his pocket. Piper was sure there was a hidden message in that whole dog thing and she was dying to know what was in that envelope.

“I’ll be staying the night. So, why don’t you look me up in the morning? Don’t want to make you kids miss curfew and Albus is waiting for me,” Chris nodded eagerly and Piper’s curiosity went up. This man was obviously important in Chris’s life and she wanted to know more about him.

---

“Why does he wear glasses? He didn’t before, not even lenses,” Piper asked as they were in bed.

“Sometimes the need for glasses comes from something external. An accident, forcing your eyesight. And we don’t know if Chris didn’t need glasses before. For all we know he might have needed them and didn’t have access in the world he came from. My dad used glasses. It’s a recessive trait.”

“Still, there’s something there. And he’s too thin. And I didn’t like that Karkaroff. He looked as if he wanted to do something bad to Chris. And that Snape character,” she huffed resting her head on his chest.

“Is jealous of James and takes it out on Chris,” Leo said calmly running his fingers through her long hair.

“Uh?”

“Lily was my charge since adolescence,” Leo smiled. “I knew her whole life. She and Snape had been best friends until he started hanging out with the wrong crowd and they had a falling out. And right after that she fell for James Potter’s charms. To Snape, Chris is the consummation of his defeat. I’m not saying he is a nice man, he isn’t. Two seconds with him and I could see how bitter he is. But I don’t think he’ll harm Chris.”

“Humph, then he’s childish. Taking it out on an innocent boy.”

Leo nodded, even though he understood the emotion behind Snape’s actions it didn’t mean he approved of them. He especially didn’t like his boy being the target.

“And who’s that Remus guy?”

“If I remember correctly he was one of James’s best friend, together with Sirius Black and another boy named Peter Pettigrew. Remus though had been a friend of Lily’s even before she mellowed towards James. I remember because she used to say she didn’t understand such a sensible boy being around Potter and Black,” he tried to imitate a girl’s irritated voice. “Lily wasn’t very fair towards James and Sirius before she finally gave them a chance. From what she said he’s a good man. He or Sirius are probably who raised him. Or, maybe both of them together if I remember Lily’s comments correctly.”

Piper looked up at her husband who for all his level headed had been raised in the twenties, “Would you mind?”

“What?”

“If he was raised by a gay couple?”

Leo looked thoughtful, “Nowadays, no I wouldn’t. But I won’t lie to you. A few decades ago I would. But I’ve seen love in many different shapes in my life as a Whitelighter and I’ve learned that they are all genuine. If they loved him and raised him well, it’s all I care.” Piper smiled at him.

“When will we approach him?” he asked Piper.

“I don’t know,” she bit her lip. “In one hand I think it would be easier if he got to know us first, but then he might feel betrayed.”

“I thought so too. I think we shouldn’t wait long, but I don’t think we can just barge in and say “Hi, we’re your parents, wanna a hug?”

“We also need to find out who raised him? If it was Remus and Sirius or someone else. I mean, he was supposed to know about us, be expecting us. I don’t think he did. So maybe James and Lily never told anyone and then we’ll have to explain everything to his guardians too,” Piper added.

“Tomorrow everyone will be completely focused on the Goblet’s decision. It’s the best time to ask questions. People will be distracted and won’t pay much mind to us asking. They might figure we’re just curious about the Boy-Who-Lived,” Leo said. “And we should approach Remus. I think he and Sirius are the ones with the most chance of actually knowing the truth about Chris.”

---

Wyatt looked at the canvas top of his four poster bed as he listened to the sounds of the dorm. He had never shared a room. He supposed he would have shared a room with his brother if they had been allowed to grow up together. He wasn’t used to sleeping with people around him. He had been put in the sixth year’s dorm as that was his age group. The whole idea of coming here was to share their lifestyles between both worlds and because of that Wyatt would be attending a few classes with the sixth year as an observer and any Hogwarts, Beuaxbatons, and Durmstrang students interested would be able to do the same with the classes his father and mother would still be teaching to the Magic School children. On top of that they had study group times where they’d have to study for regular school. His mom wasn’t about to let them slack on that and though they couldn’t bring the teachers for the basic courses, she made sure that every student got a study plan for all of their classes and essays assignments, which Paige would orb to get back to the teacher’s once  a week. One student tried complaining and his mom just looked at him and said: SATs. The student quivered.

His dad had incorporated regular curriculum to Magic School years ago after hearing the complaints of the heavy work load the students had having to attend two schools at once, and the trouble they had hiding their magic when it was still uncontrolled. So through a little magic and bureaucracy, Magic School had managed to become a School of the American System, for all ages and now there were teachers there that weren’t necessarily magical, but had some connection to the magical world, and therefore knew of it and taught regular curriculum. There were a few witches who taught regular curriculum too. All in all this would be a heavy load year, but that was not what was keeping Wyatt awake.

Chris was. He hadn’t managed to talk much to his brother once the Weasley twins were found, and somehow yes, they did know where the staff wing was. After escorting his parents to the staff wing the twins had hauled Wyatt off telling him it was bad for his image to hang around fourth years, even if one of them was The Boy Who Lived and youngest seeker in a century, whatever that meant.

So he was relegated to watch his brother from the huddle of sixth years trying to figure out a way to get over Dumbledore’s age line. He did manage to get some information on him though. Fred and George apparently where Ron’s brother and Chris often spent time at their house, or as they put it “they tried to rescue him from the muggles often”. Wyatt asked what that meant but Fred and George put a serious and closed face for the first time since he met them and told him it was none of his business. They did tell him though that Chris preferred to be called Chris ever since Hagrid told him that his parents favored his second name over his first. So it was easy to know who really knew him, because it was the people who called him Chris. Not that Wyatt minded, to him calling his brother something else would be weird. But most people went by their first name, not second. No one called him Matthew. So when Wyatt asked why the short answer was, the muggles call him Harry, and with a cheeky grin Fred, or was it George changed the subject completely.

Wyatt sighed; he had waited fourteen years to be reunited with his brother. He knew most people would think it weird, after all, Chris was with them for less than two months and Wyatt didn’t remember future Chris. But Wyatt always felt their brotherly bond. He always felt a presence there, faint emotions he couldn’t decipher. He wondered if Chris recognized the bond. Of course Wyatt knew what it was because he had trained his Whitelighter side and it didn’t take much to realize that was because of their half-Elder half-Whitelighter side. His cousins, Paige’s children, shared the same bond between each other and her. But would Chris be able to recognize it. His parents had bound Chris’s Elder powers before they gave him to the Potters so no one would realize what he was. That was the reason the bond was so muted in Wyatt. He shouldn’t be able to feel it at all. But he chalked it up that he and Chris never were your regular witches anyway. But did Chris know what he was feeling?

And what about those muggles he lived with? And the whole dog comment that ex-Professor had made. Chris had ran to his dorm as soon as they got to the tower and when he came back down, he Hermione and Ron had been furiously whispering and Wyatt had a feeling it had nothing to do with the age line.

---

Chris couldn’t sleep. Sirius was back in England. Apparently he was hiding at Lupin’s. That just made him more worried because now not only Sirius was at risk but so was Remus. Why the hell did he complain about his scar hurting? Why couldn’t he keep his mouth shut?

He turned around and buried his head in his pillow. His letter to Sirius saying he had imagined it had no effect whatsoever instead he got a scolding about Sirius being the adult, yada, yada, yada and don’t worry about him. How could Chris not? Sirius and Remus where the only family he had.

Chris turned his head a little and watched Neville’s breathing patterns. Then there were the new schools. Why did Moody tell him to watch out for Karkaroff? And that Wyatt kid? He was strange. Chris caught him staring at him many times. And yet, it didn’t annoy him as it usually did. There was something about Wyatt and his parents. Something familiar, something safe, but what?