Chapter 4:Changes

Disclaimer: I don't own Wizards of Waverly Place.

Seven years later...

She strolled through the busy hallways, unable to suppress a merry smile as the sea of people parted around her, reforming in her wake. she wore the black uniform of the disbanded Justicars, accentuated with two or three dozen buttons, from smiley faces to one proclaiming 'Justin for President' in large letters. Her long red hair cascading down her back. He liked it that way. She tucked a stray lock behind her ear as she approached the massive double doors of His audience room.

She took a deep breath before she gave one of the Royal guards standing at the door a nod. She suppressed a shiver at the guards. Justin said they were necessary, and she trusted him, believed in him, but they had made her nervous since she had first laid eyes on them.

She had shook like a leaf in the wind when they came for her, and she had watched as more of them had pulled the Russos away from her. Except Justin. Justin had stepped in front of her and held up a hand. "Not this one." They had simply turned away from her, unblinking, grabbing up Jerry and Theresa and hauling them away. "Justin?" Her voice had trembled, and he'd smiled and taken her into his arms. "I want to show you something, something wonderful that I want you to be a part of."

And he had kissed her forehead and she'd just known that everything was alright and it was okay and nothing horrible was happening because Justin was there and if he wanted her to be part of something then she'd follow him into hell as long as he held her and looked at her like that then it would all work out somehow.

The reality had set in afterwords: that Alex had done something horrible and that Justin, her sweet, caring, dorky Justin, was changing the world in ways that people had promised on but never delivered, that he was going to stop it from ever happening again. And he'd asked her to be a part of it. He'd told her he trusted her and he wanted her with him for as long as it took for everything to be alright.

She knew he wasn't in love with her, but maybe he loved her, and that was enough.

Justin smiled as he looked into Harper's eyes when she walked into the audience chamber. his chamber. He shook his head. Their chamber. She was a part of this now. Harper. He'd almost missed it, but he had put it all together just before his enforcers had come for the rest of the family.

Harper had come rushing in, slamming the door shut and rushing to his side. She'd placed a hand on his arm and attempted to drag him into the kitchen. "Justin," she'd managed between breaths. "You have to hide! These wizard guys are pulling everyone out of their houses and taking them somewhere! "They just drag them into this big fence in the street and teleport them somewhere. "You have to hide. I'll try and keep them out long enough for you to get your wand and spell out." It had taken the determined look on her face to click it all together in his brain. She cared. About him, specifically. She was ready to hold off his Justicars in order for him to escape, without even asking for him to save her. "Why me?" He'd asked her.

She'd looked at him like he was dense. "Because I love you."

And he'd decided.

"Mom! Dad!" The sound of their footsteps on the linoleum had coincided with the door opening. His parents had fought, of course. Tooth and nail. But cookware turned towards violence wasn't enough to stop his minions anymore. they had been powerful before, now they weren't really human anymore. Still, it took several of them to subdue the pair. When two moved to take Harper for conditioning, he'd intervened.

"Not this one." His command resonated through the binding he'd placed on them. And they had obeyed. Like he knew they would. He'd comforted Harper, certain that she'd understand. And it would be good to have someone to share this with.

And it had been. Harper was devoted, determined, and unshakable in her loyalty to him. In return, he'd given her the tasks he trusted no one else with, and done the one thing she'd craved. He'd accepted her, believed in her, and he had every confidence that she'd return it a thousandfold.

I'll give it to her, too. She's too valuable to allow her to wither away with time.

As she climbed the dais he winked at her. "Do you want to live forever?" She looked at him for a minute, trying to tell if he was joking. She flashed him a smile and spoke barely over a whisper. "Only if it's with you."

Satisfied, he took her hand in his. It promised to be a very interesting reign.