A New Life in San Francisco
A/N; I'm looking for beta's for this story and my others. I am going to scan over the current chapters in a while to correct oversights but i need somebody for each of my stories that can be sent work by email, check it through and send it back at a fast rate. I dont write to a schedule and i need someone that will be able to keep in contact when it comes to the beta-ing. Any beta though must accept that i am British and therefore use different words or phrases for some things. Please PM if you are interested.
Chapter 9; Into the next World.
San Luis Reservoir
The next morning
James cracked his eyes open and found himself staring straight into the sleeping face of Chris. He frowned as he tried to recall the previous evening. He remembered sitting staring into the dying campfire after everyone had gone to bed and then someone attacking him but the images were still blurry, especially through his headache.
He felt like he'd been under the Cruciatus spell. He bolted up with a jolt as he realised that that was exactly what had happened. He'd been ambushed by Death Eaters in the middle or a camp full of muggles and placed under the Cruciatus Curse by Lucius Malfoy himself.
How had they found him after all of these years? Thinking this only made the memories of his old world more clear to him. His betrayal by all but a few die hard friends that weren't even those closest to him. Remus's death and then his escape from Azkaban and his flight to freedom. Now it was unravelling in only one night.
He looked around the room and saw Kevin curled up in his bed against the other wall and Chris, still sleeping, in a chair pulled up under the window beside his headboard. He scratched at his head to try to dull the lingering headache and wondered how he had come to be lying in his own bunk when the last thing he could remember was being tortured and then the distinctive red flash of the Stupefy spell.
"You were lucky, James." A voice echoed through the room and he snapped his head around to find the voice familiar as it was even though he couldn't quite place it.
"Who are you?" He whispered into the room, checking that Chris and Kevin were still asleep. "Where are you?"
There was a quiet chuckle before white balls of light collected in the middle of the room before spreading out into the form of a person and then solidifying into a woman cloaked completely in a white cloak. A strange golden glow protected her face from his gaze so that he couldn't see her. "You have questions." She stated simply. "I am here to answer them and to give you advice."
It snapped together in his mind suddenly. He had heard this voice before, almost four years ago in the small prison cell on Azkaban. "You!" He whispered fiercely at her. "You spoke to me in Azkaban."
"Yes, that was me." She sighed. "I could not help you escape then no matter how much I had wanted to. You had to find your own way to your powers."
"I already had magic then." James frowned at her. "What do you mean?"
"You hadn't tapped into your true potential back then. Now you have." She told him, "But it must be trained if you are to do what is fated to you."
"I don't care about some prophecy that everyone expects me to fill!" James snapped at her viciously as thoughts of all those that cast him out flickered through his mind.
"What about the friends that stuck by you?" She countered. "What about the new friends you have made?"
James stumbled over his answer as he glanced at Chris and he slumped slightly. "Why me?"
"One day, James, you will be truly happy." She told him and her smile was evident in her tone.
"Who are you?" He repeated as he tried to gaze through her glowing veil.
"You are not ready to know my identity yet. You are still too untrusting of those that know of your true identity." She told him with a sigh before continuing. "I am a Whitelighter, I protect witches in this World."
"If you protect witches why are you helping me?" James asked with a slightly raised eyebrow though he winced as the movement caused him pain.
"In this World you are a witch, all those that have magic are witches." She said simply as she stepped up beside him. She held out her palm an inch from his forehead and James' eyes widened slightly as her hand glowed gold and he felt his remaining headache disappear. "How they could come up with such a horrible curse is beyond me!" She muttered to herself.
"They?" James queried.
"Let me tell you a story, James." She spoke and didn't pause for his consent. "Over five thousand years ago there was only one type of human magic users, they were known as witches. They were the sworn enemies of the demonic forces that plague this Earth. We're not sure of the exact year but these Witches were hit by a disease which specifically targeted their magical cores and crippled them. Some of them, the more powerful were immune but most were effected and lost the magic apart from a small amount to small to tap. Over the years they lived peacefully but eventually they created a device that allowed them to tap into their magic again and that from the environment around them so that they could cast spells again."
She paused to collect her thoughts, "They turned against the Witches that were immune to the disease and after several decades of war they managed to push them to the brink of extinction due to the vast array of spells that could be cast so much faster through their wands. The Witches fled into hiding and eventually came west and settled here in America in the last few hundred years."
"So these wand using Witches were my ancestors?" James asked.
"Yes," was her reply. "You now live in the middle of the World where the descendents of those that fled reside. You have found yourself not only running from your old war but living in another that was until this summer completely separated from your old one."
"What do you mean?" James asked not liking where this was going.
"Your old enemy, Tom Riddle, has rediscovered the untapped powers of the Demonic World and has made alliances with them." She sighed again. "I was not able to hide you from this man since his magic is so unknown to me though with your help I may be able to in future."
James looked at her feeling nothing that would suggest she was lying. "So let me get this straight, you are my Whitelighter who protects me from harm. But Voldermort now knows where I am and has allied with the Demonic World which I only found out about now?"
She nodded, "You are a first among your kind, James. You magic isn't the same as their even though you were born to them. It isn't crippled like their. You have what we call the Power of Suggestion. You can will something to happen and it will. You also have the gift of Premonition. The ability to see glances into the future though you will not be able to control when it occurs."
James slumped backwards against the headboard with a thump and looked at Chris quickly to check he hadn't woken him. "Don't worry, they will not awaken until I leave." She told him seeing his worry. He glanced at the clock and realised that it was already seven and soon the children would start to wake. She seemed to sense his agitation and she continued. "You must hone you skills like you did in Azkaban. Will something to happen and feel your magic as it does it. Only that way can you make progress."
"What about Premonition?" James asked. "I've only ever had vague dreams."
"You're hiding your magic close in to your core. You must allow your magic to explore, to feel the world around you. It will guide you." She told him. "Beware though, there are Demons who would love to control powers like yours. There are those here also that will help you should you show them your true self."
James' head snapped up to her again. "Who?"
"They are called the Charmed Ones. Or at least the three are. They are now a quite formidable family." She told him, her smile once again evident in her voice. "The Charmed Ones have been fighting Demons for over twenty-five years, they can help you if you let them but first you must learn to trust people with your abilities once again."
"How will I know who they are?" James asked with a frown.
"You magic will guide you to them eventually just like it did on Alcatraz island."
"You mean they were the ones that blew up that Dementor?" James asked in shock.
"They are powerful, but they will not betray you. Like I said though, make sure you can trust again before opening yourself to them, but be warned you are running out of time."
"What do you mean?" James asked. After everything she had said he wasn't surprised that he was running short of time but the way she had said that last bit made him worry more.
"You have more enemies at the moment than just Voldermort and Demons." She told him sadly.
"Dumbledore and the Ministry?" He gasped out in question. She nodded slowly. "How did they find me?"
"They haven't yet but they soon will. Already Jackie's cousin has told her family of the Dementors in Azkaban and they have sent Aurors to investigate. They will soon find your trail in the rubble and trace it to you." She told him.
"I thought we could hide me from them?"
"Hopefully we can but that is not the only loose connection. Jackie's cousin will return to school and somebody there will inevitably see her memory of you and recognise you even if she didn't."
"Oh god. Snape and Dumbledore." James gasped. "I'll have the Aurors and the Order after me in an instant! How do I hide myself?"
"This will only hide you for the time being, it isn't infallible, only the Charmed Ones will be able to hide you when they come." She told him before waiting for his nod before continuing. "Close you eyes and feel for your magic. Bring it up into your hands like when you cast that energy ball but instead just let it flow into the air."
He did as she said with practiced ease and gasped as he felt her mix her own magic with his and then turn it back on himself. He felt a dull burning feeling as it filled his body but then it was gone. "I've used your own magic and my own abilities to block any tracking spells whether from your old world or this one."
"Thank you for your help." James told her. "Will I see you again?"
"If you ever need my help just call for help. Until then be careful, they already know where you are and whilst they wont be able to search for you with tracking spells you are not hard to find with this many children about."
Before James could say anything else she burst into a cloud of glowing lights again and vanished into the ceiling. He stared at that space for a time before he heard an intake of breath from behind him that told him that Chris was waking up just like his Whitelighter had said.
"James!" Chris blurted out as soon as he saw that he was sitting up. "You're supposed to be resting!"
"Why?" James asked with a frown, "I feel fine."
"Lucy said you had a serious concussion." Chris told him. "Can you remember anything?"
James used the excuse of watching Kevin awake and get out of bed to think about what to say. Eventually he started. "I remember sitting by the fire thinking and then somebody hitting me from behind. I don't remember much after that but blurs, there were a few of them and they looked human but their faces were white and looked like skulls."
"What did they do?" Kevin asked as he ducked to sit on James' bunk.
"They made me feel pain, lots of it. But I don't remember how or what happened after that." James said tiredly. He knew more than that but he couldn't say anymore without giving himself away and until he had a better grasp on his magic he couldn't risk anyone knowing about him until he found these 'Charmed Ones' and there family.
"We heard noises outside and came to see what was happening. We scared off the attackers but you were already unconscious. We stayed up with you most of the night." James nodded at both with gratitude and a smile.
"We should be getting the children up soon shouldn't we?" James asked Kevin who nodded in return.
"There is no we in it. Me and Kevin will sort out the activities for today. You are staying either right here in bed or in your office." Chris told him sternly. "You have no say in the matter." Chris cut him off as James tried to protest.
Kevin joined the argument. "I've already called Paige to tell her what happened and she agrees. I'm in charge till Lucy feels your well enough to work properly."
"What about the sessions?" James countered even as he consented to Kevin being in charge till he was properly up on his feet. Even now he could still feel lingering pain in his chest from where the Cruciatus had struck him.
"Lucy doesn't see how that would be a problem. As long as you don't do anything too active you'll be fine." Kevin told him with a smile. "But you wont have one for another two hours so you stay here and we'll bring you something back from the canteen."
James nodded and watched them leave to shower. He lay back down with a sigh waiting for them to return.
It wasn't long before the children were all up and dressed and Kevin and Chris were walking them to breakfast in the camp's main canteen. Lucy came to visit him before heading off herself to eat with the other members of the camp staff and she gave him the lecture on sticking to her rules.
Once she was gone James struggled up and hissed in pain as the lingering effect of the Cruciatus flared up his other injuries. Even with all his trips to the hospital he had never been injured this many times in such a short period. He'd been stabbed by a shard of glass and been forced into a sling for two weeks, then been grazed in the side by shotgun pellets which left pale scars along his right side. And now the torture had flared up the pain again.
He grasped at his chest slightly as both side flared in pain but put up with it all the way through his shower and through changing which was easier said than done. He set up the laptop and broke one of the Sprite cans out of the filing cabinet full of drinks for the children during their sessions.
He switched on the laptop but made himself think before he actually began writing up reports on it. Why not use this time to practice his magic like his Whitelighter had suggested?
He pushed the laptop across the table leaving the list of children and the status of their reports on the screen before shutting his eyes and searching for his magical core just like she had told him. Just like he had in Azkaban when he had first discovered his ability to cast magic without a wand. He found the burning ball of bright white light in an instant. It wasn't really a ball but more of a mass that flowed through him randomly reaching out in all directions at random.
He opened his eyes and glanced around the room, and seeing no change in the items around him like he had expected he got up and wandered over to the wall mounted mirror above the log stove. There was no obvious sign that his power was flowing outside of his body but the look of his eyes caught his attention. They seemed to gleam with a hidden power, looking closer he could almost see floating stars in his pupils.
He blinked and shook his head to dispel the image and then spun to look at the room looking for something to practice. He noticed the chair in front of the desk that had a slight crack running down the curved wooden pole that made up part of the backrest and stared at it intently willing his magic to fix it.
His magic surged up to his skin but then receded as like water through a sieve. Perhaps he had to be more specific, at least for his practice. He reached out again and forced his magic to soak into the wood rather than just fix it. He willed the strands of wood to weave back together, to make it whole again. He visualised the wood splicing itself back together and was shocked when it actually did it. The wood flowed back together and sealed itself leaving only a lack of varnish as a sign that it had ever been cracked in the first place.
A flickering on the table made him snap his head up and he frowned at his laptop screen as the image seemed to bend and flicker like it was about to crash. He pulled his magic back out of the chair in a hurry and relaxed when the image stabilised. He went to move closer to back up the work but retreated quickly when the screen began to flicker violently and the fan in the base started to slow down. He released his grip on his magic and felt it sink back into his core. The laptop returned to its normal behaviour and James was glad.
He stepped up to it and, satisfied that he wouldn't break it, saved the updated reports from the night before onto the removable hard drive that Paige had given him and swiftly removed it and put it in the bottom draw of the filing cabinet along with the paper copies of some of the children's records.
He walked up to the laptop again and ran his hands over the keys. Nothing changed. He pulled up his magic and the screen flickered immediately. It settled as he drew his hand away from it and started again as he got closer. He frowned at it before looking at a chocolate wrapper sitting innocently on the desk. He drew up his magic and pushed it towards the wrapper and watched as the screen started to wildly flicker like it was under some sort of interference. It didn't die though.
For the final part of his test he concentrated on the wrapper and willed it to burn. Almost instantly the edges caught fire and after only a second it flared up and burnt into a small pile of ashes on his desk. The laptop crashed completely, the fans stopped as the screen went blank. It had completely shut down.
Obviously this is why technology didn't work around Hogwarts, the concentration of magic shut anything electrical down. As long as his magic wasn't being focused on a task the laptop would do fine but as soon as he set it to do anything, any technology in the area would go haywire.
Harry switched the laptop back on and waited patiently for it to start back up. It scanned itself as it started to check for damage and after a couple of minutes started up fully, finding no fault. At least the malfunctions weren't permanent. He switched it off again before walking to the cabinet to retrieve the hard drive. He placed it and the laptop safely in the bunk room so that he could practice without worrying about wiping anything accidentally.
He knew that he had about three-quarters of an hour before he had to worry about anyone returning from breakfast so he concentrating on his magic and willed it to do simple tasks around him, mending a scratch on the table top, making his half drunk sprite chilled and other things like lighting a candle that was on one of the shelves. James didn't fool himself into thinking that things like this were easy and they probably would have been harder to learn if he hadn't already been able to do these things with his wand.
He decided to try to do something more unique. He closed his eyes and reached out to feel for any sign of life around him. He was shocked when he suddenly found the hazy image of a tree in the forefront of his mind. It seemed to ooze a white glow that spread through it like veins, feeding each and every part of the tree from its roots to the highest leaf.
He let the image go and felt himself slowly withdraw to his own mind. He concentrated again and willed his magic to seek out the nearest human life. Not a second later he saw another hazy image of a man, taller than himself walking straight at him. He widened his scope to see if he was alone and five smaller people appeared around him following him and walking beside him. They seemed to be walking somewhere but he couldn't see the surroundings at all.
He watched as the children stopped walking and huddled around themselves as the taller person stepped up onto something and gestured as if he was opening a door.
"James?" The voice startled his eyes open and for a second the image in his mind was superimposed over that of Kevin standing in the outside doorway into the office. James released his magic and felt it settle down again, not as far as his core but at a comfortable level, like it should have been all along had it not been for Azkaban. "I've got the first group here for you."
James shook his head to disperse a slight rising dizziness. It had been Kevin that he had seen walking with the children on their way to the office. Had he really been lost in his own mind for so long. He glanced at the clock and realised that he had been 'meditating' for the last half an hour rather than the ten minutes he had guessed. "Thanks, Kevin." He told the waiting older man. "What are you and the others going to do?"
"We doing the woods games that you suggested. Once you've finished with these five send them out and we'll bring the next group." Kevin told him before frowning as he set a small bag on the table that James hadn't noticed he'd even been carrying since it hadn't given off any sign of life. "You look really tired, are you sure you're up to this?"
"I'll be fine." Seeing the sceptical look he decided to hand Kevin a bone, knowing that he was only concerned for James. "Whatever they did to me has made the pain from that stab wound flare up."
Kevin winced and made to start worrying over him.
"I'll be fine, if it gets any worse during this session I'll ask Lucy to have a look at it, but I don't think it's anything to worry about." James assured him. "Is that Michael, Alan and Jazz out there?"
"Yeah, plus Anna and Richard, the two oldest fifteen year old. You said that they might need extra work." Kevin told him.
"Yeah, those two probably have the worse background since they were abused before placed in state care. I hate to say it but these five are probably the only ones that will need further psychological help." James sighed.
"I don't know, you're the expert but to me they seem to be coming along as well as can be expected." Kevin offered. "Maybe they'll be able to forget and leave it behind them."
"As much as I wish that were true, some things can never be forgotten, Kevin." James sighed but didn't notice that he had unknowingly hinted at his own past to his friend.
"Maybe you just have to learn to live with the memories and live for the future not the past." Kevin whispered before leaving the office. It wasn't until Michael stepped slowly through the door with his crutch and Alan's help that he realised that Kevin hadn't been talking about the children but directly to James.
"Make yourselves comfortable, you know where the drinks are if you want one but hands off the chocolate. I don't quite trust you with that stash yet." He grinned at the small group as they grabbed chairs and grinned at him wishing him good morning as they settled in. "I'll be right back."
He disappeared into the bunkroom and grabbed the laptop and hard drive in one hand. As a last thought he grabbed his own pillow and one of Kevin's just before walking back into the office. He flopped one of them onto his own chair behind the desk before chucking the other at Alan.
Alan didn't need to be told what it was for as he placed it between Michaels back and the chair to ease the pain in the older boy's ribs. James sat himself in his own chair facing the small semicircle of teenagers and made sure that the pillow softened the hard back of his own chair where they met his now aching ribs.
"Are you ok, sir? Michael asked with a touch of concern. "Everyone's been talking about you being attacked last night."
"Everyone?" James enquired.
"Well, the Halliwell's told us that you got brought in last night after being attacked at the campfire and we all noticed you weren't with us at breakfast this morning." Alan joined in.
James looked at them and didn't see any reason to not tell them the truth, or at least the version he could tell them. "I was attacked last night but the other adults scared them off." He held up a hand to still the questions. "I'll be fine, it just flared up an old injury."
A deeply worried look past over the whole group. "What's the matter?" James asked them after a moment to set up his laptop and switch it on.
"What if it's him?" Jazz whispered as if saying his name would made him materialise in front of them. James couldn't help but remember the way that the Wizards had feared to say Voldermort's name and would always whisper when they talked of him as if he could hear them. They were pitiful, unreasonably scared of shadows and loud noises. These children truly had something to be scared about and it sickened James that the Warden could have ever done something like this.
"Trust me, Jazz." James said staring at each of them individually. "There is now way that he could get to you here. That, I promise you."
He couldn't help but notice that Michael looked sceptical at his announcement, he obviously believed that whoever attacked James was after the children. And James didn't blame him for wanting to protect them, his current state was evidence to this.
"Now, how about we get down to why we are here?" James asked before reaching for his remaining, rather flat, Sprite. The session he held with the older children always went the same way, he'd talk to them of the younger children for a while before working his way towards them. In this session however he was prompting them to speak to each other about what had happened so that they could learn that speaking to a doctor wasn't the only way that they could be helped. That in fact, just talking about it would help them.
The session ended on a happy note two hours later. He sent, Alan, Jazz, Anna and Richard out to meet the others and to get Chris to send in the other four fifteen year olds. "You had better stay here today, Michael. You and I both aren't really in any state to run around in the woods playing games." Michael chuckled at James' rather fake looking wishful look.
"Sir?" Michael started after a few minutes of James typing on the laptop and saving the previous records. "How do you know for sure that it wasn't him that attacked you last night?"
"Apart from the fact that every police officer between here and San Francisco knows his face and is looking for him?" James pointed out before continuing. "Whoever was out there last night wasn't at all interested in what was in the huts. They attacked me even though I was fifty metres from here and could have been avoided."
"So they came looking for you?" Michael asked with a frown.
"That is possible." James conceded as he shifted his back to ease some of the tension building in his ribs. "They may have just been passing through and I was in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"Are you ok though, Sir?" Michael asked again.
"I assure you I will be fine. You are not here to worry about me, It's my job to worry about you lot." James pointed out with a grin.
"Yes Sir." James never had got any of the children out of calling him sir, especially Michael who was only three years his junior and older than he had been when he was put in Azkaban. Michael continued, "It's just we are all getting rather attached to you, Mr. Halliwell and Mr. Trider."
James just smiled at the teenager as he closed his laptop and knowing that Michael had more to say he didn't speak, just waited. A minute later he got up the courage to ask. "What's going to happen to us all in eight days when we leave here?"
"You'll all be placed back into the City Orphanages, but myself, Mrs Matthews and a whole army of social services will be checking every single inch of where you go as well as all of the staff." James told him seriously. "What happened to you before wont be allowed to happen again. Our department is already starting a wide sweep of all the staff at all nineteen orphanages in our jurisdiction and I know that the a lot of the surrounding councils are doing the same."
"Will we be split up?" Michael asked though James could tell he already knew the answer.
"Unfortunately there are no other orphanages with the capacity to take on another thirty children all together." James sighed. "I wish there were but with the loss of Golden Marina we are short for spaces. None of you will be sent to one on your own I can assure you of that."
"Will we see you again?" The teenager asked not willing to look directly at James.
"Yes." James told him simply to get the point across, Michael looked at him. "I am your primary Psychologist. I will have to check up on every one of you at least once ever four weeks until I deem it unnecessarily and any one of you will be allowed to ask to see me at any time."
Michael smiled at James gratefully so James continued with a grin. "Part of Kevin's job is to check on foster placements and recently appointed children in orphanages so he will be around to see you all quite frequently and even though Chris isn't in the department and cant just walk into any centre I am sure that I can get him permission to visit every once in a while."
"Thank you, James." Michael said with a grin as James looked up shocked at the use of his first name.
"Finally realised that since I'm only three years older than you I'm not really a Sir?" James teased lightly.
"That's weird." Michael frowned bring another laugh to James who was soon joined by the seventeen year old.
Michael became serious again a few moments later and met James curious eyes with determination. "James, can I ask a personal question?"
James paused briefly before placing the textbook rules to the side. In special cases you couldn't be expected to follow them religiously. He nodded seriously.
"Were you… I mean did you…" Michael stuttered out a few times as he tried to form the question that had obviously been bugging him for a while. "When you were younger…" He breathed out almost violently. "Do you know what we went through? I mean did you?"
He seemed to give up trying to find a way to ask so James, knowing what he wanted offered him a hand. "Is it that you want to know if I grew up like you?"
Michael snapped his head up as he heard James. He nodded with more confidence.
"Mind you, I shouldn't even be allowing you to ask such questions." James paused wondering if he should say anything before he remembered the lesson he himself was teaching them. About opening up to others. This hadn't been what he meant but Michael was an exceptional case and a very observant teenager. "Why do you think that?"
"You just seem to have that look to you. Like I see in the others." Michael tried to explain. "I've seen other twenty year olds and they don't act like you do. Not even Mr. Trider and Mr. Halliwell. Were you abused like us?"
"I was brought up with uncaring relatives. It's not the same but it has a similar effect." James conceded.
"You look like you were betrayed in someway." Michael muttered.
James looked at him sharply. "It wasn't my relatives that betrayed me." James said before he could stop himself.
"It was recent wasn't it?" Michael asked. "You have the same look in your eyes that some of the younger ones have when they were left at the orphanage. They thought they'd been betrayed by the people that left them there. They'd have that look for years every time they saw another adult or tried to talk to a school teacher about it."
"It was." James sighed. "You're very observant aren't you?"
"I've had to look after all of them for so many years. I've learnt how to tell if they're sad, lonely, confused, scared or anything else." Michael told him and James knew it was true. It was the same way that he could tell what a child was feeling by the look in their eyes. How he could tell what Josh was hiding just by listening to his lies. The hidden desire for help.
"Have you ever thought about what you wanted to do once you left the orphanage?" James asked wanting the divert the conversation from himself without being too obvious.
"I've never really thought about it." Michael conceded.
"Ever thought of carrying on what you are doing?" James asked. "Helping children like I do?"
"You mean become a psychologist?" Michael asked with a gleam in his eyes.
"That or an assistant like Kevin in social services. There are many jobs available for eighteen to twenty year old in the orphanages or centres." James told him. Michael thought about it for a while and settled into silence as James pulled the laptop open again and pulled up Alan's folder to enter some group session observations. They didn't speak again until the four fifteen year olds entered the office and James' next session began.
XOXOXOXOXOX
End of Chapter
