Prologue

The fat dark haired man sat in his favorite chair watching the TV, while a storm was raging outside. He looked over to see what his boy servant was doing. The man looked at the boy and thought how the boy had been handed over to him 20 years ago this day, on a stormy night such as this. He didn't know much about the boy other than his name and the fact he had an eternal look of a 14 year old. The man also noticed that the boy also was smart and very tough. No matter how much he beat the boy, the boy never screamed or showed any outwardly hatred toward the man. Only indifference was seen on the boy. As another large flash of lightening, followed by a deep rumble of thunder that shook the house, the man nearly jumped out of his chair as the doorbell rang. After slumping back down in his chair, the man simply waived the boy to the door and ordered him to chase off whoever was there. As the boy neared the door, another set of raps on the door was heard. The boy opened the door to see a tall dark man dressed in black robes standing there. As the boy's mouth dropped, a slender dark haired woman shot past the boy toward the living room where the man was sitting. John followed after the woman, leaving the tall man to let himself in. The boy rounded the corner in time to see the woman pull out a stick and yell imoblium at the man in the chair. As if by magic, the man was thrown against the wall and the woman had the stick at the man's throat. The man's eyes were full of fear as the woman manipulated the stick across his throat. The boy simply stared at the event as the tall man came up behind him and put his hands on the boy's shoulders. Looking up at the man, he gave the boy a smile and moved around in front of the boy.

"Ok my lady, he is only 1/8 ogre and considered mortal. Plus we wouldn't want to make a mess." said the man with a smile.

The woman turned her attention to the man, "Theo, you know what this piece of filth has been doing. He told me before we left. I can finish him off now and we won't have to worry about him." said the woman.

Shaking his head and reaching out to the woman's shoulder to bring her arm down, "My lady, he knows there is nothing you can do. Just let the man go and be on our way. Look over there, he is fine, a little worse for wear, needs a haircut, but he is fine and as he should be" said Theo.

Thinking for a moment, the woman pushed hard against the man against the wall, "The next time you see him, you will die." said the woman as she released the man and put her wand into her boot.

Looking down at the boy, she smiled at him and as she looked into his eyes, she knew he would be ok. As she looked back up to Theo, "Theo my job is done. Take care of him." the woman stated as she kissed the boy on the forehead and walked out the front door.

The man stood in front of the boy and smiled, "Greetings John. My name is Theo and I am here to get you. It's time to go." Theo finished as the man on the floor finally picked himself up.

Pointing at Theo, "He is mine. The council gave him to me with no questions asked. He is." said the man.

Waving his hand the man's mouth flew shut, "The council may have given him to you, but I am here to pick him up." said Theo as he turned to John. "John, I take it you have your things together."

Looking up at Theo, John just nodded. He was confused, which was saying a lot. He had been given quiet a lesson on the evil things people are capable of and discerning situations from his former master. No one ever thought of the slave taking note of meetings going on in front of them. Theo took John by the shoulder and led the boy out the door to an awaiting car. As they drove off, Theo pulled out a letter and began to explain to John about what he had stepped into.

RUSSO WIZARD LAIR

Jerry was an ex wizard. He gave up his powers to marry a mortal woman and as usual his children, especially his daughter were making him regret that decision. As Jerry was trying to explain the spell for the day, his eldest, Justin, was listening intently as usual. The youngest Russo, Max was simply staring off into space. As usual, the middle Russo, Alex was busy plotting a way to get out of the lesson. Alex loved magic and all, but she hated school, in any form.

As Jerry was going over the spell for the fourth time, his wife Theresa came into the lair.

"Jerry, we need to talk." she said as Theo and John walked around the corner into the lair from the substation.

The kids and Jerry stared as they saw Theo and his young bushy haired, unkempt, blue eyed companion standing there waiting for Theresa to talk to Jerry.

As Jerry and Theresa talked amongst themselves, they motioned for Theo as Theo whispered to John to go sit with the other kids. As John walked over with his satchel clutched against him, he looked over the 3 Russo children. He figured Justin out as a brain before Justin could even say hello. As John politely introduced himself, Max was polite but aloof as usual. Alex on the other hand was her normal self and simply waved off John as he sat down. Justin though seemed very interested in the new arrival and they struck up a conversation almost immediately. As they talked, the grownups finally ended their private conversation and walked over to the children.

Jerry took a deep breath, "Ok guys. Here's the deal. Theo is an old friend of mine and his friend here John, needs a place to stay and someone to teach him magic in a more private setting. So, John will be joining us for wizard classes and will be living here for the foreseeable future." ended Jerry as Alex groaned.

"Like I need another boy around the house," Alex huffed as she started to get up.

Jerry pointed at his daughter to sit back down, "Sit Alex. We still have lessons to do." said Jerry as Justin leaned over to John.

"She always tries to ditch class and is generally in a bad mood, you will get used to it." Justin said smirking at Alex as Jerry began teaching John's first wizard lesson with his new family......