Chapter 2

Home Sweet Home

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It was early on Sunday morning in San Francisco. The sun had not yet even begun to peek over the horizon. No one slept well in the Halliwell manor any longer, not since news had come in from London, England. The city was gone. The entire city had been completely obliterated. There had been no reports as to how it had happened, but it was clear who was behind it. No one but Albus Dumbledore had the kind of power required to exterminate a city. The Order had not believed that Dumbledore would attack innocents in such a terrible manner and was fully unprepared to discover just how far Dumbledore would go. It was believed that reconstruction efforts at the Ministry of Magic had prompted the city's destruction. Phoebe was so absorbed in her thoughts that she did not notice her baby sister, Paige, strolling into the kitchen.

"Phoebe, it's six in the morning, what are you doing up so early?"

"I could ask the same question about you, Paige." Paige shrugged and sat down across the table from her sister.

"You could, but I asked you first." Phoebe was just about to respond when the kitchen exploded. Phoebe and Paige were blasted through the disintegrating wall into the dining room, where they landed hard on the polished, wood floor. Phoebe scrambled to her feet as a dozen or so Death Eaters charged in through the shattered kitchen. Spells streamed around her as she darted from the room and into the relative safety of the conservatory. With a start, she realized that Paige wasn't with her. Just as she had resolved to go back for her sister, Harry charged down the staircase, leading a group of a dozen Order members. With spells soaring in every direction, Phoebe had no hope of returning to the dining room where she had last seen Paige. Phoebe was able to determine, however, that things could hardly be worse. More and more Death Eaters and demons arrived, continuing to press the Order back. After only five minutes, it was clear the battle was lost. Harry shouted for everyone to abandon the manor. Phoebe did just that. She darted toward the front door, dodging spells and the bodies of the fallen - both friend and foe. Outside, dark figures ran everywhere as the survivors of the assault on the manor fled into the night. Phoebe hated herself for leaving her friends, but knew she had no choice. Phoebe took off down the street as fast as she could run. She was five blocks from the manor when an explosion ripped through the street. The ground trembled and she lost her footing. She fell forward and slammed into the concrete. Phoebe stood, shakily, to her feet and tasted blood. She winced and set off again, moving slightly slower this time. Upon reaching the end of the block, she ran headlong into Harry, who was hiding behind a large mulberry bush, nursing a large burn on his forearm.

"Oh, thank God!" Harry exclaimed. "I was afraid no one else had managed to escape the manor."

"Did you hear that explosion a minute ago?" Phoebe asked, sinking to the ground next to Harry. "What was that?"

"You didn't see it?" Harry asked. "Phoebe… I don't know what the hell they did it with, but the Death Eaters blew up the manor… along with half the street. I was still close enough to the manor to see it. The manor's just… gone. There was nothing left but rubble. If anyone was still in the house…" Harry broke off. "Here, come on…" he continued. "I know a place we can go." Harry led Phoebe off across the city. It was nearly dawn before they finally sat down in plastic seats at a rather shabby outdoor café in a dodgy part of town.

"We should be safe here for a bit." said Harry, leaning back in his seat and sighing.

"Do you… do you think any of the others survived?" Phoebe asked, not bothering to speak in a quiet voice. The only other people at the café where sitting on the other side of the courtyard. Harry shrugged.

"I don't know, Phoebe." he said. "I certainly hope so."

"What do we do now?" Phoebe asked. "Where do we go?"

"Well, if anyone else survived, they'll go to Magic School. We should go there too."

"But, Harry… to get into Magic School, we'll have to lower the extra protective spells we put in place to keep Dumbledore out. If we're being followed…"

"The Death Eaters will be able to get in too, I know." Harry said, finishing her sentence for her. "We'll just have to make sure there's no one else around us when we go." A sudden rustling in the bushes behind them made both Phoebe and Harry spin around. Miley and Danielle emerged from the plants, Miley supporting her younger sister, who seemed to have a very serious leg injury.

"Harry, Phoebe, thank God." said Miley, helping her sister into a chair and then taking one herself. "We weren't sure if anyone else got out of the manor."

"Neither were we." said Phoebe.

"Harry," Danielle said. "do you think you could…" she gestured toward her left leg, which was in bloody tatters.

"I'd love to, Danielle, but… if we use magic, they'll be able to track us. Staying hidden is our only hope now." Danielle nodded, trying to hide the grimace that crossed her face. Harry knew the pain must be terrible, and it was a mark toward Danielle's strength that she accepted Harry's refusal to heal her. There was no doubt that Danielle was Hermione's daughter. Danielle had inherited her mother's courage and strength… traits Harry could only dream of having.

"We should get moving." Phoebe said. "We may be in public, but I don't think Dumbledore would mind attacking us in front of innocents." Harry nodded.

"We need someplace secluded to orb up to Magic School… someplace nobody will look for us."

"Maybe we should go someplace more public." Danielle said. "Here, there are a few people, but Dumbledore won't risk exposing magic to a large group of people."

If only she knew how very wrong she was.

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It was quite a sight to see four sweaty, dirty, blood-soaked people, one of whom was supported between her twin sister and a brunette, stumble into the crowded downtown mall. The group was led by a raven haired man, who had had his left sleeve torn from his shirt, revealing a deep gash on his bicep. They hurried along as fast as they could manage, trying their best not to attract attention. Remarkably, as they passed a shoe store on the third floor, they spotted Piper, rushing in the opposite direction. She looked about as bad as they did, and seemed thoroughly relived when she spotted them.

"Harry!" she shouted, waving at them through the crowd. "Phoebe, Danielle, Miley! I'm so glad I found you. I though I was the only survivor."

"You almost were." said Phoebe. "Have you seen Paige? She was with me in the manor, but… but we got separated. I…"

"Phoebe…." Piper whispered. "Paige, she… a Darklighter managed to… to… she didn't make it, sweetie." Perhaps it was the knowledge of their dire situation that Phoebe simply nodded, not even a trace of a tear filled her eyes.

"We need to get a move on." Harry said sharply, nervously aware of the curious looks their group was receiving. They were just setting off when a flash of reddish light blasted through the crowd. Several dozen Death Eaters charged toward them, blasting innocent bystanders with their wands. One Death Eater shot a spell that hit the floor at their feet. The force blasted Harry and the others off their feet. It blew out several storefronts and cracked the tiled floor. The cracks grew deeper and deeper until a twenty foot section of walkway broke free of its supports and fell down upon the walkway on the second floor, causing another piece of walkway to shatter and finally come to rest on the ground floor. As the dust began to clear, Phoebe, Miley, and Danielle were still on their feet, doing their best to hold back the Death Eaters.… Harry, however, was lying on his stomach, leaning over the newly-created ledge, grasping Piper's hand. The floor had crumbled away beneath the eldest Halliwell's feet. Harry had only just managed to catch her. Piper peered down at the ground… sixty feet beneath her.

"Harry…" she whimpered, terror in her eyes.

"Don't worry!" Harry called down to her over the sounds of the conflict. "I'll get you back up, just…" At that moment, a jet of purple light caught Danielle full in the face. She crumpled to the ground.

"Harry…" Piper repeated. "you don't have time. You've got to go right now!"

"Piper, no!" Harry shouted. "I'm not losing anyone else today." Piper shook her head sadly.

"The world needs you, Harry… Phoebe, Miley, and Danielle need you. Go help them… get to Magic School. We'll meet again, Harry… I'm certain of it." Piper wrenched her hand free from Harry's. She plummeted the sixty feet to the ground below. Harry leapt up, unable to watch Piper fall, and sent a burst of green light into the crowd of Death Eaters. He scrambled forward and scooped Danielle into his arms.

"We can't wait any longer!" Harry shouted, grasping Phoebe's hand. "We've got to get to Magic School!"

"But they'll follow us!" Miley exclaimed.

"No choice!" Harry told her. Harry dissolved into blue-white light, taking Phoebe and Danielle along with him. Miley was consumed in a column of fire a moment later.

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Harry and the others appeared in the Great Hall of Magic School. Harry hastily deposited Danielle on a couch and raised his wand.

"Be prepared." Harry told the others. "They won't be far behind us."

"Oh, yes they will." A voice said from the shadows in a corner of the room… a voice none of them could possibly not recognize.

"How the hell did you get here?" Harry asked, peering into the shadowy corner. An empty potion vial suddenly rolled across the floor, and came to a stop at Harry's feet.

"You may remember, about nine years ago now, a potion a certain Atlantean goddess gave me."

"But that was in a completely different timeline… the you that had that potion died." The speaker stepped out of the shadows, smiling slightly.

"Boggles the mind a bit, doesn't it?" Catherine said, twirling her wand between her fingers. "Unfortunately, we haven't the time to discuss it now. The world is about to fall apart at the seams unless we stop it… and there's only one person on this earth that can stop it. We just have to find her."