Mistake

Chapter Four

22 Years in the Future

"Watcher!" Wyatt called from his lair in the Underworld. He waited as the demon spy materialized before him.

"I need you to show me my brother," he said to the demon, who bowed respectfully. "There's been some type of disturbance in magic. I can feel it, and I sense that my brother has something to do with it."

"Yes m'lord," the demon muttered. He walked over to the table wide, shining mirror which Wyatt kept in his lair for just such occasions.

An image of his brother appeared in the glass. It was an image which Wyatt recognized immediately. He turned angrily on the demon. "Your magic is malfunctioning Watcher," he snapped threateningly.

The watcher looked confused and slightly bemused. "No, m'lord," he assured the tyrant. "This is the disturbance you felt. Your brother has somehow reverted to his younger self. His self before his powers were bound.

Wyatt dismissed the demon and considered. A rogue Chris was a dangerous Chris, especially with his powers at his disposal. However, he remembered his brother at that age. He knew exactly what to do to get under his brother's skin.

Afterall, it shouldn't be that hard. His brother was with his parents in the past. And if this Chris remembered nothing of what happened after the age of seven, then Chris didn't know about Wyatt's turning.

Chris had always trusted Wyatt. Who was he more likely to aid in his present state? The parents who had abused and neglected him? Or his brother, who had always done his best to look out for him?

Things at the Manor had settled down slightly. As there was no imminent demonic threat, Paige had gone off to her new temp job and Phoebe had gone to work.

Piper was in the kitchen getting dinner ready while Leo and Chris talked at the table. Prue had disappeared again, something Chris did not seem to think very odd, but had perplexed the sisters and Leo.

Currently, Chris was sitting at the table quietly while Leo tried to get him to open up. The only sign that he was anxious was the way he unclenched and clenched his fists.

"So where do you live?" Leo asked.

"Around," Chris answered evasively. Leo furrowed his brow.

"Do you have any siblings?" he asked, having not been a witness to Chris' earlier memories caused by the spell.

Chris clenched his fists. "An older brother," he admitted.

"Would you like to go see him?" Leo asked, curious.

Chris eyed him. "Somehow, I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?" Leo questioned. "You said your mom's a witch right? And your dads a whitelighter? They might be able to help."

"I haven't even been born yet," Chris answered sardonically. "I somehow doubt that they would take the news that their son from 22 years in the future is in town very well."

Leo, remembering the abuse the boy had obviously suffered, sobered up quickly. "I'm sorry. You're right of course."

Chris allowed himself a small grin at that statement. The action was not missed by Leo, who considered the boy silently.

The seven-year-old knew his way around the Manor well enough and seemed to have an easy familiarity with his surroundings. This indicated that the child was in the Manor on a regular basis. However, he was still blatantly uncomfortable with Leo, a trait he shared with his older self. He also possessed a vulnerability, making Leo slightly uneasy at the boy's discomfort.

Piper popped the food she was making into the oven and sat down beside Chris, pretending not to notice the way he stiffened when her arm brushed his as she settled down.

"So what do you do for fun Chris?" she asked, attempting some polite conversation. Chris looked startled at the question.

"Oh...I like to paint," he said. "And I play soccer sometimes, when Wy...when the other kids need someone else to play."

"And was Wyatt a good soccer player," Piper asked casually, catching the boy's word lapse.

"He's always pretty good, just kinda..." Chris trailed off, realizing he had just admitted to knowing Wyatt in the future. Piper looked triumphant while Leo looked speculative.

Piper's eyes shone happily. "So do you two get along real well in the future then? Are you like best friends?"

Chris fidgeted uncomfortably. "Um...not exactly...kinda...it's hard to explain..."

Piper looked pleased and turned to Leo. "We have a motive," she commented lightly.

"A motive?" Leo questioned.

"For why Chris came back. He was friends with Wyatt and was distraught when something happened to him."

Something happened to Wyatt? Chris questioned himself quietly. He loved his brother, it was true. But Wyatt wasn't exactly the nicest kid in the playground and definitely had violent tendencies toward his own brother, though it was true that Wyatt often protected him from Leo's more violent ministrations. If so why do I care? He asked himself. Why do I care about any of them?

Before the conversation could progress any further, fortunately for Chris, the air in the kitchen shimmered and a figure appeared with long and knotted black hair and misty golden eyes, which glowed eerily. This would have been alright, of course, save for the fact that her nails elongated into talons. Protruding from her back were shining ebony wings, which, for all their beauty, were somewhat tarnished by the faint splotches of a darker color and residual smell of blood. The air in the kitchen seemed suddenly contaminated and the three other occupants balked at the stench.

"Demon!" Piper shouted, throwing her chair back and attempting to blow the demon-or demoness perhaps-up. Leo and Chris scattered, trying to get out of the way. The woman simply flew back a few paces and smirked at the eldest Charmed One. Leo's eyes widened.

"I'll get your sisters," Leo said, orbing out quickly. Chris stared at the blue orbs as they left, his eyes shifting back and forth between them and his mother, who was currently staring at her hands, surprised.

"Oh...not good," she muttered. "She's not effected by my powers."

The demon shot lightning at Piper, who quickly ducked under the table, the fire missing her by mere inches. Chris let out an involuntary whimper at the close call from his position in the corner, drawing the woman's attention to him. Her lips turned up in a smirk.

"The half-breed," she said seductively, her fingers reaching towards him, her feet bringing her closer. "Come, little one, there is much in store for you."

"Chris! Watch out," Piper yelled, throwing her hands up at the demon again, who merely skidded back a pace, then shot lightning back at the Charmed One. Piper was forced to take cover again, as the fire missed her once again by scant inches.

The woman reached her clawed hands towards Chris. Chris whimpered and threw his hands up, bracing for the inevitable contact, when, quite suddenly, the hand stopped moving. Chris regarded the demon and saw that she was, in fact, frozen in place.

Blue orbs winked into being in the room, and Piper's sister and husband appeared in the room, quickly assessing the situation. Chris' hands held up in front of the frozen demon, and Piper wiping off the debris of the table from her clothing, all the while staring at Chris in shock.

Chris slowly let his hands fall to his sides, inching away from the demon with a fearful look on his face. "I-I'm sorry," he stuttered. "I didn't mean to."

Piper was in shock. "My powers didn't affect it at all," she said. "I tried to blow it up twice, and nothing. And he, not even meaning to, is able to freeze it. How is that possible?"

Chris looked down, seeming for all parts, ashamed of himself. "I'm sorry. I won't do it again."

Phoebe shook her head and knelt down next to the boy. "No, no honey. You didn't do anything wrong. We're just surprised that's all. We didn't know you had that much power."

Chris shook his head. "My brother told me not to use it. He doesn't like my magic. It's always causing trouble. I'm not supposed to use it, no matter what."

Phoebe smiled warmly at him, setting a kind hand on his shoulder, patiently ignoring his flinch. "Well he's wrong then. Magic is a part of who you are. You should always be able to rely on it in a time of need. And you used it very well indeed. You defended yourself and Piper from this demon's attack."

Phoebe straightened and regarded the demon. "Well, I hate to be the one to point this out, but we have no idea how long this frozen state will last, so we better do something with her."

"Crystals," Paige said, and the crystals orbed in from the attic and formed a circle around the frozen demon in response. Then they fell silent and waited for the freezing to wear off. Chris shuffled his feet and looked down. Ten minutes later they were still waiting.

"Ok," Phoebe said. "I don't get it, why has she started moving again. Is she faking?"

"No," Leo said, looking carefully at the demon. "I think she's still genuinely frozen. Whatever Chris did, it hasn't worn off yet."

Chris started to tap his foot nervously.

"But Leo, even I can't hold this kind of demon frozen for so long," Piper protested. "He's only seven years old, its not possible for him to do this. It's too much power for one kid to hold."

Phoebe nodded in tentative agreement. "Yeah...Leo, we just found out Chris was a witch as well as a whitelighter. It's true we really didn't know what his powers were, but with all the demon attacks we've been having, it would have been awful hard to hide this kind of thing."

"Unless his powers were bound later on," Paige offered.

"Or it was beat into him not to use magic so often that it's no longer his first response," Leo said quietly, eyeing the young boy, who, surprisingly, raised his head to glare at the Elder.

"Look," he said, sounding, for all parts, the more mature Whitelighter they were used to. "My magic causes trouble. It's not good. I'm not supposed to use it. Not ever." He crossed his arms, glaring at them.

Paige knelt down next to him, refraining from touching him comfortingly, as was her first inclination. "Well honey, we can't really leave a demon in the kitchen forever. Do you think you could use it just one more time to unfreeze her and find out why she's here?"

Chris shook his head firmly. "No. It's wrong. I'll get in trouble. You're trying to get me in trouble. You want to get me punished."

Paige shook her head. "No sweetheart. I don't want to get you in trouble. You've done nothing wrong, and unfreezing this demon won't be wrong either," his eyes reluctantly turned to her. "I promise," she said.

Chris stared into her eyes for a second then brought up his hands and unfroze the demon. "Thank's buddy," said Leo, running a hand through the small boy's hair, who flinched from the contact, and regarded him with confusion.

Why wasn't his father yelling at him? He had used magic! Twice, in fact. He was never supposed to use magic. His magic caused trouble. Why wasn't he getting punished? Why wasn't he in trouble?

Paige noticed his expression as she got up, and recognized it for what it was. It was the look of a boy who's had one too many promises broken and is shocked when one is upheld.

"Hey," she said, calling the young half-whitelighter's attention. "You didn't do anything wrong. You aren't in trouble. I promised you, remember? You can trust me."

Hesitating, Chris then nodded. Paige let a small smile light her face before turning to face the demoness currently residing in a circle in their kitchen.

"So," Phoebe said, her voice tinted with barely concealed anger. "Who are you to enter the home of the Charmed Ones and attack my sister and husband-in-law, not to mention a defenseless child?"

"Defenseless?" the creature hissed, seemingly amused. It flexed its clawed hands. "This one?"

"Answer the question," Piper demanded, clenching her fists threateningly. Leo looked tentatively at the young whitelighter watching avidly.

"Um...perhaps Chris shouldn't be here for this," Leo suggested quietly. Paige looked at them and nodded, motioning for Leo to take the boy out of the room. Leo nudged Chris, but the witch didn't move, his eyes trained on the scene in front of him. Leo sighed and prepared to cover the child's eyes when it was time for the inevitable vanquish.

"I don't answer to you witch," the woman answered in response to Piper's earlier questions, causing Piper's eyes to narrow.

"Book of Shadows," Paige called, and the book appeared in her hands. The demon didn't react, just kept her eyes locked on Chris, who stared unflinchingly back.

"She's called a Harpy," Paige said, looking at the demon for confirmation, the woman did not respond. "Harpies are winged creatures who punish crime on Earth and then punish their victims eternally in the Underworld. They can take on the form of both human and bird and always carry around a terrible stench. It says here that they sometimes targeted those who were unwilling to die. They are three sisters by the name of Aello, Celaeno, and Ocypete. They can control elements of the weather, and, apparently, spirits."

"Any known vanquish?" Piper's voice was strong but seemed somewhat strained. From her isolated position the Harpy smirked.

"No," Paige answered shortly.

"Why are you attacking us Harpy?" Phoebe asked. "We are no criminals. We have done no wrong to you."

The Harpy kept her eyes locked on Chris, staring the seven year old down. Chris remained unfazed. Leo sighed.

"Harpies are controlled by he who holds the greatest power," he informed the sisters. "Whoever sent her is after you."

"So what you're saying," Piper said. "Is that she's just an underling? And there's some greater power after us."

The Harpy turned her head sharply at them. "Do not mistake me for some common minion Witch. I shall hold your heart by the time this is through."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Piper said, waving her off. "And I'm really concerned, seeing as you're trapped in a cage and all."

The Harpy snorted and flicked her wings out, causing the crystals to fly across the floor, Piper's eyes widened. In a blink of an eye, the Harpy had crouched down next to Chris, and, before disappearing in a whirlwind of feathers, said, "Remember the name Aello, half-breed. I will be back for you."

And then she was gone.

Paige checked Chris over hurriedly, though the boy hadn't even flinched when the Harpy had cornered him. "Are you all right?" she questioned him, though the answer came in the form of a shrug. She stepped back.

"Well, we know what the Harpy is after at least," Piper said, looking over their mini Whitelighter.

"What we don't know is why," Leo said.

20 Years in the Future

"You're brother possesses great strength, m'lord," Aello said when she arrived in her lair. She stopped shortly to bring her wingtip to here forehead in a half-salute, then continued. "He managed to freeze me for quite a time."

"And the Charmed Ones?" Wyatt asked.

"As easily subdued as always. If not for the half-breed I could have killed them right there and then. Their Elder was just as useless."

"You are not to harm them," Wyatt said sharply. "Injure them if necessary, knock them out if possible, but do not kill them. They have uses still that they must fulfill before their demise."

"And the half-breed? I will not be able to capture him by myself. He possesses far too great a strength."

Wyatt nodded in acceptance. "And that is what makes him so useful to us. But he possesses one great weakness."

"M'lord?"

"He has been shrunken to the age of a child, and his big brother knows all his secrets."

The Harpy shifted her wings, intrigued. The ruler of the world looked at her and sneered. "Well? What are you waiting for? Get your sisters and prepare."

Aello left.