Erm… I know I hinted that I was going to update every week, but... what can I say? No matter how hard we try, life sometimes gets in the way of really important stuff, like fanfiction.
Ernie: You. Should. Be. Ashamed. Of. Yourself.
I am Ernie, trust me.
Charmedfanatic3000: Thank you. Thank Ori for the prophecy. Something she said got the wheels in my head turning again.
Mcgirl: Thanks for the compliment. Not sure if I could have made it without reviewers like you.
Frances: I'm glad you liked the explanations. The last chapter wasn't nearly as exciting as the others to come, but it had to be done for the sake of the story. Sorry for the delay, but here's your update.
Winter Blaze: Your vote of confidence goes a long way with me, thank you. Ori gave me the idea for the prophecy. Don't feel shy to give me ideas either. Some I might use, some I might not. Either way I appreciate all and any suggestions.
Roby Murphy: It might be a few chapters 'till Talia and Wyatt meet Harry, Ron and Hermione. They still have their summer tutoring at Hogwarts to get through, remember? But they will be meeting the Professors soon and, don't forget, the other Professors don't know nearly as much about them as Dumbledore did. As for Hagrid... well, read on and see for yourself.
Bob-the-bear: Well, this is Dumbledore we're talking about! Practically nothing's impossible for him. I'm sure he can make a crack sound polite. And as for the sugars in his tea... we all know how big a sweet tooth the headmaster has, don't we? Wands will be dealt with in the next chapter I'm afraid, but you'll be please to know that that part is already written and will be posted soon. Should be very interesting…
Kim: Thanks for your kind words. Hope this satisfies...
Svata2004: I'm sorry to say that the adults will not be coming to Hogwarts as teachers. That crossover has been done many times before and I'm going for a more original approach here. The focus will be on Talia and Wyatt and any friends they might make on the way (hint! hint!). Thank you for your review. Here's the next chapter for you!
Sweetone41185: I'm glad you liked the chapter. I just thought it was a little boring that's all. No one got their a$$ kicked. I hope this one's even better. I like to think that Paige is more open minded than the others. She doesn't rule anything out and that's what helped her catch up so quickly even after coming late in the craft. You will definitely see Cole's reaction to all this. It's not in this chapter but it will be soon, I promise. Enjoy reading!
Lurkerjenny: I don't mind at all. I love writing and I wouldn't stop no matter how many reviews I get or don't get. Which is not to say that I don't appreciate them, or wait for them like a kid waits for Christmas morning! As long as I know that there are people out there that enjoy reading my stories, I'm happy to keep posting them. Thank you for the reviews you have sent. They did put a smile on my face! I'm happy you're enjoying the story, and I hope you continue to do so.
Ori: I'm so glad you liked the definitions and interpretations of the two magical worlds. I felt that they were essential in the crossover, but I was so afraid that people would just be bored senseless.
And as for Talia... I'm really honoured by your compliment. You bet she's got issues! She's a chronic insomniac, don't you know. I've hinted at it before. She gets nasty nightmares. And yes, she is modern, but the magical worlds are based on tradition and she understands that. She's a very complex character and I'm glad that comes out. I think Talia and Wyatt will make a great team too! You must remember that this AU, before the entire Chris mess. Wyatt has spent the first fifteen years of his life without having anyone of his own age to share magic with. And Talia had a rather unusual and lonely childhood. I like to think that they make up for each other's weaknesses. Their closeness will play a key role in the story.
One question at a time, darling! Yes, Talia and Wyatt can go home whenever they feel like it. Strictly speaking, it's against school rules, but who's going to stop them from flaming or orbing out of there? And their martial arts training is an integral part of their lifestyle, so of course they'll keep doing it. They might even find someone else to join them too (hint! hint!). But I'm not giving out any more info, you'll have to read the rest of the chapters to find out
Barb6: I'm not going to say much other than I've bits and pieces of the next few chapters already written out and they should be very exciting. I'm glad the explanations helped. The wizard stuff will be important.
Charmedchick11: I'm glad you think so. I've seen Charmed/Harry Potter crossovers done before and it just gets me how the characters jump from one world to the other with no explanations or introductions into the different world. I'm hoping to make it more realistic. Well, as realistic as the combination of two magical worlds could be.
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Thanks go to Nightcrawler for being officially back in business. He was kind to beta this chapter and as always save me from probably too many grammar mistakes to count.
Enjoy!
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Memories of the Past, Glimpses of the Future
Talia walked downstairs, towel-drying her hair after her shower. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, she came to a stop. She looked at the dark, wet tendrils, lost in thought for a while. Her hair had been long once, she remembered.
Her father had liked it long.
When she was little, she would lean her head on his shoulder, her hair spilling across his chest, and they would take turns reading out loud from musty tomes and old poetry books. And then, he would thread his calloused fingers through his little girl's long hair in a loving gesture that soothed them both and chased away their nightmares. She hadn't had the heart to deprive either of them of that rare pleasure – or its memory – and so, she had continued to wear her hair long even after she left the Underworld...until a few months ago.
Talia had duelled one of the most powerful demons around, a man called Perdicus. At the time, Perdicus had been a member of the Evil Council and had had aspirations to replace Cole in the position of the Source. He had been a master swordsman with hundreds of years of experience. One tiny moment of carelessness was all the demon had required, to have her at sword point. Her hand went to her throat at the memory. If it hadn't been for Talia's quick reflexes, the harsh blade would have cut through her neck, not her hair. Her hand once again went to the wet strands that now, finally, months later, barely reached her shoulders. Perhaps she didn't mind losing it to Perdicus' blade after all, if it meant getting to keep her life.
It had been Cole that had incinerated Perdicus in her defence, she remembered.
Even when she had lived in the Underworld with him, the occasions when the two of them were free to show their affection for one another, with no audience to judge them, or take notes on how to use them against each other, had been few. But they had been close, and they understood each other in a way that needed no words to describe.
Gods, she missed him!
That terrible night that Perdicus nearly killed her, still haunted Talia. Yes, she had survived, but at what cost? She thought back to a pair of grey eyes that darkened with desire every time they saw her. She smiled mirthlessly, and bitter regret coloured her regal features. What was one more nightmare to add to her dark collection? What was one more face to add to her bloody past? Talia didn't know if what she had felt for Valdis was love, she hadn't had anything else to compare it by, but whatever the feeling was, it had certainly been powerful. She would've liked for them to have had the time to find out. But things rarely turn out the way we want them to, and she had had to watch him give his life, to save hers.
A sigh parted her lips and, almost immediately, she chastised herself for allowing her mind to guide her to a past best left forgotten. There were plenty of things to think about today, without adding past regrets to them. She turned her mind to happier thoughts.
Today they would have another wizard dropping by.
Hagrid, the Care of Magical Creatures Professor at Hogwarts. That's all Professor Dumbledore had really said about him, but Wyatt was beside himself with excitement. He couldn't wait to learn more about magical creatures, or the wizarding world for that matter! Talia smiled. She had a bit of a weak spot for her cousin, and besides, Wyatt wasn't the only one to be excited about today.
Hagrid was supposed to take them to a place Dumbledore had called Diagon Alley. Wyatt and Talia would be able to buy their school supplies from there, including their very own wands. Talia couldn't wait! She liked living with the Haliwells in the 'normal' world, but she had been raised in an all-magic environment, and she missed the excitement of it all. She'd heard of Diagon Alley before, from her father and several wizards in her father's service. She couldn't wait to see it all for herself!
"Penny for your thoughts," said a soft voice from behind her.
Talia turned with a smile to face her mother.
"I'm just thinking about the wizarding world and what this Professor Hagrid will be like," she said.
"Did Professor Dumbledore say what time Professor Hagrid would be here?"
"Some time in the morning," Talia said with a shrug. "He didn't specify the exact time."
Phoebe broke into a grin.
"I must admit, I'm pretty excited about seeing a bit more of the wizarding world."
Talia grinned in return.
"I think everyone is. Wyatt wouldn't shut up about it all throughout this morning's training. I had to threaten him with a gag for us to get any work done!"
Phoebe's smile widened, but she soon turned serious.
"Will you be alright, Tal?" she asked.
Talia opened her mouth to protest, but her mother beat her to it.
"I know you're perfectly capable to protect yourself, sweetie. You're a smart kid, and you know your way when it comes to magic better than any of us, it's just that...well, anything could happen, and we'd be so far away from each other..." She stared intently into her daughter's eyes, so similar to her own. "You and I, we've had a lot of time that should have been ours, taken from us," she paused to tenderly brush a wet tendril behind her daughter's ear, "just when I'm really getting to know you, I feel like I'm losing you all over again."
Talia smiled softly.
"Mom, it's not going to be like that. I'll only be a flame away."
Her eyes spoke volumes to Phoebe's heart, trying to reassure her. Like Cole, Talia said more with her eyes on those few occasions she allowed her guard to drop, than she ever did with her lips.
"You're your father's daughter, you know," Phoebe couldn't stop herself from commenting with a slight smile. "So strong, so independent... Promise me you'll take care? And that you'll visit once in a while?"
Talia's smile returned and widened. Growing up, she had always wondered what it would be like to have a mother. She loved her father dearly, but of her mother she had known almost nothing but her name, and the fact that she was a Charmed One, until last year when she had shown up on the Halliwells' doorstep and changed their world forever. She could have done a lot worse, she thought.
"I promise."
It didn't mean that she missed Cole any less. But that was her fate, wasn't it? A Child of Two Worlds, the prophecy had called her. When she had chosen the Light over the Darkness, she had had to make sacrifices, and losing her father, was the greatest of them all.
But the tender moment between mother and daughter didn't last long. A scream echoed throughout the house. It pounded off the walls and filled every room.
Phoebe and Talia looked at each other in alarm. That had been Piper's voice, and the scream came from the kitchen. Mother and daughter were already running towards the commotion. They entered the room in time to see Paige and Wyatt orb in. But that was not what held their attention.
In the middle of the room, standing over the remains of the broken kitchen table, stood the biggest man any of them had ever seen. His hair was a tangled mess and rivalled his unkempt, messy beard. He was dressed in some kind of brown, hairy suit. He seemed awfully distressed, trying to duck Piper's frying-pan-carrying, swinging arm.
"'I didn't mean nothin' by it! Honest!" he barely managed to duck out of the way from another potentially painful frying pan swing. "I jus' missed when appratin' tha's all!"
Talia had to stifle a laugh. The scene was rather comic. The huge man wasn't even really trying to protect himself from the vicious advances of her tiny aunt.
"Dumbledore said it'd be alrigh'!"
And there he had said it; the magic word: Dumbledore. Piper's swinging stopped and she stared at him in disbelief.
"You're Hagrid?!" she screeched.
Hagrid rubbed his shoulder where he'd been hit by Piper's frying pan when he hadn't been able to avoid a particularly well-aimed swing.
"Aye, that's wha' I was tryin' teh tell yeh! Dumbledore described the place teh me, so I could apparate 'ere, bu' I must'ave missed an' 'it the table 'stead. I'm real sorry 'bout that, but yeh didn't 'ave teh start 'ittin'!"
"What?" a confused Paige asked, not understanding a word of what the big man was saying.
Talia could barely contain her laughter. Wyatt gave up trying any such thing and he had to actually clutch a hand to his mouth to prevent the sounds of muffled laughter that occasionally, despite his efforts, managed to escape from behind his palm.
"Apparation is a magical way of travelling that wizards use. It's a bit like orbing without all the fancy lights. Professor Hagrid landed on the table by mistake," Talia explained, her mind quickly processing the big man's thick brogue. "It was an accident."
Hagrid nodded emphatically, still rubbing his shoulder.
Piper looked sheepish.
"I'm really sorry, Professor," she said, smiling apologetically. "I mistook you for a demon. We get a lot of those around here you know."
"'S alrigh'," Hagrid said, but he was still eyeing the frying pan in her hands, suspiciously.
A strangled sound escaped Wyatt as he followed the big man's eyes to his mother's hands. Tears of merriment trickled down his cheeks and Talia studiously avoided looking at her cousin for fear that she too would burst out laughing. Piper, with a final apologetic smile, put the frying pan down on the kitchen counter. Once again the big man's eyes followed her gestures involving the frying pan, warily.
"You know, you're pretty lucky she didn't blow you up," said Paige grinning.
"Blow me up?!" asked Hagrid in disbelief.
"Professor Dumbledore told you we're Wiccans, right? One of Piper's powers is the ability to blow things up," explained Phoebe. "She can also freeze objects and people. Something about molecules and their movements...I don't quite understand how it works, myself."
Hagrid was still staring at Piper. Piper was feeling uncomfortable under his scrutiny.
"For defensive purposes only, of course," she felt the need to specify.
"Yeah, 'course," Hagrid said, seemingly snapping out of it. He still seemed to shift uncomfortably away from Piper.
"Hello, Professor Hagrid, I'm Wyatt," said the blond boy, judging it to be a good time for introductions and extending his hand in greeting. "Professor Dumbledore told us you're the Care of Magical Creatures Professor. Did you really have a dragon for a pet once?"
Hagrid took in the boy's sparkling, excited eyes and his own eyes immediately softened.
"Yeah, I did. 'is name was Norbet. They wouldn't let me keep 'im. Ministry wanted to gimme a fine for bringing 'im on school grounds, but Dumbledore wouldn't 'ear it. Great man Dumbledore! You like dragons?"
"I haven't actually met any," Wyatt admitted, "that I can remember," he supplied quickly, seeing Paige's amused expression. "But they've always really fascinated me."
"Hello, Professor," said Talia. "I'm Talia Turner, Wyatt's cousin. And this is my mother, Phoebe Halliwell, and my aunts, Piper Halliwell, Wyatt's mother, and Paige Matthews," she introduced. "Don't worry about the table. It's not the first time it broke," she added, thinking back to a little more than a week ago when, during a demon attack, she had, rather overenthusiastically, thrown a demon on the aforementioned table in the middle of the fight. It had been a miracle the carpenter had actually managed to put it together again. They'd only gotten it back the day before yesterday. It was no wonder Piper had been so mad to see it broken again.
Hagrid grinned.
"Yeah, well, lemme fix it. 's the least I can do," he said ruefully. And with that, he pulled a wand out, pointed it at the remnants of the broken kitchen table and muttered "Reparo." Faster than any of the Halliwells could blink, the table was standing in the middle of the kitchen, completely fixed, as if it had never been broken in the first place.
"Wow! Thanks!" gushed Phoebe.
"That was really good!" praised Paige.
"Think you can teach that trick to Wyatt and Talia?" asked Piper, looking at the table appreciatively. "It costs us a fortune to fix all the furniture that gets broken after each demon attack."
Hagrid's grin widened.
"Sure," he said. "'s a firs' year charm! Now, s'everybody ready teh go teh Diagon Alley? Dumbledore said yeh had yer own way of travelling..."
"We do," said Wyatt smiling. "Just a second though. I think my dad wants to join us." And with that, Wyatt drew a big breath and, facing the ceiling, called out, "Dad!"
It only took a few seconds for Leo to appear in a swirl of white lightS.
"Hey, is Professor Hagrid here yet?" he asked, before his eyes took in a surprised looking man, of rather large proportions, standing in the middle of the Halliwells' kitchen. His eyes travelled from Hagrid's feet, all the way up to his bushy, unkempt hair. The Professor was a good three feet taller than him and a great deal wider. Hagrid was obviously not what Leo had been expecting, but he hid it well with a smile.
"Hello Professor. I'm Leo Wyatt, Wyatt's father."
"Hello sir," Hagrid said in his booming voice.
"Well, if everyone's ready..." said Leo, turning to face the rest of his family, "Professor Hagrid here, can show us the way to Diagon Alley."
"Just give me a second, Uncle Leo!" shouted Talia indicating her wet hair. "I need a few minutes to get ready."
"Me too, Leo," called Phoebe already exiting the kitchen.
Even Paige and Piper bailed out to get ready. Wyatt rolled his eyes.
"Oh boy!" he said, behind the girls' retreating backs. "I hate it when they do that! Who knows how long they'll take!"
In all fairness, it only took the girls twenty minutes to get themselves ready for Diagon Alley and, despite Talia's obvious distaste for her wet ponytail, they finally made it downstairs to an annoyed Wyatt, a rather amused Leo and a bemused Hagrid. Following the wizard's instructions, Leo took hold of Piper, Paige of Phoebe, and they all orbed, apparated or, in Talia's case, flamed, to the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron in central London.
"It's a bar!" exclaimed Wyatt, obviously disappointed.
"We're in Britain now," corrected Talia, "it's not a bar, it's a pub."
Hagrid grinned.
"Le's go inside," he said, beckoning them forward.
The Halliwells shared a number of confused looks, but followed him in without protest. Were they going to buy all their school supplies from some pub?
"Hey Hagrid!" called the barman jovially the moment they entered the pub's dark interior, "long time no see."
"Hello, Tom. 's been a while, 'asn't it?"
"Who have you got there then?" asked Tom.
"Two new students for 'ogwarts an' their family," Hagrid supplied. "Am s'posed teh take them fer their school thin's."
"It's a little bit early for that, isn't it?" asked Tom curiously. "School's only closed last week."
Hagrid shrugged, while behind him, the Halliwells gave Tom what, they hoped, were nice and friendly smiles.
Talia had scanned the room automatically upon their entrance. She couldn't help noticing a number of rather suspicious characters sitting at the tables, quietly drinking funny concoctions out of their mugs. It was clear to her that they were all witches and wizards. Their robes gave them away. Sneaking a look at the rest of her family, she realised from their wide-eyed looks that she hadn't been the only one to notice. They themselves, were the recipients of some rather strange looks due to, Talia assumed, their wearing muggle clothing. She turned back to Hagrid's conversation with the barman, just in time to hear Piper ask him if this was Diagon Alley.
Tom laughed and Hagrid smiled kindly.
"Nope," he said, his eyes crinkling in amusement. "The Leaky Cauldron is only the entrance to Diagon Alley. Everybody knows that! Show them, Hagrid," he said, pointing at a wall a few feet away from him.
Hagrid took out his wand and tapped with it, a pattern on the wall's bricks. As a result, before the Halliwells' surprised eyes, the wall slid back to reveal, as promised, the entrance to Diagon Alley.
"Follow me," said Hagrid grinning and stepping out into the Alley.
And the Halliwell's did just that, their eyes a study in excited fascination. Talia was the last one to go. She turned back to the friendly barman with a smile at the last minute.
"Thank you for your help, Mr Tom," she said politely.
Tom's smile widened.
"Just call me Tom, luv, just call me Tom."
And with that, Talia crossed over to Diagon Alley.