Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters (except Annie); the characters belong to Diana Wynne Jones. The plot of this story does, however, belong to me.

Oh, and this story takes place 3 or 4 years after "Stealer of Souls", and many years after "The Lives of Christopher Chant". I hope you enjoy!

Erick Chant had always been a nervous, shy boy. Now he was growing up, he had to. Cat looked into the mirror, there were a couple of scraggly hairs growing on his chin. Cat was still having trouble with magic theory. But he was getting better, and occasionally, he went on trips with Chrestomanci, learning the ropes. Cat had actually managed to become almost happy at Chrestomanci castle

After much studying, Janet was given Gwendolyn's magic. She was pretty good about only using it when she needed to, and never hurt anyone. She and Julia were good friends, and as friend sometimes do, they were starting to look alike. Sure Janet had fair hair, and Julia dark, sure Janet was thin, while Julia plump, but they dressed in similar styles, and wore their hair the same.

Roger had grown too. All of his childhood fat was turning into muscle. But, he still appeared quite ordinary, with his round face and worker hands. Cat and Roger got on well too; they were actually close friends.

Cat left his room and walked down the spiral staircase, he figured that he could have a little snack before studying a little for his French exam. But just as he was about to open the door to the kitchens, he heard hushed voices.

"So tell us Flavian! What's so important that you had to come here in the middle of the night and drag us out of bed?"

"Quiet Michael! Let the man speak!" said Chrestomanci in a loud whisper.

"Yes Michael, let him speak, he's traveled all this way..." Cat frowned. Millie was there too?

"It has to do with the next Chrestomanci, Eric is his name, right?" said the stranger, "It is my belief that he and Gwendolyn were not the only Chant children gifted with mysterious powers."

"What do you mean? Surely not Roger and Julia..." Chrestomanci sounded indignant.

"No, no, Christopher! You are forgetting about your sister, Annabelle. Don't you remember when your mother wrote from Japan, telling you that she was pregnant?" The stranger, Flavian, sounded a little hurt by Chrestomanci's tone of voice.

"Oh yes, I always forget about her, we never met, you know." Said Chrestomanci.

"Well, I was recently on a holiday in Japan, and I decided to contact Annabelle, to see how she was getting on. And it seems, well, She was in a train accident. She's okay, physically, but it seems that she has a much lower mental capacity. She can take care of herself, but not much else. She has a daughter, your niece Christopher, who is about nine years old. The girl seems to have multiple lives, and magic that could rival even Eric's." said Flavian sadly.

"What! How can that be? Two Chrestomanci's!" thundered Mr. Saunders. That was when Cat decided to enter the kitchen. He kept his face as normal as possible, and feigned rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"Hello, what's all the commotion about?" Cat managed to sound sleepy too. But, Chrestomanci was looking at him strangely. He could always tell when Cat was being dishonest. But, Chrestomanci seemed to choose not to expose Cat.

"Hello Eric, we were just talking about you. This is my good friend and former tutor, Flavian Temple. Flavian, this in Eric Chant, I believe you've heard about him."

"Yes, yes Christopher. Nice to meet you Eric!" said the pale, plump man with white-blonde hair, "You know, when I heard about you, I couldn't help but imagine a boy that looked just like Christopher. But, I see now that I was mistaken."

"Who's Christopher?" asked Cat, he didn't think he'd ever met anyone by that name.

"I am." Chrestomanci lifted his hand guiltily. Millie frowned, Mr. Saunders sighed.

"I'm afraid he loves his title a little too much." Said Millie sadly.

"Um, er, yes." Coughed Chrestomanci. "Anyway, er, Eric, what are you doing up at this hour anyway?"

Cat looked at his feet guiltily. "Umm, I thought that maybe I could have a snack, before I do some extra studying for that French test."

"Well then Cat, by all means, take a seat!" Said Mr. Saunders, making a grand, sweeping gesture with his arm. Cat sat down and together they had an amazing snack.