A/N: If any of you are interested, I am using Microsoft Works 2004. I had to reset my laptop to factory settings because I'm pretty sure it had a bad virus (ugh) and the only Microsoft disk I could find was 2004. It's alright, I just hope I don't need to do anything fancy that I can't do on Google Drive.

Since I didn't mention it last chapter, this is going to be a sort-of AU, where Wyatt isn't born and Chris doesn't come back in time. I don't have a set time exactly when this story takes place, just I know it's after Paige gets there (of course). I think of it as a sort of side story, and less of an AU, like this is a lost episode or something. I'm obviously making it my own. However, I have access to the Wiki pages on demons and wizards (oops, spoilers…). I'm going to probably make up some stuff about wizards that wasn't mentioned in the series, though. My personal wizard headcanons, if you will.

About 40 years in the future...

Ari sighed and tossed her book bag on her bed, rummaging through it for her phone. Scrolling through the contacts, she selected one and set the phone on her bed, moving over to the bookshelf as it rung. On the third ring, she heard an impatient, "Yes, Ari?"

She grinned and spun around, sitting on her bed next to the phone, which had a holograph of her boyfriend, Nikolaus, frowning up at her. "Why are you in such a bad mood?"

"I told you, my parents don't approve of our relationship and then you just call me with no warning-"

"You told me, but I don't particularly care." She pointed out, leaning her chin on her fist. "We've been friends for years and years. And I thought they liked me."

"They do but…" He rubbed his forehead, frustrated. "You know, the extinction of the wizard race…"

Ari tried not to let that little fact bother her. Due to the near destruction of the wizard population years ago by the Source of All Evil's paranoia, only a few hundred remained, and were struggling to rebuild their population. She knew Nikolaus was basically set to marry some other wizard teenager that he had never met. The whole thing was mildly disturbing to her, and it seemed he felt the same way.

"Whatever," She said stubbornly. "I'm not going to stop calling my boyfriend just because his parents get a little irked because she's not a wizard. I mean, I haven't seen you in a month!"

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. They're keeping a closer eye on me now. I've been trying to sneak out, but they keep putting wards up. I'm surprised they haven't taken my phone away. We were having a 'meeting' when you called." He looked tired, Ari noted. The wizards were almost discovered about a week earlier, as her mom told her. She figured the whole underground complex was going nuts.

"Maybe I should sneak in." Ari said absently. "I've been learning some new spells."

His eyes widened. "Don't even think about it. I swear Ari-"

She grinned. "You'll do what? You're stuck in there, remember?"

Scowling, he said, "You're going to be the death of me. You give me too many reasons to worry." His expression took on a worried look. "There is something I need to talk to you about, though."

Surprised by the change in tone, Ari stopped giggling and looked at his hologram. He was biting his lip like he was nervous.

"Tell me what?"

He glanced up nervously. "Well…" He fiddled with a book. "My parents are making me meet Natalia in a couple of days." He saw her expression and started panicking. "Ari, don't do anything crazy! I'm just meeting her…I thought you should know!"

Ari scowled at the hologram. "You know that's not all they want. They want you to marry her."

"And I don't plan to." He said flatly. "You're too important to me to even consider that. But, I really don't have a choice."

Ari made a decision. "I'm going to come see you." Before he could protest, she disconnected the call.

Later that night, Ari sat down at the dinner table with her mother and little sister, who sat in a high chair, abusing a baked potato with her kiddie spoon. Their mother sat across from Ari, her hair bun drooping slightly and a few pieces of reddish-brown hair floated around her face. Her green eyes were dull with tiredness. Her job as a political advisor was taxing, considering she only ever did secretarial work, though that wasn't supposed to be her job. To her right, Ari's two year old sister, Ellen, was now smoothing the mashed potato over her face and getting it in her hair, giggling. Her skin was slightly darker than Ari's and her mom's, and her eyes brown, but she had the same reddish-brown hair their mother did. Looking at the two of them, it was easy to believe that they were mother and daughter. Ari, on the other hand, was aware of how different she looked from her mother.

Her father had apparently stolen her mother's heart and promised her the world. They were only married for three years before her father disappeared out of nowhere, leaving Ari's mom with a year old daughter and no money. She had insisted he didn't leave, that he just got lost or otherwise.

It wasn't until Ari was 10 and figuring out her magical abilities that her mother told her who her father was. He was a demon from the Underworld, and apparently had left in order to protect Ari and her mother from the rest of the "Underworld scum". Of course, she had gotten her father's looks, dark hair and steel-blue eyes, only a smattering of light freckles on her nose indicated any relation to her mother. Her feelings towards her absent father were mixed. However, having demon blood in her was frightening at times, though she was skilled in using them, and had pretty good control over her fiery temper (most of the time).

About halfway through dinner (baked potato and some mystery chicken) the older woman smiled across to Ari. "How was school today?"

Ari shifted uncomfortably. As usual, it was extremely easy for her. But, once again, she had gotten into a fight with a creepy boy who wanted to ask her out. And, once again, she rejected said boy. And, once again, said creepy boy was angry. She really didn't have any patience for spoiled brats who got whatever they wanted, and she had clocked him in his ugly nose. Detention was the extent of her punishment. Knowing her mother didn't listen to any messages from the school, Ari just shrugged and picked at her potatoes.

"Nothing much happened." She glanced up, and saw her mom now scolding Ellen, trying to wrangle the spoon from the toddler's hands. "But, I think I'm going to go visit Nik."

Ari's mother flinched. "Nikolaus? I thought…" Her mother trailed off guiltily. She approved of their relationship, but had expressed her concern about the possibility of her daughter's heart being broken very soon. "Well…"

"They're going to let me in whether they like it or not," Ari crossed her arms. "I'm not going to sit around and let them dictate our lives like that." She picked up her plate and started towards the kitchen and called back. "Do you have any spell books that might be able to help me?"

As she washed her dishes, Ari could practically hear her mother's argument inside her head. Her mother gave her a lot of freedoms, including her relationships and friends. She still cared about Ari's safety, though.

About a minute later, as Ari was loading the dishwasher, her mother came in and started rinsing her own plate. "I suppose you can borrow one of my spell books." She said the sentence carefully. "But, you're going to have to promise me you won't do anything rash. Try to tone down the…other abilities."

"You mean my demon powers." Ari snapped. "You don't have to sugarcoat it." She roughly closed the dishwasher and started out of the room. "I know you hate the fact that I'm half demon! And I don't care." She stormed out of the kitchen and went into her room, ignoring her mother's protests behind her. It was a consistent cause of friction between them; her mother was afraid of Ari's abilities, and Ari didn't want to stop using them because they were "evil". She wasn't evil, so there really was no problem.

She got a backpack out of her closet and started folding various clothing items in it, her phone, her personal spellbook, a few waters, some snacks that she kept in her room, and a few other things she figured she would need. When she was about finished, her mom quietly stepped into the room and set something on her dresser.

"Thanks," Ari mumbled without turning around. The door shut behind her mother on the way out, and Ari turned and picked up the book her mother set down. It was a spellbook specifically for hiding and spying. The family used several spells in it to protect their apartment from prying eyes and suspicion. Finishing, Ari walked out to the livingroom, where Ellen was watching the television and their mother was fussing over the mashed potatoes on the floor.

"I'm leaving," Ari announced.

Her mother turned towards her, a pained look on her face. "Ari, maybe you shouldn't do this...it's really dangerous. The wizards are unpredictable."

"I am too," She huffed. "If they won't let me see Nik then I'll go see him. It's simple. Maybe I'm overreacting, but forcing your son, who's already in a relationship, to marry some girl is ridiculous."

Ari's mother just sighed and walked over to give her a hug. Once she pulled back, Ari shimmered away.

The entrance to the wizard camp was in the middle of the forest. In order to prevent being detected, Ari had shimmered to a spot about a mile away from the opening, not sure how far they had extended their protective borders and alarms. By the time she actually got to the entrance, it was well after sunset, and she had to rely on her slight night vision to see where she was going.

After several scrapes and what would eventually be bruises, Ari hid behind a tree, sensing somebody close. Peering uneasily around the tree, she saw two guards sitting on a stump in front of a stone door set into a small hill. They were quietly talking to each other, both armed with magical staffs and what looked like knives. She had found the door with a tracking spell, and used a sensing spell to find if they had laid any traps or alarms. She redid the spell again, discovering an alarm about a foot away from where she sat. Now she just had to figure out how to get in. Usually she would just shimmer in, but they had so many wards against magic she would be lucky to shimmer two feet anywhere in the forest. It seemed only defensive magic worked, and, keeping an ear out for the guards, she flipped through the spellbook her mother let her borrow.

She couldn't destroy any wards without them sensing it, and she couldn't just approach them and demand to enter. That was her first instinct, but she knew that, unless you were invited, you were more likely to die trying to get in than to survive. The things I do for you, Nik, she thought, fighting down momentary panic.

Finally she found a good spell that would allow her to sneak past the guards undetected. After combining it with one of her other spells to counteract any other alarms they had that she didn't detect, she said the incantation under her breath. Sticking the book back in her bag, she stood up and cautiously approached the guards. They didn't notice her, so she snuck past them. Reaching the door, she whispered another spell that would create a sound barrier, and she slowly opened the door, shutting it behind her.

The spells she had on herself would last for only fifteen minutes, so she hurried down the hallways. The underground tunnel sloped gently for about 50 feet, then flattened out, ending in a large cavern that had stone stairs, concrete walls, and multiple levels, leading to different hallways. She had been there once before, about five years previously, and vaguely remembered the way to Nik's family's apartment. Taking the stairs to her left and going to the third level, Ari went down the third hallway, avoiding any wizards that walked past her. For the size of the cavern, there weren't many people walking around.

When she reached the door she thought was the right one, she knocked on it, nervously looking either way down the hallway, knowing the spells she was using would fade soon. The door opened, revealing a middle-aged man with white hair and shocking green eyes. Not seeing anybody, his eyes narrowed, and went back inside. Before he closed the door, Ari slipped in. Suddenly, the man froze and spoke a spell.

Ari felt the spells disappear quickly, and she knew she was visible again. The man, she knew was Nik's dad, came over angrily and grabbed her shoulders. Shaking him off, Ari backed away.

"I should have known it was you!" Nik's dad, Logan, said. "What are you doing here? You're not welcome."

Ari rolled her eyes. "You know why I'm here."

"He doesn't want to see you," Logan said stiffly. "I suggest you go."

"Nik!" Ari exclaimed as he walked into the room, looking confused. Ari ran over to him and gave him a tackling hug.

"Ari," He mumbled against her shoulder. "I told you not to come." She tried pulling back, but he wouldn't let her go. "But, I missed you."

"Nikolaus." Logan said warningly. Nik let Ari go, stepping in front of her protectively.

"Leave her alone." He said. "I'm not going to let you hurt her, dad."

"She's a bad influence on you. Anyways, what would your fiancee think?" Ari stiffened at that, but Nik just seemed angry.

"I haven't even met her." He grabbed Ari's hand. "We're going for a walk." His dad made like he was going to protest, but Nik's mother came out of another room and held him back. Ari was whisked out the door by Nik, who, from what she could see, looked extremely angry.

Once they were out to the main cavern, Ari yanked on his hand a bit, stopping him. He turned around and looked at her, his expression softening slightly. "Sorry."

She just smiled and gave him a kiss. "I thought I was supposed to be the angry one." He just shook his head and led her over to a room that looked like a small library. There wasn't anybody in there, so they sat on some old chairs in the back corner, out of sight from the entrance.

Nik just leaned back and looked at her warily.

"What?" She snapped. He flinched, and she immediately felt guilty. "Sorry...why are you looking at me like that?"

"I told you not to come." He huffed. "But at the same time I'm glad you did...it's not safe, though."

She waved his concern off. "I think I can deal with your dad. I came to convince them that they can't force you into anything." He reached over and took her hand.

"It's not going to work. His position here is hard already." Suddenly, he squeezed her hand. "I-I can run away!" Ari raised her eyebrow. He was more of a rule-follower than her. The fact that he would even think about something like that was new. Maybe I'm rubbing off on him, she mused.

"Are you serious?" He nodded, a determined look on his face.

"I'll be 18 in four months. By the time they find me I'll be a legal adult. Though they could take me back I can actually make my own choice." Nik grinned at her, and she smiled back.

"You would do that for me?"

He stood up and pulled her after him, laughing. "Of course!" He led her off to another hallway away from his family's apartment, smiling the whole way. "You always give me the best ideas, Ari."

"Your parents are going to love it." She laughed.

A/N: Agh, this chapter took me three days to complete. Usually I finish them in about 2-3 hours, but this was hard to get out. I wanted to have some background on Nikolaus' and Ari's relationship, and the state of the wizard population. I hope it wasn't too unrealistic, concerning their reactions and stuff.

How I plan for the story to work: I'm going to switch back and forth between "modern" day and the flashback until Ari gets to the future (basically how she got there and how she found out about the demon etc.) and then maybe some chapters revolving around the demon in the past and through the years.

In case you didn't catch it: Ari's half demon. *gasp* I'm going to have some fun writing in those powers, not to mention Nik's powers in the next few chapters.

Remember: I'm looking for a beta who knows about the Charmed universe and can help specifically with characterization! PM or review if you want to!

Reviews = faster updates. And I really enjoy it if the review has more specifics on what you thought, too. Any changes you think I should make are welcome too!