Title: The Gold Echo

Author Name: TrueLoveFan

Rating: PG-13

Warnings for: Violence, but not really, and minor language usage.

Notes:

- Ages: Anna and Jacob are now 14, Marie is 6, Justin is 16, Max is 13, and Alex is 14 about to be 15 in a day.

- The first name is the WizTech house name and second is their similar Hogswarts house.

Alphyn = Gryffindor

Bakunawa = Slytherin

Kelpie = Hufflepuff

Garuda = Ravenclaw

Disclaimer:

All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of TrueLoveFan. TrueLoveFan is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Alex woke the next morning to the smell of Lysol and the sound of groaning from two beds over; her head hurt and she felt as if she hadn't slept all night, but that didn't matter because she going home today, finally. She sat up slowly letting the stiff white sheet fall to her waist and swung her feet off the bed. The floor was cold when her bare feet touched it and she scurried over to the chair at the bed of the bed to grab her shoes and other stuff. Putting her shoes on proved to be a more daunting task then normal, especially given the extreme degree of dizziness, but she managed it. The squeak of her shoes alerted the nurse to the fact Alex was awake and moving around.

"What are you doing out of bed, young lady?" The nurse was clearly tired and not in the mood for any of the sarcastic comments that Alex had on the tip of her tongue. Luckily, for her, Alex did not feel up to being sarcastic; she didn't feel up to being anything. So she settled for the truth.

"I have to go. I'm headed home today for three days and I haven't packed yet."

"You hit your head pretty hard Ms. Russo. I won't recommend casting any traveling spells today. The tax the caster too much and tend to cause lightheadedness. I'm afraid that would aggravate-"

"It's my birthday tomorrow."Alex whispered. She felt teary all of the sudden and turned her face away from the nurse; she didn't cry in front of other people, it was weak. She had been so looking forward to going home! She would never admit it in her letters home, but she missed her family terribly. It was weird not to see Max and her parents every day, she missed helping Marie tie her pink shoes every morning, and she had gotten used to watching modeling shows with Anna. She needed to go home!

The nurse gave a small sigh and placed her hand on Alex's shoulder. "I guess I could cast the spell for you. It would decrease the aftereffects on you." Alex let the smile show on her face in gratitude and the worn nurse returned it. "Go get packed and be back in one hour. I'll you get home." Needing no more prompting then that, Alex tore out of the hospital wing heedless of the "No running!" that the nurse shouted after her.

The Alphyn common room was empty as Alex run through and up the stairs. The dorm was empty as well when she entered, but one glance at the clock by the bathroom door told her it was breakfast time. Her stomach growled, but she ignored it. Her mom would make her breakfast at home; that was definitely worth putting off eating for an hour! Her head spun a little as she came to a halt beside her bed; perhaps the nurse was right to warn her off running. She shook off the feeling and opened her trunk. She threw item after item, leaving out only the items she would need to get ready for the day, into the thing until it could barely close. With her wand in hand, the brunette shrunk the trunk until it was tiny enough to fit in the pocket of her school robe. Man, was she ever glad that Professor Crumbs taught her that spell!

"There you are!" Raya exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around Alex's shoulders in a tight hug. "I was worried you were gonna go home without saying goodbye to me."

Alex turned around so she faced her best friend. "Of course not." She said as she walked into the bathroom, Raya following close behind. "You're still gonna come tomorrow, right?" Alex washed her face and brushed her teeth and hair before she began her makeup routine.

"Absolutely. Gabriel and I will be there around noon to help set up." Raya replied, inspecting her reflection critically in the mirror beside Alex. She grabbed Alex's eyeliner off the counter and began fixing her fading line. The almost fifteen-year-old smiled; it was nice to have someone feel so comfortable around her. Harper used to be like that; Harper used to be Alex's sister-from-another-mister, but now they were barely acquaintances. She responded yes for Alex's Quinceanera and Alex held a flicker of hope in her heart that they could find their way back to being friends. Raya placed the eyeliner in Alex's open hand and blush brush from where it sat on the counter. Whether or not she and Harper found their way, at least Alex had Raya.

"You don't need to do that, Ray. My family can handle it."

"I want to! I'm super excited to meet everyone and see where you live. It'll be cool to know that mortal part of you." The shorter girl's bubbly personality made its appearance in the way that she bounced on her heels at the thought.

"Don't expect too much, Ray. It's just a house, like everyone else's…with the exceptions of being on top of a sub shop and containing a wizard's lair, of course."

"Of course." Raya agreed as if those two things were mundane sending both girls into a fit of laughter. Once the laughter subsided and Alex packed all of her stuff away in her bathroom bag, Raya asked the question that had been bugging her since she found Alex. "How did you do last night sleeping alone?"

"They gave me a sedative, but I feel like I didn't sleep at all."

"I'm not surprised." Raya replied as Alex shrunk her bathroom bag down to the size of her trunk and slipped into the same pocket. The brown-eyed girl looked around the dorm searching out any wayward items she might have missed; there was none. Sensing their time together coming to a close, Raya pulled Alex into another hug. "Write me as soon as you can so I know you get home alright?"

Alex nodded. "Will do." The two friends hugged once more before Alex left the dorm behind her and headed back to the hospital wing. It was time to go home.

Lightheadedness hit Alex as soon as she landed in their living room. Before, she could even adjust to her new surroundings though, she found herself in case by several pairs of arms. Choruses of things like "Happy early Birthday!" and "You're home!" rang out around her amplifying her feelings of lightheaded and dizziness, but Alex smiled nonetheless. Finally, she was home!

"Guys, I can't breathe." She faked gasping for air and the crowd was quick to back off. She looked at all of them individually. Theresa was openly crying and Jerry looked close to it. Marie was practically vibrating with happy energy, holding a construction paper crown in her hands. Max stood next to the six-year-old pretending not to be effected by his older sister's return, but Alex knew he cared. Anna stood next to Max, quiet and unobtrusive as possible, but she was smiling so big that her teeth were showing; she was clearly making progress socially. Justin stood next to his middle sister just watching the reunion play out. Alex hugged them each in turn. She bent down when she reached Marie so that the little girl could settle the glittery, slightly bent up, crown on her head. She couldn't help but place a quick kiss to the six-year-old's cheek in thanks, making Marie giggle in happiness.

Dinner was even more of an affair then Alex remembered as everyone at the table felt the need to tell her and Justin about all that had happened since the two had left for WizTech. Anna read some amazing books and Max taught her to play basketball. Alex was pleased to note that both Max and Anna were sporting matching light blushes when she made a light jab about how much time they were spending together. Max had really started to apply himself to his Wizard studies; he wanted to go to summer school at Wiz Tech the following year. Jerry had created three new subs for the sub shop and Theresa was busy trying to get the girls up to speed for the coming school year. Marie had learned to tie her own shoes, which, despite the smile she plastered on, made Alex sad, and she was madly in love with fairytales. Apparently, she made Anna and Max read them to her every night before bed because "Anna makes a pretty princess and Max is a good handsome prince!" The two blushed at this as well and Alex couldn't help her smirk.

Dessert became interrogation time as Justin and Alex were mobbed with question after question about WizTech. Were the other kids nice? What were their favorite classes? Who was the hardest teacher? Who was the easiest teacher? What were the houses like? How were their grades? Were they having fun? Had the met the ghost that roams the halls? Was WizTech helping them adjust to their magic? When would they be home? Were any of their friends, besides Raya and Ronald, coming to the party tomorrow? That question sent the discussion spiraling into Quinceanera territory that led to the girls running off to get ready for the party while the guys did the mountain of dishes. The boys groaned.

"It's either let us go now and do the dishes or we all do the dishes together and the three of you have to sit through hours of night-before party prep…including watching the girls model dress after dress after dress." Theresa's thinly veiled threat got the guys to do the dishes and quit moaning faster than ever before. The girls laughed and grinned as they headed to Alex and Anna's room to plan.

"'M tired." Marie whined, tugging on the hem of Theresa's shirt to get her attention. The older women turned to look at her. A quick glance at the clock displayed the late hour: 12 PM. It was way past her bedtime and in all honesty, they were all quite exhausted.

"Okay, sweetheart, let's get you to bed." Theresa scooped Marie up into her arms and the little girl clung to her. Her eyes were half closed when she turned to face Alex amid the chaos in the bedroom and said,

"Happy birthday, Alex!" Marie shouted with the last of her energy and then she settled her head on Theresa's shoulder letting her eyes drop fully closed. Silence fell over them as Anna and Alex set about returning their shared room back to a relatively organized state of chaos. They were not use to working together in such a way so they kept getting in each other's way. Finally, Alex couldn't handle the quiet; she had never been good at that.

"So, no bedtime stories for you tonight, huh?"

"No, thank heavens. Last night, she made us read Snow White and kept trying to convince us that Max had to kiss me."

"Sounds awkward…"

"It was." The two of them went back to work without conversation.

The creak of the door opening and closing attracted Alex's attention. Anna was still in her bed; Alex had spent the last fifteen minutes squinting her eyes trying to morph the younger girl's shadow into something else. Tension coiled in her stomach and her toes curled under her covers in apprehension. The deliberately soft footsteps moved closer and closer to her bed as Alex watched the vague outline, she could see in the darkness, progress forward along the wall. She knew plenty of spells to protect herself, to do something, but with the unpredictability of her magic, Alex couldn't risk it; Anna was too close and it was too dark to make anything out with certainty.

The mysterious figure rounded the other side of Alex's bed and folded back the covers. Fear froze her muscles as the shadow climbed into her bed beside her and settled in. It wasn't until arms encircled her waist that she could move again. She slammed her elbow back hard and screamed. Anna shot up startled and turned on the glittery light besides her bed. The yellow glow revealed her intruder to be Justin.

"Alex!" He whispered harshly, wheezing harshly through his mouth, as he stood beside her bed holding his stomach. "What the hell?"

"What the hell? What the hell? What the hell do you think you're doing?" Alex staged whispered furiously.

"I'm exhausted. I didn't get any sleep last night so I am trying to get some now." Justin explained with an eye roll. Sometimes, he just didn't get Alex's mood swings.

Alex stood from her bed and faced him. "In my bed? Are you crazy? I barely even know you!"

A/N: This chapter took for-freaking-ever, I know. Anyone else really sad about the end of Wizards in a couple of days? :*(