A New Life in San Francisco

A/N; I'm really sorry for the long delay on this and also for how morbid this chapter is. That's just the way it is I'm afraid though I probably won't get so many threats at the end of this chapter compared to the last cliffy.

Also I've been asked again to clarify the Halliwell family tree so I'll point to the link above that says 'Phoenix Catcher' and ask anybody in confusion to scroll down my profile to the list of names, ages and powers. Thank you and please enjoy this chapter. I loved writing it.

Chapter 25; The ragged crevices of the mind

James looked out over the room and then down at the quivering boy at his feet. One of the dirty Wiccans. He raised his wand and a moment later the wonderful screams of pure agony caressed his ears, filling him with happiness. He cut off the spell and looked down at the crazed look in the boy's eyes before casting the final spell. The Killing Curse.

"That's the first one." His voice hissed. "Soon you'll be all alone in the world, my dear Harry."

James gargled out something similar to a scream as he scrambled up in the pitch darkness of his cell, his legs gave out under him before he was even upright and he crawled desperately across his cell until he collided with the far wall where he scratched his way along it with his hands until he found the corner where he proceeded to try to get as far into the corner as he could before he pressed his face into his hands and sobbed. Unable to think of anything but Luke's face as he'd been tortured and killed. Voldemort wasn't happy with just letting Azkaban get to him. He didn't know how long he'd been here, it felt like an eternity, but already Voldemort was attacking his family.

'They think I'm a murderer.' James reminded himself. 'They hate me.'

With that last thought James' mind finally gave in to his nightmares and he shivered in the corner of the damp and dark cell knowing that he was at his end.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Hogwarts – The Den

Chris shoved at his older brother as Wyatt tried to pull him away from the door but his older brother was ready for it and merely kept a hold of Chris' arm. "Chris, it won't work."

"I want him out of there, Wyatt!" Chris yelled. His face was streaked with tears and even though James had been taken away almost seventy-two hours ago he hadn't gotten a single moment's rest. "I'll do anything I have to."

"Like what, Chris?" Wyatt snapped and drew his brother back away from the door even as he struggled. "There's nothing we can do. Gemma and Coup are up 'there' trying to find a way of helping him but we placed the enchantments ourselves and we could only bring them down with James' help."

"We can still do more than just stand around doing nothing! It's almost like nobody but me even cares that he's gone!" Chris yelled at his brother turning all of his anger at Wyatt. Wyatt glared back but they were interrupted from whatever could have happened as Felix leapt away from the other children settled around the fireplace and wrapped his arms around Chris, pressing his face into Chris' chest as he cried. Chris looked down at the top of his head in surprise before hugging him back, instantly regretting his words. Of course they all cared that James had been stolen away from them. Felix especially had taken a bad turn, he was scared to leave the rooms without either Wyatt, Josh or Chris with him and the others weren't much better.

James had been their guide to this strange world that revolved around magic, he'd protected them from people like Ronald Weasley even though they all knew that every time James had seen his old friend it had been like a knife to the heart for him. With the exception of the four empaths and telepaths they'd all seen Azkaban and felt the horror there and they'd all seen the way it had affected Felix. There had been a lot of talk about how James had survived the last time he'd been there after what had happened to Felix when confronted with the place for only a few moments and it terrified Chris to think that James, his husband, would want to kill himself.

Chris wasn't the only one massively hit by this. Patience, his cousin, was distraught beyond belief. When they'd all realised why Coup had shouted at James at his trial they'd all gone into shock. Right in front of them James had tried to end his life, all because of the prospect of being locked back up in Azkaban. The horror of the place seemed all the more real to them now, even after witnessing James' few panic attacks and even after seeing the desolate and storm ravaged island from afar. Patience had been taken back to San Francisco by Phoebe and Coup to try to get her to calm down and Piper had tried to get Chris to go too but Chris wasn't willing to put even one more mile between himself and James than he had to.

"I'm sorry, Felix." Chris sighed and hugged his younger cousin even tighter.

"Just stop arguing." Josh ordered his two older cousins. "We get you want to help him but shouting at each other isn't going to do anything."

"If we're going to help it'll have to be without the Wizards' help and we'll have to come up with something incredible if it's going to work." Wyatt pointed out looking over at the children of the family. Chris holding Felix. Josh standing with Matt and Ashley, the two youngest on either side and finally on the sofas looking depressed were Prue, Anna, Jason, Pennie and finally Luke.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Azkaban

James lay on his side knowing in some distant part of his mind that the last of his mental defences had crumbled several hours ago and as he stared at the food that had magically appeared in the middle of his room he couldn't help but laugh slightly at the irony of it all. He and the people he'd known in San Francisco, in a time when if he spoke people spoke back, had made it impossible for him to escape. The last time Shadow had saved him but Shadow was lying on the other side of the cell only visible when his white fangs flashed in the darkness and he'd told James that it was impossible to escape that way. They'd put a spell on him to stop it.

The other way he knew now that he could have used last time was some Wiccan spell. Put a few words together and 'poof' he could magick his way out of it but no... he'd put a blasted enchantment on the island to stop Wiccan and Demonic magic from getting through. Even his little fairy god-mother couldn't get to him now. James had tried calling for her early on but they'd been no floating light telling him how to escape. Even she had to believe he was guilty now.

His eyes unfocused and he struggled with himself. Trying to force his broken mind to keep him awake and not slip away into Voldemort's mind to witness what he was doing. He scrambled up and punched the wall but that only broke open the back of his hand. He turned to try and find Shadow and found him watching with bright green eyes. "You'll stop it, Shadow right? Just bite me! Please!"

Shadow turned his head away and James lost his temper throwing himself at the Black Panther only to slam through the hallucination and hit his head on the wall, losing consciousness even as Voldemort's mind pulled him away from reality.

He laughed nastily as he surveyed the Death Eaters before him. "So glad you could join me, Harry." He told himself. "You're just in time to witness poor Miss. Halliwell's death. She betrayed you after all. Think of this as my gift."

James looked down at the ground before him and the torn up form of a barely conscious Patience Halliwell. He looked away and nodded to the three Death Eaters that stood around her and together they raised their wands and cast numerous cutting curses and pain spells making Patience writhe around on the ground as her head tipped back with an almost silent cry for help. 'No!' He yelled at himself and his wand made a small flick towards the Death Eater on his right but he quickly stopped it. "You're weak, Harry. You can't stop this. Just enjoy the show. The next will be soon, very soon. Dumbledore's not bothered with protecting them anymore, he's betrayed them too just like he did you."

James raised his wand one last time. "Harry never forgave you by the way Miss. Halliwell. Know that he helped me kill you." James heard himself saying. "Avada Kadavra!"

James screamed and threw himself up from the floor scrambling around the wall as he tried, vainly, to search for the bars to his cell. He could smell where they were but no matter how much he scraped his nails against the rocks of the wall he couldn't get to them. "Luke!" He whispered desperately. "Patience." He sobbed and fell to the floor, pressing his forehead against the damp stone wall even though it was merely a trick of magic. "First Luke and now Patience. Please no."

He trailed off before a wave of cold struck him and he shoved himself away from the wall and into the back corner of his cell trying to get away from the Dementor that he couldn't see but knew was approaching. He could hear it's rattling breath and it grated through his body and soul, ripping little bits away from his sanity even as his head filled with his worst memories. Countless people died all over again in his mind and others cried for his help even through his imagination. Poor little Josh McKay reaching for him only to turn his back when James reached out in return. Patience snubbing him time and time again and dying thinking he'd never forgiven her for turning him in and Felix, sobbing in a corner without James there to help him. And finally Chris, just standing there watching him with such a disappointed look on his face.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Hogwarts – The Den

"What did they say?" Chris leapt to his feet as an orb trail revealed James' Whitelighter and then a glow of red light announced the arrival of his Uncle Coup.

"We tried for more than a day, Chris." Coup sighed. "We simply can't get to him."

"Can you contact him yet?" Piper asked. It was obvious that she, like most of the family, had been having trouble sleeping. She was pale and clearly upset and she had been constantly fretting over Chris.

"We've tried but it's not possible." Gemma sighed before glancing around at everybody listening. "There's something I've come to realise though but I'm not sure you'll want everybody to hear it."

"We're not leaving." Matt jumped to his feet. "If it's about James we want in."

"Matthew." Paige cast him a look but shook her head in defeat and looked at Gemma. "I don't think we should keep it from them, whatever it is."

"Alright." She sighed. "When I sensed that James was going to... uh... hurt himself after that trial I could sense him easily. For a few hours after that I could as well, even once behind the Enchantments you placed. As you know I tried to orb to him but I couldn't get through to him."

"We know this." Wyatt pointed out.

"After that few hours I guess James woke up from whatever spell they transported him with and at that moment I felt a massive wave of emotions that I can't even behind to understand. After that it went silent. I couldn't sense him again." Gemma sighed and leaned back against the kitchen counter as she rubbed at her head. "He threw up defences so strong that even I couldn't get through them to access the link between us. I couldn't even track him."

"So he's protecting his mind?" Chris asked. "Isn't that a good thing?" He asked desperately.

"It was until merely twelve hours ago when I suddenly sensed him again." Gemma looked ready to cry. "His mental defences have crumbled and now he has no protection. If I concentrate on him I can sense where he is and that he isn't in any major physical danger but his emotions are broken, scattered and so confusing I can barely stand them. It's all parts of thoughts and random compulsions. One moment he's trying to do one thing in his mind and then he's somewhere else entirely and it gets worse."

"How can it get worse?" Chris sounded hysterical and he crossed his arms across his chest. Wyatt pulled him against his side and hugged him gently.

"Some of the clearer emotions I've gotten are clearly not James'." Gemma covered her mouth for a moment as if she was about to be sick. "They are happy, gleeful and malicious. Sickening."

"His defences are down?" Chris asked before wincing and burying his face in his older brother's shoulder. "Oh god."

"What, son?" Leo asked.

Chris looked up at his father and then to his mother and his Aunt Paige. "You remember when we went back to the past and we helped you kill the Death Eaters?"

"Of course." Paige nodded. "It was a long time ago as far as we're concerned but it's rather hard to forget what happened."

"You remember the argument between you and him about whether we should kill them since they weren't demons?"

Piper nodded before her eyes widened. "He said he used to have to witness the Death Eater raids from Voldemort's point of view." Piper covered her own mouth and looked like she was going to collapse. Leo steadied her.

"If his defences are down than Voldemort can use the bond they share to access James' mind." Gemma informed them all. "It seems he's doing this again. Forcing James to witness his actions."

"Not just witness." Chris mumbled. "Actually commit them."

"If Dementors weren't enough." Coup sighed.

"We need to get him out of there before it's too late." Paige said.

"Too late for what, mom?" Luke, her second eldest son, asked.

There was a horrible silence for a moment and Chris simply couldn't take it and turned and stumbled out of the room and out onto the balcony where he gave into his desire to crumble down and sit against the wall, draw in his legs and cry as he hugged James' promise ring to his chest, ignoring the way the chain he'd hung it on pressed against the back of his neck.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Azkaban – Cell Block A – High Security

Rufus Scrimgeour studied the young man through the bars of his cell. The place was cold and damp and the lingering terror of the Dementors hung thick in the air even though they'd moved away to allow the Minister of Magic and his entourage to visit Harry Potter. He was sitting in the corner of his cell with his arms around his raised knees and he was utterly and completely silent and motionless except for the odd move of his head towards something only he could see along the right wall. Occasionally his mouth moved as if he was talking but no sound came out.

"He lost his voice several days ago, Minister." The Warden told him, "He spent most of his time ranting and screaming about hallucinations but starting two nights ago he started screaming about two people called Patience and Luke."

"And you don't find that strange enough to report to the Ministry?" Rufus asked without taking his eyes off of the boy. Even he had to admit that the sight tore at him and he had to remind himself of what the boy had done to his Aunt. Nobody could say that Harry Potter was evil but insane? Definitely. And nobody had noticed it at Hogwarts.

"Honestly, Sir? No." The Warden shook his head. "Everybody goes insane down here. It's just people go in different directions."

The Minister grunted before finally giving in and asking the question. "Why are his eyes like that?"

"You mean the white glaze?" The Warden asked. "That's why I called you. We don't know. My report says he has Wiccan Magic and to start with he tried a few things but they failed, probably because of the enchantment that the Order of the Phoenix placed over the Island. We haven't detected a single wisp of magic since then, not until this. Note how he's looking directly at us even though he can't hear us."

"And he knows where the bars are?" Rufus asked.

"Somehow, yes." The Warden nodded. "Honestly, Minister. I don't see the point in hauling him away to be Kissed. He's too far gone already."

"Insane in just a week." Rufus shook his head. "Has he tried to kill himself again?"

The Warden shook his head. "He spends most of his time just sitting like that muttering to himself."

"Perhaps you're right but the people are calling for something more than this imprisonment. He managed to hide in Hogwarts and pretended to protect our children for over a month. It's three weeks until Halloween and the Ministry wants to do it then." Rufus told him. "What do you think of moving him to a less secure area. Away from so many Dementors. We want this to be a boost in moral. We can't afford to have a raving lunatic to scare them."

"I wouldn't want to risk it." The Warden shook his head. "He's powerful, maybe more so than Dumbledore. And he's already escaped once even from this very block. Move him somewhere else and he might find another way."

"But his Animagus is blocked." Rufus argued.

"Even so, Minister. I don't want him killing my guards if he escapes." The Warden told him, unwilling to be moved on the subject. Rufus grunted and together they all turned away from the sight of Harry Potter.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

He was standing in a dark and miserable room filled with cloaked figures wearing white and silver skull masks. At the head of the room stood the only one whose face was visible, his skin was strangely pale and his nose was merely a slit. Voldemort.

Voldemort was muttering to himself, almost rambling and for some reason when he came out of the ramblings he could hear him clearer. "We've killed four of them now, my dear Harry, and I've got another one here for you now. Soon I'll get to your beloved Chris and then you really will be alone. Alone except for me."

He tried to move, to find out what was happening but found he couldn't. Voldemort gestured with a hand and the Death Eaters moved away, strangely fluid in their movements, as if they were simply a curtain and he saw what they had been standing around. His little Cousin. Felix.

He was bloody and seemed to have been through hours of torture already. "This one's already given us so much fun, Harry. Hours of it, ever since we stole him out of Hogwarts without his so called 'loving' family noticing. They don't care about him or what he feels. I'm going to give him what he really wants, Harry. His death. His escape."

Voldemort laughed but even as he watched Voldemort flinched and shook his head as if trying to rid himself of a large migraine. "Nice try, Harry, but you're in no state to stop me." Voldemort raised his arm and his wand towards Felix and he tried again to move only to fail as he watched Voldemort cast the Killing Curse.

"No!" Chris screamed as he tumbled out of his bed, his mind reaching out with all the shock and horror of the premonition. It took him a few attempts to untangle himself from his covers and he heard Matt and Jason calling to him telepathically. "Felix!" Chris yelled both verbally and mentally. "Paige! Wyatt!" Chris added knowing the two would hear him and rush to his help. Chris slammed through his door, using his magic as much as his actual hand to open the door and he barged into the room across the hall that Felix, Luke and Joshua shared startling the three out of their sleep. He fell to the ground at Felix's side and breathed out a shocked sigh of relief at seeing him alive and well.

Before they could work out why Chris had just slammed into their room Chris pulled Felix to him and hugged him tightly, knowing that Felix could feel his desire to protect him and keep him from harm. "Chris?" Felix asked. "What happened?"

"Chris!?" Wyatt gasped as he rushed into the room with Matt and Jason on his trail. He stopped as he saw Chris holding a confused Felix to his chest.

Chris slowly let go of him and stood up on shaky legs. "I'm glad you're okay, Felix." Chris sighed and rubbed at his head. A dozen sets of footsteps sounded through the hallway and his Uncle Coup, Aunt Paige and his own parents rushed into the room while the girls stayed out in the hallway.

Chris shivered and collapsed down to sit on the edge of Felix's bed. The boy lifted his duvet and set it around Chris' shoulders before hugging him quickly. "I saw a premonition of the present." Chris told them all. "It was... so real."

"Perhaps we should all get dressed and go downstairs?" Coup suggested and although most were reluctant not to find out right then and there what was happening they knew they'd get more from Chris after he calmed down. "Wyatt, could you go and get your Aunt Phoebe? We'll need her to take the Premonition from Chris."

Wyatt nodded and ducked out of the room to throw on some extra clothes before orbing away. Paige left to hustle the girls back to their rooms to change. "Alright boys, get dressed and come down stairs." Piper said. "Josh, see to your cousin please." She didn't need to tell him that she meant Chris.

Piper left the room along with Leo and Coup and Josh helped Chris back to his room to make sure he'd be alright.

Almost ten minutes later Chris walked down into the common room where his mom handed him a cup of coffee. Chris was surprised when the door to the Den opened and Paige led Minerva McGonagall inside. Chris eyed her but he knew that she believed in James' innocence and they were limited with what they could do without a guide to the Wizarding World and it's laws. She'd been trying to help them out for days, trying to find a way to circumvent the evidence and find a way to show it for the fake it was even though they didn't know how it had been done.

Chris sat beside Josh on one of the sofas and Felix sat on his other side. Chris was glad that he could see Felix and he was more than nervous that the Premonition he'd had wasn't of the present but of the future. Normally instinct was enough to be sure but having his Aunt's experience would tell them for sure.

Wyatt appeared a few minutes later with Phoebe and Patience on his arms and Patience shied away from Chris and sat with Prue, unwilling to face him though Chris, and all the others, knew that James had been right. She'd been under the Imperious and had had no choice in her actions. The boy had been expelled and it was out in trial whether to sentence him for the crime. The problem was that a lot of the population were calling him a hero for using his initiative to capture Harry Potter.

"Chris honey?" Piper sat on the arm of the chair opposite him. "Why don't you tell us what you saw?"

"I saw Voldemort and a group of Death Eaters." Chris' voice hitched and he glanced down at Felix. "And Felix. They had him and they'd... I don't know what they'd done to him but it wasn't pleasant."

"What happened?" Coup asked, worried for his son.

"Voldemort seemed to be muttering to himself but suddenly he was speaking normally." Chris shut his eyes for a moment before looking to Minerva. "He was talking to James in his head."

"Oh my." Minerva covered her mouth. "He's doing it again. He's forcing images into James' head. He did it throughout his time in the school, especially in his fifth year."

"And James told us that he did it almost constantly when he was in Azkaban the first time." Wyatt told her.

"He said 'We've killed four of them now, Harry.'" Chris continued. "He's making James experience killing people again. James is actually living through killing people."

"And you think this one will happen?" Minerva asked. "That he'll capture Felix and force Harry... James to experience killing him?"

Chris shook his head before frowning. "I don't understand. This one was a premonition of the present but Felix is here."

"That's why you panicked so much." Joshua frowned. "You thought you were too late."

"Chris?" Phoebe moved in front of him and offered her hand. "Show me?"

Chris nodded but paused. "It's not nice, Aunt Phoebe."

"You shouldn't have to do it alone, Chris." Phoebe told him. "And we have to be sure this won't happen." Chris nodded and reached out a hand, taking her own and then concentrating on reliving the premonition once again so that Phoebe could take it from him.

Phoebe stumbled back moments later and Coup caught her. Phoebe shuddered but managed to keep herself composed. Chris shivered and leant back into the sofa. "It was one of the present." Phoebe nodded. "I'm certain of it. Which means something is false about it."

"What though?" Piper asked. "We saw it which means it happened but Felix wasn't there when it happened."

"Oh dear." Minerva sat down on a stool with tears in her eyes. "It's Sirius all over again."

"His godfather?" Chris asked. "James never really talked about it."

"Voldemort sent a false image of Sirius Black being tortured to lure James out of Hogwarts and in doing so Sirius was killed trying to rescue him." Minerva sighed. "He never really forgave himself. If Voldemort is doing it again..."

"You mean he's making up scenes of us being murdered and making James witness them as if he's the one doing it?" Piper asked in horror.

"James won't last long if he thinks we've all been killed." Paige spoke up simply.

Chris tried to stop himself from choking but he didn't manage it and he threw himself up from the sofa and staggered up the stairs to the bathroom. He just about managed to reach the toilet when he threw up. A moment later somebody's arms went around him and he fell sideways into his father's support, letting himself cry like a small child with his father to protect him from the world.

"I have to get him back, dad." Chris told him.

"I know, son." Leo told him. "And we'll get him out. Somehow."

"But how?" Chris managed to get out. "If we hadn't have met, Voldemort would have still come for us and we would have refused and he'd have sent people back to kill us all and James wouldn't have been there to help me fix it."

"What does that matter, Chris?" Leo asked. "What happened happened."

"But that only happened because James' parents died and he went through hell. If he'd saved his parents when we went back in time he would have been happy and we'd all be dead. He sacrificed everything for us, for our family. After only knowing us for a few months he gave it all up." Chris shuddered and refused to say anymore, just holding onto his father as he got over his nausea and pondered how far he'd go to get James out. The answer was simple, he'd do anything and everything, even if he had to take James' place.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

James raised his wand away from the small boy as he stopped screaming in pain and went unconscious. That was the problem with torturing children, their bodies went numb before they died and that simply wasn't as much fun. Adults on the other hand thought they had something to prove.

'You're wrong.' He told himself, knowing that he was the self in the cell and not the self who controlled him. 'They don't fight to prove themselves to you. They don't care what you think. Nobody does. They fight in case their last moment that they've fought so hard for means that the ones they love live instead of die.'

"Let's test that theory shall we?" Voldemort told him, turning away from little Matthew's body to show him Chris, tied up and gagged. "Last more than five minutes and I'll release her." He told the Halliwell boy while gesturing at little Ashley, tied up at Chris' knees.

"Let's see if you're right, my dear Harry."

James curled up into a ball but refused to cry even as the image of the three tortured bodies flashed in the darkness. He raised his powers and the darkness was filled with dim white lights as the life force of everything around him became visible to him. This was his solace, the lives that had become everything to him. His last piece of sanity as everyone he loved was killed around him.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Hogwarts – The Den

"What are you doing, Chris?" His mother asked him.

"Something I should have done a long time ago." Chris told her without looking at her as he placed another candle on the floor in the middle of the room. It was late at night on the twelfth night of James' captivity and they'd just heard about his upcoming execution.

"What are you going to summon?" Piper asked warily and glanced at her husband and two sisters and then to her eldest son who sat there in bemusement and finally to the Wizard and Witch, Charlie and Hermione Weasley who had come to tell Chris with the news. Hermione was in awful shape. Neither she nor Chris had eaten much in the last few days and it was having a bad effect on her pregnancy.

"Who." Chris corrected as he leant down and lit the five candles.

"What's this?" Hermione asked from the sofa beside her husband.

"It's a summoning circle." Wyatt told her.

"For what?" She frowned.

"Who." Chris snapped as he straightened. "His parents."

"Chris!" Piper gasped.

"I should have done this a long time ago but James kept coming up with reasons to stall it. I think he didn't want to see what they thought of him. Especially with what happened in 1981." Chris lectured before grabbing his brother who almost fell off the edge of the sofa as he was forced to stand.

"It can't hurt." Phoebe told her eldest sister. "Maybe they can talk to the Wizards. We're having no luck."

Piper nodded and stood as well, soon joined by her sisters as they stood in a group in front of the circle. Together they chanted the spell. "Hear these words, hear our cries. Spirits from the other side. Come to us, we summon thee. Cross now the great divide."

Almost instantly a trill of soothing sound filled the room and a golden light filtered down through the ceiling landing within the confines of the candles before glittering orbs began to float down as if in no hurry. They spiralled around each other before splitting into two columns that vanished to leave behind two figures, hazy though they were. The two ghosts looked over the group.

The man wore a black suit without a tie with the top buttons of his shirt undone to make it casual. He had the same messy black hair that Chris loved on James and his brown eyes looked them over with a calm expression. The woman was stunning to behold. Vibrant red hair framed her face, falling to the middle of her back. She wore a white dress that could have put any member of royalty to shame. She had a light scattering of freckles on her face but it was her eyes that caught most of their attention. Bright, emerald green eyes that shone out on the world, warming their hearts. Eyes that would have been James' if hadn't experienced so much pain in his life.

"Charlie! Help me up!" Hermione demanded breaking through the silence. With Charlie's help she rose to her feet and walked forwards. "Mr and Mrs Potter. It's such a pleasure. To imagine this is actually possible."

"Hermione Weasley." The woman, Lily, smiled. "There is no way to express our gratitude to you for your years of support for our son when we were not around to help him."

"There was nothing else I could have done." Hermione told her. "Please forgive..."

"No." The man, James proper, spoke up with a shake of his head. "There is no blame on you, Miss. Granger. We have seen all and wept for our son's fate but we know that you could not have done anything to prevent this. As for the rest of you..."

"You have our undying love for what you have done for our son. You took him in when you didn't need to and you helped him see that love was again possible." Lily continued for her husband before taking a step towards Chris though she stayed within the boundaries of the summoning circle. "Chris?"

Chris looked up and tried to meet her gaze only to look down. "I'm sorry." He said meekly.

"I can't imagine that meeting us under these circumstance is easy for you, Chris." Lily told him. "But we take what life gives us and we deal with it. James and I didn't want to leave our son when we did but as you well know if we'd done anything differently then things could have become worse. For one thing you may not have come into our son's life."

"Lot of good that's done." Chris mumbled.

"My son had given up any hope of being happy again." James spoke up. "He travelled the entire span of America to get away from here yet when you needed protecting he came back with you because his love for you and your family is far greater than his fear of this part of the world. That is the gift you gave to him, Chris. You gave him something in life greater than fear."

"I dare say that if my son was here he would want you to leave and return to your home in San Francisco." Lily said as she lifted her chin. "But I don't see that happening and I thank you for that. All of you. Now how about we find a way to rescue my son?"

With her words she took another step forwards and James Potter copied the movement and together they stepped out of the circle and became corporeal. James shook hands with Leo while Lily stepped forwards to greet Hermione, Piper, Paige and Phoebe finally coming to a halt in front of her son's husband. She took his hand, touching the Potter family heirloom that sat upon his ring finger. Her other hand came to rest on the side of his face and she made him look down at her before leaning up and kissing him on the other cheek. "We couldn't be happier with who our son fell in love with, Christopher Halliwell."

"James? Lily?" Leo spoke up. "I don't know if you are aware of everything that's happening to him but we think that Voldemort has gotten into his head. It's possible that by now he thinks that we're all dead."

"We can't be sure exactly but Harry is well aware of the possibility of false images." James nodded at him. "But I can imagine he's not thinking clearly so it may be difficult for him to realise that which means we need somebody to go and tell him you are all still here. At least to set some doubt there."

"And how do we do that?" Chris snapped unable to speak plainly. "If we could get there we could get him out."

"Unfortunately we can't get there." Lily sighed. "Unless summoned we can only go somewhere we've already been and neither of us have ever been there."

"So, that's a dead end?" Wyatt asked.

"Sirius!" Hermione gasped. "Is that possible?"

"Smart girl." James smiled at her. "Sirius was there for so long he could easily haunt it. We just need you to summon him here."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

James struggled weakly as soon as he found himself standing in front of the burning building in front of him. He knew what it was, it was Grand View Orphanage in San Francisco. James could feel the heat of the flames on his face and the amusement that coursed through his body as he watched the scrambling children escaping through the windows.

"I'm in your mind now, Harry. I know everything about your life and I'm going to destroy everything that makes you who you are. One thing at a time, starting with your dirty little children." Voldemort laughed. "You're mine now, Harry. Go on, raise your hand for me." His body moved, aiming his wand at a small boy who was running from the flames but he never managed to cast his spell. Cracks sounded all around him and he only spared a glance around at the appearing Aurors before he dissapparated.

James looked at the wall in front of him, right at the end of his hand where he had raised it. He laughed before spinning around as something made a noise in his cell. He turned first to Shadow who merely looked at him. "Was that you, Shadow?" James asked. "No?"

"Harry?" Somebody was speaking to him in the darkness and he turned around in a complete circle before his gaze landed on a ghost. Well it had to be a ghost, nothing else could live in here. He yelped and ran when he recognised the ghost.

It had to be dementors, come to torture him again. He curled up in the corner and hid his face in his knees trying to make himself as small as possible. "Shadow. Protect me. Please Shadow." He pleaded with the Panther and hoped with all of his being that the next thing he'd hear would be teeth tearing at flesh.

"Harry?" The image asked again from right in front of him. He tried to press himself back into the wall.

"No."

"It's me, Harry." It said.

"No. No. No." James shook his head.

"James." It said instead. "I need you to look up at me."

James looked up at the use of the name he'd wanted to take and that Voldemort never used. His eyes burnt white as he looked for the life forces and the man in front of him vanished. He sighed in relief. "You're gone now. You don't have any life so you're not real." He muttered half to himself and half to the ghost that was no longer there as far as he was concerned.

"I'm here, James."

"Siri?" James said and loosened up. "Didn't anybody tell you that I killed you?"

"You didn't..."

"And somebody should tell Chris, and Patience that I killed them too. And Felix, Joshua, Luke, Ashley, Piper and the kids at the orphanage. I killed them all." James rambled. "Did somebody tell them. Were they with you, Sirius?"

Hands cupped his face and James panicked and scrambled away heading for his companion. Heading for Shadow. He placed his head against the wall and hid from the world, hid with Shadow. "The dead aren't supposed to touch." James whispered to himself. "Wait." He rolled over. "Am I dead to?" He asked hopefully. "Can I see Chris now? Is he angry that I killed him."

"James, please stop." Sirius sounded so upset.

"Why are you sad, Sirius?" James asked. "I like being dead."

"You're not dead, James." Sirius said, settling down in front of him again. "And neither are any of the others. Voldemort's lying to you. Sending you messages to drive you insane."

James laughed hysterically. "Didn't you hear him, Siri?" James asked. "I'm his now, he can be in here whenever he wants."

Sirius shut his eyes for a moment before taking a deep breath. "Chris told me to tell you that they all love you, James. We're trying to find a way to save you but you have to fight this."

"Fight this?" James asked going sober. "What's to fight, Siri? All there is is walls and shadows." He laughed and turned to look at the wall again. "Hear that Shadow? All there is is me, you and the walls?"

Cold spread through the room and James went still before he sobbed and scrambled for the corner, shutting himself in tightly as the Dementors approached. "James, please, just remember that we love you. Just hold on!" Sirius pleaded before James was alone again. Just him, the walls and the Shadows.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Hogwarts – The Den

"Dear god, James." Sirius gasped as he arrived back within the summoning circle, still a ghost since that had been the only way for him to haunt Azkaban. He stepped out of the circle and became corporeal. "I honestly don't think I could take that again."

"Did you talk to him?" Chris leapt to his feet and grabbed the older man by the shoulders regardless of the fact he was dead.

"I did." Sirius told him. "He's..."

"He's what?" Piper demanded.

"Honestly?" Sirius leaned back against the counter. "Even if we do get him out of there I'm not sure we can help him anymore. By what I got from him Voldemort can access his mind at any time."

"So it's true?" Wyatt asked. "He's projecting false deaths to him?"

"At least Chris, Patience, Felix, Joshua, Luke, Ashley, and Piper. That's the ones he listed." Sirius winced. "And something about the kids at the Orphanage?" He turned to Paige at that statement.

"Maybe I should..." Paige frowned and trailed off.

"Go, Paige. Find out if anything's happened." Piper told her. Paige nodded and vanished into orbs to get clear of the school of Magic so she could use her cell phone. "Did you see anything we could use to help him escape?"

"Not really." Sirius frowned. "He kept talking to the wall where I think something called Shadow was lying. He wanted 'Shadow' to protect him from me."

"Shadow's his animagus." Chris whispered refusing to take in the talking to himself part of that statement.

"Maybe since they blocked his ability to become Shadow he's disassociated himself with that part of himself to give himself company." Leo suggested.

"He also fell into his life seeing powers." Sirius added, "But I don't see how that could be of any help."

"He could turn it against himself like he tried to do at the trial." Wyatt spoke up though nobody seemed to want to hear that particular conclusion.

"Right now I don't see anything we can use to help him." James Potter spoke up. "I think it's time we go have a word with the Headmaster, Lils."

A nasty smile spread across the beautiful face and she took his hand before they faded from view. "Oh dear." Sirius winced. "Come on, Chris, Wyatt. We need to try to work something out."

Before anything more could be said Paige reappeared in the room. "Boys, I have to get back to San Francisco. Somebody set a massive fire in Grand View Orphanage."

"Isn't that where some of the kids from the summer were sent?" Chris asked.

"So far as I know they all survived but three are in hospital with burns and they haven't found the staff yet." Paige told them. "I need to go."

"Go." Piper told her. "This sounds like what James said to Sirius. For James' sake you need to deal with it but be careful."

"Of course." Paige orbed out of the room.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Azkaban

James pressed his forehead into the wall of his cell muttering to himself as his mind tried to form coherent thoughts. Sirius had been here and that had pressed into his mind the single need that was left to him. To get out of this place. With that came his need to escape but he pressed away that wording remembering Felix and his own troubles. That of course brought back the conflict in him. Was Felix dead or wasn't he. He'd cast the spell himself as far as he knew, albeit through Voldemort but then Sirius had told him he was still alive.

Then again he knew for a fact that Sirius was dead and Dumbledore had always told him that the dead couldn't come back to life. But then Dumbledore was a bastard that didn't trust him so why should he trust the old coot. Chris had once said he could talk to his parents whenever he wanted and he wished he had before it was too late. His parents wouldn't want to talk to him now that he was mad.

James pressed his forehead harder into the wall to bring himself back to the matter at hand. That's what he was doing, forcing his scattered thoughts to concentrate on a single task. Finding a way out of this place and that meant leaving and not killing himself. Felix had to be alive because he was somebody that needed James and that gave James strength. He'd settle with Voldemort tricking him because he needed to believe that they were still alive. And if he believed that then why not believe that they believed in his innocence still and while he was at it he might as well believe they still loved him.

Sirius had told him they all loved him. A little laugh escaped him and he turned to look at Shadow as he made a sound. For the first time since they'd both been locked up in here his friend was standing up. He moved across the cell and nuzzled at the side of James' neck. James laughed and then shivered. And then laughed again.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Hogwarts – Grounds

Chris cursed and scribbled off another spell from the list. Hermione sat on the ground with a book open on her lap while Wyatt was helping him cast the spells. Phoebe, Paige and his mom were up with the Book of Shadows trying to find something of use while Lily and James had gone to speak to Patience to try to calm her down. If anybody could convince her that James didn't hate her it was his own parents.

"Next, Wyatt." Chris told him.

"I'm exhausted." Wyatt groaned. "We're exhausted." Chris glared at him. "Alright, Chris. Next."

Chris held out the spell and together they chanted it trying to send James the power he might need to escape. They felt the spell try to link to him but then it crumbled apart leaving them to sit on the ground and scrub yet another spell from the list. "We're running out of spells." Hermione told them. "Even the ones designed with both magicks aren't any help."

"The problem is we can't counter the Rune based magic in the enchantment we set over the island." Chris told her.

"And even if he had the concentration to do it from the inside there's no way he could counter the sheer power of all of you." Hermione finished for him. "And without being able to get us in or him out we can't take it down."

Chris groaned and flopped back onto the grass. "It looks like he was right, Hermione." Chris told her. "You shouldn't have named him their godfather."

"Chris!" Wyatt gasped.

"What?" Chris asked. "I'm right aren't I? He knew there'd be no point. They'd never let him have them if it came to that and now it doesn't matter anymore anyway because we've failed him."

"Chris!" Wyatt snapped again and kicked him in the leg. Hard.

Chris yelled and shot up and spun to face Wyatt angrily. "What was that for?"

"Because you're being a prat." Wyatt said simply.

"You have no clue!" Chris shouted. "You're just being your usual self and James is rotting in some little square cell!"

"Chris, you're not the only one devastated by this and you have to get control of yourself..." Wyatt started but was silenced as his younger brother threw himself at him knocking them both to the ground. They rolled around for a few moments and both managed to get in a few hits before they felt a wave of force throw them away from each other and they found themselves hanging in mid air, facing each other. They both turned to Hermione who was carelessly aiming her wand at them both.

"Oh don't mind the pregnant woman." Hermione told them snidely. "You two just brawl in front of her." She paused for a moment before shrugging. "Actually you two are complete idiots. Wyatt, just keep your mouth shut and Chris, if I ever hear you sounding like you're giving up I'll shove this wand..."

"We get it!" Wyatt cried and raised his hands in surrender.

They were dropped to the ground. "Now come and help me up. I'm hungry and we need a break. It occurred to me while you were both rolling around in the dirt that there's a book that might be of some use in the school's restricted section." Hermione raised a hand for Chris to help her up. "We'll need Minerva's permission to access it though. I think it might involve blood rituals."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Azkaban

James was silent as he stared down at his knees. He was kneeling in the centre of his cell with Shadow lying at his side. He'd just had another vision of Voldemort slaughtering a family and his limbs refused to answer to him and he couldn't stop his hands from trembling. They'd been doing that for a week now. Ever since Voldemort had told him they were approaching Halloween and his execution. Voldemort had even offered to rescue him from the execution in return for his oath of loyalty.

James of course had refused even though it had broken him to watch Voldemort kill a little kid in retaliation and there was no way Sirius could claim that hadn't happened. But now James had a plan and it was just about crazy enough to work. He knew his only way out of this place was to use his magic to take down the Wicca enchantments but while he could take down the Rune based parts at any time his Wicca powers weren't strong enough to tear down the rest. He had to get more magic and unknowingly Voldemort had given him the vital clue. He'd said the words just before the vision had ended. 'Soon all of your family will be dead.' James remembered hearing Voldemort offer to bring his parents back before and that gave him the idea.

Sirius had been able to come here which meant ghosts could get through the wards and if he could summon somebody with enough Wicca power maybe it would work. He just hoped that Chris' family would listen to him because they were his only hope.

"I call forth through space and time, matriarchs of the Halliwell line. Mother's, daughters, sisters, friends, my husband's family spirit without end, to gather now in this cursed place and help me return to where I belong."

As soon as the last words were out of his mouth his cell seemed to glow with light and he scrambled out of the middle of the floor to hunch in the corner, shielding himself from the light. Eight figures appeared in the middle of his cell and looked around in search of him only to make him panic when a woman in her thirties made to move towards him.

"Made of steel this one." An old woman muttered.

"Mother!" The woman in her thirties reprimanded the other lady who simply shrugged. She knelt in the dirt in front of James and James looked up at her with dead eyes and a sickly face. He knew she was taking in his appearance, his dirty clothing and wasting form. "You're Harry Potter aren't you."

"Harry Potter's dead." James told her before scrambling to the side and away from her. He headed for Shadow but before he could get there the older lady stepped in his way and caught his shoulder. James cried out and pulled away from her and hid in another corner.

"Perhaps touching him isn't a good idea then."

"Mother, stop it."

"James." James said simply and flinched away as all eight sets of eyes turned to him. "James."

"Why did you summon us, James?" The woman in her thirties asked.

"You're Chris' family?" James asked desperately. "Please be real."

"We're real, sweetie." The woman told him.

"This might take a while." The older woman told the other six with a sigh.

"Please have magic." James said again in much the same tone, as if trying to work out his own plan's limitations as he went.

"What do you want from us, James?" She asked.

"I need you." James told her leaping forwards as if to touch her before he scrambled away again heading for where Shadow was watching them all. "Enchantments went up but won't come down. Chris' family's too strong for me."

"You need our help?" The woman asked gently heading over to him once again.

"Before he comes back again." James whispered and pointed at his head. "Need to get out and rebuild my defences before he comes looking for me."

"Pennie," The older woman sighed. "This is pointless. The boy is mad."

"Mom, he summoned us." 'Pennie' said. "He must have a plan."

At that James sat with his back to the wall and hugged his legs to him, rubbing once again at where his ring had been. "I need your magic." James whispered. "To break the enchantment. Then I can go."

"Take it, sweetie." Pennie said and turned to the others. "We'll need more if we're to counter all of them."

"You're actually going to try this?" The older woman asked.

"Mom, just go!" Pennie shouted. The older woman huffed but disappeared into the ceiling as orbs.

"Why don't you tell me the rest of your plan, James?" Pennie asked.

"No!" James scrambled away. "You'll tell them and they'll stop me!"

"Who will?" Pennie sounded tired.

"The Wizards." James shook his head before jerking his head around. "Where'd she go? No."

"She'll come back." Pennie promised. "With more help to power the spell."

"But she might tell." James told her before sobbing to himself almost silently, burying his head in his knees.

"I promise, James. We'll do everything we can to get you out and then you'll be back with my Grandson." Pennie promised him.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Later

"And what do you plan to do after you bring down the enchantment?" The old woman, Grams, asked him. James just stared at her. "You might have missed the fact you're sitting in a stone cell with no door."

"The door's there." James said pointing to where he knew the illusion hid the door.

"Now I know he's mad." Grams said to the woman, Pennie.

"Mom, if you can't say anything constructive just be quiet." Pennie told her.

"It could be an illusion I suppose." Grams admitted. "How does he know where though?"

"That's where the Dementors stop." James said simply and shuddered. "And then the screaming starts. I just have to go toward the screams." He grinned suddenly before shaking himself off like a cat.

"James, you have to try the spell now." Pennie told him. "It's already after midnight, they'll be here for you soon."

"I know." James laughed. "But maybe I shouldn't leave. I know Chris' personal rune. I could change his memories. Die here."

"And make it so he won't remember you?" Pennie asked before crouching in front of him. "Do you really want to do that to him? Steal away the one thing he cares for the most?"

James sobbed and hugged himself, rubbing at his bare finger once more. "You have to tell them not to come looking for me." James told them.

"Why not?" Grams asked.

"Too many Dementors chasing me. Too many bad memories. I might do something bad to them, might hurt them." James muttered before shaking his head. "I'll call Gemma. Gemma!" He yelled.

"That won't work until you take down the enchantments, James." Pennie told him gently.

"Oh yeah." James grinned. "You're like Piper."

"I know, sweetie." Pennie nodded. "Come on now, try the spell."

James hugged his knees to his chest and Pennie stood up. He forced himself to think of nothing but the spell he wanted to use. "Power of the Witches rise, Matriarchs of the eldest line, lend me your power so that I, holder of a Halliwell heart, may escape this place." He chanted it again before stretching his mind to the enchantment tearing at the part of the spell grounded in his own magic. He felt Wicca power flood his system and used the established link to counter the enchantment, slowly tearing it down.

He felt a shudder run through the island and smelt dust in the air as the island rocked as if in an Earthquake. A low alarm rang through the corridors as the prison's wards alerted the guards that someone had cast powerful magic.

"Now what?" Grams asked.

"Leave." James said simply and pushed himself up the wall before staggering. He lifted a hand and forced his magic to obey him. They'd blocked Shadow from him but not done anything about his actual powers but the prison was immune to Wizarding magic and he knew he couldn't concentrate on his own power of projection enough to do any damage but he could use other powers. He sketched a complex single Rune in the air and was satisfied when Wyatt's personal Rune flashed with a faint blue fire leeching from Wyatt's magic. James released the Rune's power directly at the door and watched with satisfaction as he heard iron bars shatter and fly out into the hallway.

James was through the door even as the illusion of the wall crumbled and vanished, leaving a small group of dead women in his cell before they vanished up into the air. James turned to run down the hall hoping to get as far away from his cell as he could before they tracked his spell.

"Gemma!"

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Hogwarts – The Den

Chris was sitting on the sofa with his older brother on his right and Joshua on his left. None of them could sleep and since the rest of the family had been out all day they were fast asleep. Wyatt had just lost another round of cards when he stood up to put on another round of hot drinks for the three of them. He was about half the way across the room when he fell to his knees with a surprised gasp. The effect was over in seconds but it left him shaky but he was over it even as Josh and Chris reached his side and helped him up.

"Something just used my magic." Wyatt sounded scared.

"Josh."

"I'm going." Josh ran off up the stairs to his dad's room and Chris heard him strike his own parents room and then Paige's door before he reached his father's room. Chris helped Wyatt back to the sofa but before they reached it Wyatt was walking on his own easily enough.

"That was strange." Wyatt mumbled before falling silent. Chris knew there was no point trying to work out what had happened until the others were down. It only took about thirty seconds anyway before the four adults and Josh were running back down the stairs in dressing gowns.

"What happened?" Piper asked as soon as she saw her two worried looking sons.

"Something used my magic." Wyatt told them. "It was odd, I felt something just slide right in and then drain a bit of my powers and then just disappear again."

"Chris, maybe you should check to make sure there's no physical damage?" Leo suggested. Chris held his hand over Wyatt's chest and it glowed silver for a moment before fading.

"Nothing." Chris told them.

"So what happened?" Paige asked in confusion.

"I think I could have fought it." Wyatt frowned. "Actually I'm sure I could have. I'm not sure I would have won but it was so fast I didn't have a chance to try."

A whole set of crashes alerted the group to the fact that the girls were rushing down the stairs and before Piper could yell up the stairs Patience, Prue and Anna ran into the room. "Dad!" Patience yelled and stopped at Coup's side. "Something..."

"Drained your powers?" Coup asked. She nodded. "Something just did it to Wyatt too."

"Why though?" Chris asked. "Who could..."

"Chris?" Leo asked when he didn't finish.

"James." Chris breathed out. "He could."

"How?" Paige asked.

"You remember those personal Runes he went on about when he was building the wards on the house?" Chris asked. "He told me that each one was specific to a person. Obviously he knows all of ours from when he was setting the magical exceptions to the wards."

"So you think he's using Rune magic to use our magic?" Wyatt asked dubiously. "But Chris, I know you want to think he's using them to escape but we've tried sending him our magic before and the enchantment blocks it."

"Maybe he's found a way around it?" Chris asked.

"Remember what his Godfather said about his mental state, Chris." Piper sighed. "Honey, I know you want to be right but how could he come up with a plan like that."

"He's stronger than you think." Chris told him. "Besides who else could be doing it?"

"It's happening again." Wyatt swallowed and straightened up in his seat. "I could fight..."

"No!" Chris grabbed his brother's arms. "Please, if it's him and you cut him off and he gets hurt...?

"Alright." Wyatt relaxed. "We better hope it is him."

"It is him." Chris nodded. "It has to be."

"Chris..." Leo started.

"No, Dad!" Chris stood up and rounded on his father. "We've not been able to do anything to help him. We've failed him so far. Can't you just hope that he's managed to help himself?"

"Chris is right." Paige nodded. "We have to hope that he's found a way out and that he's still got the mental control to think this out."

Before anything else could be said two trails of orbs filled the room but instead of Whitelighters like they expected two women appeared. "Grams? Mom?" Piper asked in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Being the messengers it seems." Grams replied with a roll of her eyes. "Hi guys." She said to the children in the room. "That kid you found, Chris, has some real spunk. I'll give him that at least."

"What happened?" Chris asked. "Are you talking about James?"

"He summoned us to him." Pennie smiled at them all. "The entire Halliwell Matriarch line in fact. So he could use our powers to bring down the enchantment."

"And then with the barrier down he could use our powers to help him escape." Chris couldn't keep the grin from his face.

"I think that's the general plan but it's kind of hard to make sense of anything that comes out of the boy's mouth." Grams said simply.

"Why don't we just summon him then?" Chris asked but before he could get a response a trail of bright golden orbs filtered into the room and a teary-eyed Gemma appeared before them before collapsing onto the sofa as Josh helped her down politely. "Gemma?"

Gemma looked at the two dead Matriarchs for a moment. "You told them what happened?" She asked.

"Up until summoning him out." Pennie frowned.

"James just called me to him. It was rather a big shock." Gemma placed a hand on her throat to keep herself calm. "He's off the island but he wanted me to come here and make you all promise not to do anything to try to find him or summon him."

"What!?" Chris shouted. "Why?"

"Because." Gemma paused. "He's worried that he'll hurt you without meaning to. He's not exactly stable right now."

"But we have to help him." Chris told her.

"I'm monitoring him all the time but we set up the spell again so I can't track him." Gemma sighed. "We could try summoning him against his wishes but it'll be difficult."

"Why did you hide him then?" Chris looked ready to shout at her some more but Wyatt placed a hand on his arm to calm him down.

"Because in a matter of minutes the Ministry, Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters will be throwing every spell they can at him to try to find him." Gemma told them all. "It's like last time, only bigger."

"What happened last time exactly?" Piper asked.

"He escaped as Shadow and got to shore before he collapsed. Dementors found him there an hour later and he fled into the water where they couldn't follow him and he got pulled out to sea." Gemma explained. "He was found by a Container ship heading for Boston a few days later as a human and they fed him but really all they could do was lock him up in a room. He wasn't exactly stable after so long in Azkaban."

"Why wasn't he found?" Paige asked.

"While he was on the ship and moving like he was my own tracking spells were more than enough to hide him and no mortal authority could find him." Gemma explained. "When they reached shore he disappeared, turned into Shadow again and crossed the country until he couldn't go any further."

"And ended up in San Francisco." Chris sighed.

"I might have had something to do with him stopping though he didn't know it at the time." Gemma smiled. "We had to have him meet you and he had to start healing and doing what he loved was the best way to help him. That's why I pressed him into taking a chance and going to college."

"So what's he going to do?" Leo asked.

"Nobody knows." Gemma sighed. "I'd imagine he'll just go out in any direction and try to stay away from people, at least until he thinks he's safe enough to come to you."

"Should we leave here then? Go home?" Piper asked.

"Stay here for the time being." Gemma suggested. "He knows where this place is and it's close enough that he won't have to use magic to get here. Apart from my spells Shadow is his best protection right now. That's why he let me stay with him for more than a moment. To remove the Wizarding spells keeping Shadow from him."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Strathy Point – Two days later

James forced his body to leap up the small ledge as he tried to find a small enough place to hide in for some much needed rest. It had been too long since he'd had any sleep but it had been hard to find a place where he'd remain hidden from the occasional fly over of both Wizards on brooms and even police helicopters. His nose smelt a badger den and regardless of the actual inhabitants he forced his was down into the den and after a brief yet pointless battle he scared of the old tenants and settled down for some much needed sleep.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

End Chapter