AKS - whats up? A chapter just for you, thanks to two people: the beta (wyatthalliwell5) and mon amie Yuffster. I'll try to get chapter ten up tomorrow. My goal for this story is to get at least ten chapters done this summer. Hopefully? Fuck yes. Likely? Possible, as I have up to chapter sixteen already completed and it won't be hard to write chapters cause i fixed stuff. Sorry for making you wait what, four months to put up a new chapter? I feel pretty happy about it though; all you guys are awesome and I'm glad you're reading this and putting up with me and my sucky sense of time.
Chapter Nine The Sorting and Other Various Talks
As the carriages came up to the gate surrounding Hogwarts, the students were surprised to see Professor McGonagall waiting for them. The old woman, who somehow seemed older than the Halliwells would have guessed, walked up to the new professors.
"Albus would like to talk to you in his office. If you would please follow me, I'll show you there," she said, pushing her glasses up. Piper nodded, and the Halliwells followed the Transfigurations teacher.
The five walked to a gargoyle on the second floor of the school. The Charmed Ones and Chris were confused. Why the hell did they stop here? However, all of a sudden Minerva said, "Twizzlers," and the gargoyle moved out of the way. The Halliwells followed her up the staircase into Dumbledore's office and sat down across from the aging wizard. McGonagall left the room and the Headmaster started to speak.
"What I called you up here for," Dumbledore began, "was to ask you what names you would like to be called by. Most of the students have all four of you, and since you are going to combine your classes sometimes, it would be best if you change your last names for the year. That way there would be less confusion for the students."
"Eh, my last name is Matthews. Everyone can use that for me." Paige said.
Chris went next. "I've been going by my middle name for the whole time I've been in the past. So Perry's my last name."
Piper thought. "Well, I guess I'll change my last name to Wyatt."
Phoebe shrugged. "I guess that means I don't have to change my name then. Halliwell it is."
Dumbledore nodded. "That is all I needed to ask from you. After the feast, I'll show you to your quarters. That is if it is alright with you."
"It's fine." Phoebe said.
Dumbledore stood up. "Well, let's go then, shall we? Can't keep the students waiting." He smiled.
All of them got up and they walked to the Great Hall. When they got there, all of the returning students were sitting at their respectful tables, and most of the staff was sitting at the Head Table. Dumbledore showed the Halliwells where they were to sit: Piper next to Paige and Hagrid, Chris near the Deputy Headmistress' seat, and Phoebe on the other side of the Headmaster. Dumbledore stood up in front of the Hall and after everyone quieted down he spoke.
"Hello to all. Welcome back to Hogwarts! Before we eat we will have the Sorting, as always." As Dumbledore finished, the door opened, and McGonagall came in, leading about fifty terrified looking first years in. They came up to the front of the hall, and a hat on a stool was brought to where McGonagall was standing. Surprising the new professors, the hat started its song.
When the hat was finished, McGonagall stood up next to the hat. She opened a roll of parchment and started reading the names.
"Adamson, Lizzie!"
"Slytherin!"
"Bines, Adam!"
"Hufflepuff!"
As each name was called off, Ron and Harry got a little hungrier. Just how long would fifty people take to get through? Though that thought became the last thing on his mind as Harry saw the next person in line. It was funny; she looked a lot like -
"Malfoy, Kim!"
Harry raised an eyebrow. 'I didn't know that Malfoy had a sister...maybe she's his-' his thoughts were cut off by the hat's scream.
"Gryffindor!"
There was silence echoing in the hall. Harry, Ron, Ginny and basically every Gryffindor's eyes widened. A Malfoy in Gryffindor? Preposterous! Harry looked over at the Slytherin table. The elder Malfoy's eyes were narrowed, his mouth curled into a frown. Kim walked to the Gryffindor table and sat down. People around her tried not to look at the poor first year. McGonagall cleared her throat. She started the list again.
"Marino, William!"
"Ravenclaw!"
The list went on and on, ending with Zenin, Bobby (Slytherin). Dumbledore stood up and said, "Tuck in." As he said that, the food magically showed up on the table. Everyone pigged out on the food.
When the feast ended, the Headmaster stood up once more. "Well, now that we have digesting another magnificent feast, I beg a few moments of your attention for the usual start of term notices. First years ought to know that the forest in the grounds is out of bounds to students - and a few of our older students ought to know by now too.
"Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me, for what he tells me is the four hundred and sixty-third time, to remind you all that magic is not permitted in corridors between classes. Nor are a number of other things. All of which can be checked on the extensive list now fastened to Mr. Filch's office door.
"We have four changes in staffing this year. May I introduce Professors Perry, Matthews, Wyatt, and Halliwell as your new professors." There was a round of applause, and no one bothered to boo.
"There are two more things that I need to tell all of you. Because Voldemort-" he paused to allow students to gasp, "is alive again, we must be on alert. Everyone must be in his or her common rooms right after dinner every night, unless you have detention or have permission to be out of your common room. If that happens, one of the teachers will be escorting you to where you need to go.
"On a happier note, we have a transfer student this year. She has come from an American wizardry school, the prestigious Randon School of Magic." Harry and Ron raised an eyebrow at this. Was it possible Hermione and this girl exchanged? They didn't have much time to think about it as Professor Dumbledore continued, "Please welcome..."
The doors opened, and a girl, about sixteen, walked in. She had long auburn hair, gold eyes and was fairly tall, about 5'7. The teen wasn't wearing the standard robes, rather, she wore a black t-shirt and form-fitting jeans. She seemed like she was experienced in fighting, just by the way she walked and cautiously took her surroundings in.
After seeing her walk in Chris stood up, shocked. "What are you doing here?" Chris asked.
The girl smirked. "I would have thought you'd be happy to see me, Chris. Oh wait, you're a professor now aren't ya?"
Chris rolled his eyes. "Stop acting like a child."
"At least I'm not acting like a stuck up asshole!" The girl shot back.
Chris and the mystery girl didn't even notice that everyone in the hall was looking at them, either with amusement (Dumbledore), shock (the Charmed Ones), or confusion (everyone else). Dumbledore smiled, and cut off their fighting.
"Please welcome our new student Carrie St. Claire. She will be in sixth year. She still needs to be sorted, so please be patient while we sort her."
The hat was taken out again, and put on Carrie's head. "Hm. Interesting combination. You're a quick thinker, independent and cunning as hell. Where should I put you?"
Carrie smiled. "Well, I don't care what house you end up putting me in. Put me in whichever house you think I'd do best in."
The hat laughed a bit startling some of the students. Had the hat ever laughed before? "No, Ms. Halliwell, I believe you need to help me with this. Which house would best suit your needs for being here, in the past?"
Carrie thought about that for a moment, before smiling slightly. "Slytherin. There is no doubt in my mind he needs someone to help him in that House."
"He being your…"
She cut him off before he finished that. "Yes, I mean Chris."
Chuckling at her antics, the hat said, "Okay then, you chose your house. It'll have to be…"
"Slytherin!"
Carrie smirked at Chris, who mouthed to her, "Meet me in the corridor when everybody leaves." Carrie nodded quickly and moved to the Slytherin table, near Blaise Zabini and Millicent Bulstrode. Dumbledore found his voice. "Will everyone please go to their dormitories."
Everyone stood up, and the Prefects took the first years to their respected Common Rooms. The other years followed. Carrie stayed behind and went outside to the corridor. Chris met up with her. They just looked at each other for a few minutes then Chris suddenly started hugging her. "What are you doing here?" He asked her.
She smiled. "Why, to help you of course."
Chris, being the suspicious person that he was, asked, "Help me with what? Helping to save Wyatt, or bringing down Voldemort?"
She laughed. "Both of course. What'd you think I'd do, help you save Wyatt but not help you with the short-term problem? Hah! What kind of person do you think I am?" After a long, pointed look from Chris Carrie sighed saying, "Don't answer that."
Chris looked around. "So, where are the other brats?"
Carrie's eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms. "We are not brats. Well, David is. But not me or the others. They're in the future. They're fighting HIM. They wanted to send me here to help you save Wyatt."
Chris was curious. "Why didn't you send one of the others?"
Carrie shrugged. "They said that I was better equipped than they were. I guess they thought I was a better actress than they are, or more powerful or something. Which they should not think. I'm just more...hotheaded. Pun intended of course."
Both Carrie and Chris smiled at their little joke. Ever since they were young, Carrie has had power over fire. She can summon it in her hand, put it anywhere, including in people's mouths, and can change the heat level of the flame so it can feel like a jalapeno pepper or like something burning off your skin. So Carrie and Chris made an inside joke between themselves about it.
Chris and Carrie felt some people coming. The Charmed Ones came to them Piper said to them, "Okay, someone please explain to me what the hell is going on."
Chris and Carrie winced. They looked at each other, then Chris said, "Are you sure you want to know?"
Phoebe said, "Of course we want to know. Who are you?" she said, pointing to Carrie, "and how do you know Chris?"
Carrie hesitated for a minute, looking at Chris. "What should I say?"
Brown eyes met gold for a minute before Chris replied, "The half-truth. They can't know everything." The teen nodded and turned back to the other three in the hall. "My name's Caroline Prudence Halliwell, though everyone just calls me Carrie. I'm...I'm Chris' cousin."
Silence.
That's what Chris and Carrie heard from the Charmed Ones. Paige's mouth was open, Phoebe's eyes were wide, and Piper was just searching for similarities between the two of them. Phoebe blinked for a few seconds and then said, "E- excuse me? I think I have something wrong with my hearing. I thought you said she was your cousin."
Chris sighed, looking at the three adults with a sheepish look. "It's true."
"Whose daughter is she? Mine or Phoebe's?" Paige asked, irrelevant and yet sort of on topic at the same time.
Chris opened his mouth to say something but Carrie cut him off. "I can't tell you that. I've probably already changed the timeline enough with you finding out about me," she answered. She then turned to Chris, worried. "Shit. What if I changed to timeline for the worst? What if HE finds out I'm here and comes looking for me?" She closed her eyes, silently praying nothing bad would happen.
Now the Charmed Ones were confused even more than they were twenty minutes ago, when this girl was just introduced. "HE? Who's HE?" Piper asked.
"HE is the evil that is in my future. He has ruled for many years. He has taken many lives, both witches and warlocks, and even innocents, for power. Everyone fears him, and they either rule under him, or are dead." Carrie said shuddering.
"So you guys rule under him?" Paige asked disbelieving.
Chris shook his head amused but still gravely serious. "What Carrie neglected to tell you is that there is a small amount of witches that fight against him. There's about one thousand of us all together."
Piper's eyes widened. "That's a lot of people."
Carrie shook her head. "Not if the thousand people are the only good witches left on the planet. Everyone else is working for him."
"What's the name of this guy anyway?" Phoebe said.
Chris and Carrie looked at each other. "Should we tell them?" Carrie asked Chris through telepathy.
Chris shook his head. "They already know, Carrie."
Carrie raised one of her eyebrows. "Are you serious Chris?"
"Yes. They found out a little while after Bianca came to the past." The male Halliwell shuddered a bit remembering the horrible day that was. Carrie looked at him, a grimace marring her features.
"Heard about that. Sorry."
"It's okay. It wasn't your fault she died. It was mine. Nothing to fret about."
Carrie snorted, obviously against his last statement. "Except maybe your mental health. No one is fine after seeing someone they love die." The teen looked at her elder with painful eyes, searching for something although it was hard to tell for what. "Both of us should know...are you sure you will be okay?"
The twenty-two year-old rolled his eyes and didn't bother to reply. He would be fine. Out loud he told the Charmed Ones, "You know who it is. Wyatt, remember? My brother...the one I came back to save?" Carrie's eyes widened at the brother titbit. He told them THAT much?
Piper, Phoebe and Paige stood in place, silent and pensive. It was hard to take in. A nephew/son as an assassin wasn't exactly the most ideal profession in their eyes. "Are you sure? Are you sure he's the absolute ruler?"
Chris nodded. "Of course. I'm positive he is, as I fight him everyday with my squad, just like Carrie here does. Its just part of our daily jobs as generals."
The Charmed Ones, needless to say, were surprised. "A general? At her age? She's what, fifteen? Who are the other generals?"
Carrie glared at them. "For your information, I'm sixteen. But on the other hand, Chris is the oldest out of the generals. And I'm the second oldest. And for the record, being sixteen doesn't mean that your powers aren't strong. The generals are Chris, Thanh, Melinda, David, Michael and I."
Chris' head tilted to the side. "Since when is Mike a general?"
Carrie sneered. "Since you left. We all thought he deserved it. And we, well, at least the girls and Mike, all think you're an asshole and a bastard for leaving us."
"Well what could I have done? He was going to kill all of us, including Bianca. Which he did anyway. I'm sorry. I wanted to go back and save him. Let's just hope we find out what has caused this mess soon."
Changing the subject Phoebe asked, "So Carrie, why did you choose St. Claire as your last name?"
Carrie shrugged. "I looked up one of my mother's old boyfriends and used his last name. No biggie." Glancing at her watch, she realized that they'd been talking for over three hours. It was almost midnight. Yawning she said, "Well, I'm beat. I'm going to bed. I'll see you in the morning." And with that she started walking toward the dungeons.
Piper thought of something. "Hey, wait Carrie! How are you going to get into your room? I thought that the rooms had passwords."
Carrie smiled mysteriously. "I have my ways." Chris merely rolled his eyes.
"In other words, she'll read someone's mind and get the password."
Phoebe looked at her curiously. "You're a telepath?"
"Yup. And an empath too."
At this Phoebe's eyes went wide. "So you ARE my daughter. I knew it."
Carrie grinned at this. "Just because I'm empathic doesn't mean I'm your daughter. I also have one of Piper's powers, but that doesn't mean I'm her daughter, either. And I am an elemental, aka I can control fire/heat. The first few powers are hereditary. I'm not sure where the elemental thing came from though...but Chris, Melinda, Thanh, and David are too, so eh." She shrugged. "Well, I'm really leaving now. See you in class I guess. Good night PROFESSORS," she said stressing the last word. She walked down to the dungeons.
Chris watched her leave, shaking his head, then turned to the girls. "Well, let's go see the Headmaster. We still need to find out where we're sleeping." They walked to the headmaster's office. Dumbledore smiled when he saw them. "Meet an old acquaintance, perhaps?"
Chris nodded. "Well, old for me, new for them. Anyway, can you please show us to our rooms? We need sleep before we teach hundreds of kids."
Dumbledore chuckled. "We all do. Sadly, it doesn't happen much. Sleep, I mean." He put his hand in his pocket and took out a yellow candy. "Lemon drop?" he asked Chris who shook his head.
Dumbledore led them to a portrait on the seventh floor near the Gryffindor common room. He turned to the Halliwells and told them, "You need to make a password so you can get into your rooms from now on." The Halliwells looked at each other for a moment but already knew what the password was going to be.
"The password is Prue." Paige said. Dumbledore nodded.
"Okay. Let's go on." They went through the door. There was a blank room with white walls and an even whiter ceiling. There were no beds, not even sleeping bags. Just the Halliwell's luggage that was brought up a while ago.
"Um, where are we supposed to sleep?" Paige asked the aged headmaster. "There's no bed." The headmaster smiled.
"Ah, but that's the beauty of it. This is a Room of Requirement. In this room, you can find something you need without ever getting up. For instance, I want a bologna sandwich." When he said that, a sandwich appeared on a small dinner plate. As he took a bite of it he said, "You don't even have to say what you want or need. All you need to do is think it and it will come to you. Sadly, you cannot find anything that has to do with the future. So if you were going to do some research on the future, your only resources are Mr. Halliwell and Ms. St-Claire. Understand?"
The Halliwells nodded. Dumbledore smiled. "Good. Now have a nice night. See you at breakfast tomorrow. It starts at nine am sharp." With that he walked out the door, leaving the Halliwells to their privacy.
The Halliwells spent a good portion of an hour making the room look as they wanted it to look. In the end, the room was made so it was an exact replica as the interior of their house in San Francisco. They even had the Book of Shadows upstairs in the attic.
It was one am before any of them went to sleep. They had a long day and were rewarded with a good night's sleep.
