A New Life in San Francisco

A/N; Please read the message in bold at the top of my profile regarding updates. Please enjoy.

Chapter 26; The end to one Nightmare

Hogwarts; The Den. Escape plus two days

"Chris, you should be in bed." Wyatt told his younger brother as he walked into the middle of the common room. The room was lit only by the dying embers of the fire, not even moon light reached through the windows because it was a New Moon. Wyatt had been awoken almost an hour ago by Joshua because Felix had been crying out in his sleep and once woken had been too scared to fall back to sleep. Wyatt had sat with him until Felix had slowly drifted back off again. After that he'd come downstairs for something to drink and wasn't surprised that his brother was standing staring into the fire.

He was always either there or out on the balcony staring off at nothing in particular. Since James had escaped Chris hadn't even tried to sleep. Wyatt knew why that was though, so did most of the others as well. Chris didn't want to let down his guard if it meant the difference between James' escape and his capture. Wyatt was about a day away from casting a spell to send Chris to sleep but he didn't think that Chris would forgive for that.

Chris didn't answer him and Wyatt walked to his side and rested a hand on his shoulder, squeezing slightly to try to reassure him. "James will make it, Chris. He did this before and this time he's got more to fight for than the last time. He's got us to come home to. He's got you."

Chris raised his hand up to his lips and pressed his fist to his mouth and Wyatt knew that their family ring, the Promise Ring that Chris had given James, was clenched into his fist. It had barely been anywhere else ever since James had been caught.

"What if he dies, Wy?" Chris asked him.

"You can't think like that." Wyatt told him simply. "James is too tough to hurt like that."

"Oh god, Wyatt, what if he does something to himself?" Chris turned to him, desperation on his face. "What if we find him only for him to be suicidal? I can't lose him after all of this."

"I can't tell you that Azkaban can't make you suicidal, we've all seen that it can." Wyatt sighed. "But think of it this way, he wasn't suicidal when we met him and if he was now he wouldn't be trying to escape, he'd be trying to die."

"How do you know!?" Chris pleaded.

"Because Gemma would be able to sense it if he was in danger, even from himself." Wyatt pointed out. "And she can bring down his spell and be at his side in moments. And the scrying spell we cast two days ago that is tracking for him would lock on in an instant and we would all be there to stop him. It's not going to happen, Chris. You won't lose him and do you know why else I know that?"

"Why?"

"Because I'm your big brother and it's my job to make sure you don't get hurt. I won't let anything bad happen to him when I can stop it and I can stop him from hurting himself." Wyatt told him and gathered his little brother up in his arms letting Chris rest against him. "Now, I also have to make sure you're alright so you need to sleep, Chris."

"I can't." Chris told him. "I can't be asleep..."

"I know what you think, Chris." Wyatt told him. "But if you're exhausted you won't be able to protect him. So you're going to go upstairs and you're going to go to bed and you're going to sleep even if I have to cast a spell on you."

"But what if..." Chris started.

"If he appears then I'll be awake to help him and I'll wake you up. I promise." Wyatt told him. "I'm going to make myself a whole hell of a lot of coffee and sit here on watch. We'll do it that way, Chris. You sleep and I'll keep a watch. Deal?"

Chris studied him for a moment but then slowly nodded and turned towards the stairs and Wyatt headed for the kitchen knowing that Chris would do what he'd told him. Wyatt knew that Chris wouldn't sleep well but he'd at least wake up as less of a zombie.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

The next morning – Straffy Point

James woke up as the sun rose, slightly heating the air coming down through the Badger den and he buried his head under his paws for a moment to clear his head. As Shadow he could exist as an animal, letting his instincts keep him working but the human half of his mind was in a constant state of almost panic and the only reason that he wasn't curled up defencelessly was because Shadow's mind had clamped down on anything that was purely James. Shadow was interested in only one thing and that was to reach safety and that was in two places as far as he was concerned. A house in San Francisco that was so heavily warded that he could hide there almost indefinitely or with his family in the most unlikely of places, Hogwarts.

He couldn't get to San Francisco until his human mind was clearer but he could travel to Hogwarts and that was what he was doing. The school would protect him, even from those inside and as soon as he was there Chris would take him away. Chris would protect him and would heal him. With that in mind he scrambled out of his hole and out onto the windswept cliffs of northern Scotland.

He turned towards the mountains and leapt into action, running through the heath land, sliding through the small sturdy shrubs, ignoring the state of his felt in favour of remaining hidden from the air. He ran until mid day, running inland so he could find a human town so he could get his bearings so that he could find his way from there to Hogsmeade. And only when it was noon did he pause at a mountain stream to lap up some water, ignoring its cold in favour of the life giving liquid.

He paused as his sensitive nose picked up something wrong in the area and the first thing he realised was a cold snap creep through his body but that was enough. His mind panicked and he leapt across the stream and turned in a full circle until he spotted it. A small black shape on the far hillside behind him was the first thing he saw but then he saw the closer one. A Dementor had found his scent and because it had seen him it had called to another one. James whined as if wounded and turned to run up the hills and the crags, running from the things that he knew would kill him as soon as they caught him. There would be no more Azkaban for him, only death and while a part of him thought that was a good thing he knew it would be the end for Chris and himself.

He shouldn't have stopped for a drink, he should have kept running and now that he had he couldn't shake the Dementors from his trail and with every hour he ran they grew in number, converging on a prey that they could almost taste and that they knew they could Kiss upon capture. James' instincts led him up the mountains and into the forests but they betrayed him slightly in that he couldn't hide in the trees like his form wanted him to because that wouldn't confuse the Dementors for even a second.

He led them on a chase for hours and the sun had set as he ran into a small valley town with empty streets. He ran through the paved roads completely silent but the Dementors were so close on his trail that he could feel the roads icing over under his paws and twice windows shattered as they froze over. James ran across a bridge noting that the water had frozen over with the number of Dementors and he could hear the sounds of people waking up at the sudden cold and darkness and lights flickered on only for the electricity to fail.

James skidded to a stop on the iced road as he came to a junction and spied the darkened figures of Dementor ahead of him and to his right. He turned to the south, the left but within seconds a Dementor had him by the back of his neck. Shocking cold ran down his back even as screams erupted through his head. Every person he had seen killed flashed through his mind including the recent deaths of his family, real or not, and watching from outside his home as his parent's were murdered.

"Please James, let me take you away from here." Chris' voice echoed dimly within his mind. Saying the very phrase that Chris had used when he'd tried to pull James away from watching Godric's Hollow attacked. It was quiet amongst all the screams but it meant so much to James. It was Chris' desire to protect him from all the pain. Light burst from James' panther form, blinding James completely and sending the Dementors away from him even as all of the ones within ten metres of him were destroyed, just like the one that had attack James and Chris outside of P3 had done. James' feelings for Chris had fuelled his personal rune, the one on his front left leg. The one that would both attack Dementors, shield him from them and cure those around him. The one that would fight fear and protect the ones he loved.

He yowled painfully as the light faded but left burning afterimages but his mind was clearer now and he knew what he needed. He needed Chris to help soothe his thoughts just as Chris had helped him soothe his nightmares just now but he couldn't just bring Gemma to him, it was too risky to drop the spells she'd used so he took off with renewed energy in the direction of Hogsmeade.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Hogwarts – The Den

"Chris!" Matt yelled into the room as he appeared. "Mom!" He yelled as soon as he saw her on the sofa.

"Matt, what's the fuss?" Paige asked even as Chris came in from the balcony wondering what had riled him up so much.

Joshua ran in from the corridor out of breath carrying one of the Wizarding newspapers in his hand. He'd clearly been chasing Matt through the halls. "Josh?" Chris asked.

Josh waved at Matt as he collapsed on one of the chairs to catch his breath. "Mom, Chris!" Matt grabbed the newspaper from Josh and gave it to his mother. "It's James!"

Chris almost grabbed the paper but let his Aunt read it first watching as a frown set in before she glanced at Chris. "You're not reading this." She told him.

"Why not?" Chris demanded.

"Because its full of the Wizarding view of James and you'll lose it." Paige told him.

"Mom's right, Chris." Josh spoke up. "I read it but I didn't let the others. I just told them the gist. It's not pleasant."

"Then what's the gist?" Chris demanded ignoring the hard look from his Aunt.

"James was sighted in a small town east of here last night." Paige told him.

"Sighted?" Chris went pale and he shook slightly in fear. Matt latched onto his side and Chris forced a smile down at him and rested a hand over the small boy.

"My the local 'Muggles'." Paige explained. "According to this he was being chased by over a hundred Dementors. The witnesses saw him cornered by them but then there was a burst of light and a lot of the Dementors were destroyed. He was seen running off to the west."

"Destroyed?" Chris frowned.

"It says here he used the darkest of magic to destroy the Dementors." Paige frowned angrily.

"It sounds like his personal Rune. You know the one that saved him and healed me outside P3?" Chris suggested.

"Or it could be just a story to make James out to be a monster." Josh pointed out darkly.

"It's got too much detail about his Rune." Paige frowned. "This happened."

"We need everyone here." Chris announced. "He's heading this way."

It took about fifteen minutes to get everyone gathered and to explain the situation and no sooner had Paige finished letting Piper, Leo, Phoebe, Coup, Henry and even Wyatt read the newspaper article there was a knock at the door and a very upset looking Hermione walked in along with Minerva McGonagall.

"Hermione?" Chris asked.

"It's awful." Hermione managed out.

"We know, we've read it." Wyatt told her.

"Not that." Minerva told them. "The Ministry believes that James is on his way to Hogwarts and they've sent all of the Dementors they can spare to guard the school."

"Can't he just zap them too?" Prue asked.

"I hope so." Chris muttered.

"Dumbledore is convinced that the school's wards will hold him at bay. He's tuned them exactly against James' magical signature." Hermione explained.

"But didn't he think that the last time?" Patience asked, speaking up for the first time when they discussed James.

"It's true." Minerva nodded. "There's a chance that the school will allow him through regardless but if we're wrong he could get trapped between the Dementors and the Wards."

A trail of light exploded into the middle of the room and Hermione and Minerva almost drew their wands on it before Gemma appeared. "Gemma, do you know about all of this?" Chris asked.

"About his run in last night?" Gemma asked. "As soon as I sensed the use of his magic I went there but I was too late to follow him and he hasn't dropped the spell yet."

"Should we bring it down now and go get him?" Chris asked, needing to get to James as soon as he could just so he could feel him in his arms. Prove to himself that James was okay.

"It would take the Ministry and Death Eaters about three seconds to trace him if we do that." She told him. "We'll have to wait for him to come here and then take him somewhere safe."

"Gemma, what is it?" Piper asked when she looked worried but didn't continue speaking.

"The Elders have seen a battle between the Death Eaters and the Wizards here." Gemma told them.

"Good." Chris hissed.

"Chris, they're mostly children." Hermione reprimanded him gently.

"Voldemort and his Demons have sensed the magic of the wards is focused away from them and onto James and are taking the opportunity." Gemma told them. "And I think they want to strike at the school and you before James is reunited with you. Kill you, any of you, and James will lose the ability to defend himself."

"She's right." Chris sighed. "If any of us were hurt, James would either simply break apart or he'll lose it and wipe out everything that ever caused him pain."

"Well whatever we're going to do about it must happen soon." Gemma told them. "The Elders have sent someone to warn Dumbledore. Voldemort will attack before the day's out."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

James shot awake from his short nap and he hit the ground running as the afterimage of his premonition faded from his eyes. He rarely had them because Chris was such a stronger Seer than he was and got them in his place but alone like he was James was more attuned to them and seeing Hogwarts and his family under attack from demons and Wizards was enough to give James all the energy he needed to get to the school and to concentrate on only one thing, killing Voldemort, the Death Eaters and the Demons attacking the school.

It took him two hours to reach the school and the thought did go through his mind that he could end the fight by simply removing the spell that hid him. It would draw Voldemort to him and away from the school but he'd be sacrificing himself and he didn't want to put Chris through that. He didn't care about dying but it was hurting Chris that gave him pause for thought.

He had a bit of trouble getting past the Dementors that filled Hogsmeade and the space between the school and the town but the Dementors, fighting for the Ministry, were distracted by the Death Eaters which they could Kiss to their leisure and although James struggled to keep himself sane as he brushed past them his entire being was focused on the school and the sounds he could hear from within it. There was fighting out on the grounds between Death Eaters and their Demon allies against newly arrived Aurors that were veritably flooding the place with everything they could and James had trouble getting through without being seen though he probably had been spotted and just ignored in the heat of the battle.

The doors to the school had been knocked in and were snapped clean through and half hung off their hinges and James could smell burning from within even over the smell of burnt grass from outside. He slunk inside and focused his every sense on picking up the scents of his family. It didn't matter which member of the family it was, just any of them.

As he moved up towards the Den he finally picked up a set of scents on the third floor stairwell. There were a lot of weaker scents but over the top was an entire flood of scents that were all of his family. They'd all come up here and turned towards the Den but as he followed them out onto the fifth floor where the Den was the scents were mixed with different scents that appeared out of nowhere and his eyes told him that they'd been ambushed by Demons. Dozens of them had appeared in the cross of two corridors and by the scorch marks leading down the corridor towards the Den they'd been pushed back along the corridor.

But his smell told him something else. Not all of his family had stayed together. Two scents, Felix and Ashley, had gone down a different corridor and they'd been followed by two Demons. Felix could slow down time slightly for himself and could shove himself and Ashley away from attacks and Ashley could very weakly astroproject or manipulate matter like Piper and Wyatt but nowhere near enough to hurt a demon. The two would be in serious danger if they didn't find help and if panicked then Felix couldn't transport away and even if he could he couldn't take Ashley with him with his glowing thing that he got from his father. Ashley could orb across a room when she was in danger but again she couldn't go far nor take a passenger.

James was following them even as he found out where they'd gone and he ran as fast as was safe within a place where Demons could appear out of nowhere and he half hoped that the two had called for Wyatt, Chris, Paige or Coup for help or even to Josh, Prue or Patience but that relied on the fact that they could hear them in the noise of battle or even get away from the dozen demons that had followed them.

The trail led up the north tower and James covered the steps quickly turning dizzily as he caught up with the demons and the two children on the roof. His eyes took in the scene regardless of the darkness. Ashley was clinging to Felix and her panicked emotions probably weren't helping Felix remain calm as two Demons mocked them from the middle of the room, holding fireballs in their hands.

"What do you think?" One asked the other. "Roast them slowly or simply chuck them over the edge?"

The other laughed and Ashley whimpered in fright. James knew that they were very strong willed for children and they'd all faced Demons before but not like this, not with their family distracted and in a place like Hogwarts.

James finally retook his own form and his strength half vanished from him as his emotions took on a life of their own but he forced himself to concentrate on saving Felix and Ashley. He saw Felix gasp and grab Ashley tightly, hugging her so she couldn't see what was happening. He'd clearly sensed James now that he was human standing in the shadows of the doorway down into the tower.

James didn't pause to let the demons notice him and shut his eyes and concentrated all of his Power of Projection. Magic whipped up around the roof top spiralling around the two demons who turned in surprise but were too slow as James lashed out at them and obliterated them. He stepped forwards as the air stilled and Felix and Ashley looked up at him. Felix in relief and Ashley in fear until she recognised his drawn out features and half dead appearance. James couldn't bring himself to say anything but he saw Felix wince and rub at his head and James knew how much pain he was causing just by being human around him. He flowed seamlessly back onto all fours as he took back the form of Shadow who, though smaller and weaker looking, was still better to look at than James' human appearance.

He moved over to them and pressed his head between the two in greeting before turning ready to hunt down the rest of the family. He paused to make sure they followed him and Ashley grabbed the felt at the back of his neck and apart from giving her comfort it allowed James to lead them through the dark corridors.

As soon as they were in the corridors below Felix placed a hand on his back as well and James moved a little faster now that he didn't have to worry about them wandering off into the school alone. It was about half way towards the Den that James' sense of smell detected a difference. His family had met up with Wizards, including Dumbledore, Minerva and Weasley and about six others but also on their tail had been numerous other Wizards including Voldemort and to make things worse his heightened senses could detect the air inside the school chilling. The Dementors had reached the inside.

James quickened his pace and they arrived at the blown apart entrance to the Den and it took a moment to realise that they weren't fighting but Voldemort was speaking. James led the two inside not wanting them to be outside alone if there were any more demons about but nudged them away from him as soon as they could see the inside.

The walls and windows that led out onto the balcony were gone and most of the people were out there. His family were against the banister with Piper, Paige, Phoebe, Coup, Josh, Patience, Wyatt and Chris shielding the rest of the family. Basically any of them that could defend themselves and most of the younger children were looking petrified. Standing with the older members of the family were three Aurors including Weasley as well as Dumbledore and Minerva.

Between James and them were more Demons and Death Eaters than he could count with Voldemort in front of them. Voldemort had distracted them and now he'd gotten them into a position where they couldn't run. Chris, Wyatt and Paige could probably orb them all away but Chris had already proven that while not fatal, getting hit by the Killing Curse as orbs was still enough to knock you out and that would be fatal in this situation.

James nudged the two children again and Felix half pulled Ashley up to the stairs that led up to the adults' rooms and to relative safety and only when James had seen them to that safety did he turn his attention back on Voldemort.

"I find this amusing, Dumbledore." Voldemort grinned. "You put so much effort into the Potter brat and look what's happened. Do you even know what he's doing for me?"

"Liar!" Chris snarled angrily.

"Where is he?" Dumbledore asked. "Why is he not here?"

"I'm afraid a certain amount of recuperation was required after we rescued him from Azkaban." Voldemort sneered.

"There's no way you could have gotten in there." Piper snapped. "It was impenetrable. We made sure of it. Not even we could have gotten in there after our spells."

"You are not a Dark Lord." Voldemort sneered arrogantly.

James pushed away from the ground and melted back into his human body but made sure to make not even the smallest of sounds. He even lightened his breathing so that it was a mere few breaths to keep him conscious as he brought up his hands and began casting Runes, moving half on instinct alone as he searched his memory for over a year's worth of Runic magic and formed a complex rune targeted at anyone in the room without Wicca magic. There wasn't much he could do about Dumbledore, Weasley and the Aurors and he didn't much care but he was sorry about what this would do to Minerva. It wouldn't be pleasant.

It took him what felt like an eternity to form the Runic sequence and just as he was about to activate it somebody saw him. It was Weasley who had finally dragged his eyes away from Voldemort to look around the room, trying to find some way to overcome the overwhelming forces in the room. He gasped as he saw James' rather emancipated form and like the idiot he was he didn't see what was truly happening and only what he thought he knew.

"I knew it!" Weasley hissed glaring at James making Voldemort snap his head around before warring emotions spread across his face. He'd been pretending that James was helping him but although this might look bad for James all it would take was a few comments and the ruse would be over.

"Seize him." Voldemort hissed obviously deciding that trying to pretend any longer was out of the question. Before James could react half a dozen demons shimmered across the room and even thought James tried to dodge there was little he could do against them and found himself almost lifted off the ground by two of the largest demons he'd ever seen as they gripped his arms.

"Let him go!" Chris was almost beside himself and James looked so weak between the two, barely able to fight them, that he almost leapt forward and probably would have if Wyatt, Leo and Coup didn't all grab him and restrain him.

Seeing Chris in such mental pain only caused James' eyes to deaden far beyond what they were used to. In reality James' mind was overjoyed to see all those emotions on Chris' face and to see them all when not a few days ago he'd thought they were all being murdered one after the other by Voldemort. James just couldn't express those emotions again but by the winces from Phoebe, Coup, Anna, Jason, Pennie and Matt they knew some of what was going through his mind and couldn't stand it. They, as well as Felix were the family's telepaths and emotion readers.

"It is a shame that the ruse is over." Voldemort sighed dramatically. "It was so fun for me to watch my enemy turn so completely against their only hope and to think what you've done to him. I could never have caused him so much damage. Of course I perhaps helped in his mental destruction but I am truly amazed that he was able to hide his insanity from you for so long."

"He's not insane!" Chris spat at Voldemort.

"Really?" Voldemort laughed. "Have you been inside his mind since he was sent back to Azkaban? I have and he is truly a mess. I spent years of effort trying to break the great Harry Potter and in the end it was you that broke him, Dumbledore. Look at your golden boy and see what you've caused."

James couldn't help it, he went completely and utterly still as Dumbledore gazed at him and he looked to be almost twice the age he usually looked. James stared at him with eyes that he knew reminded Dumbledore of Lily Evans and slowly his lips twitched into a smirk that he couldn't contain. He took pleasure from the pain so obvious on Dumbledore's face and before he could stop himself he started laughing. He barely noticed when his family blanched in shock at his attitude and the horror spread across Dumbledore's face was priceless.

"Perhaps I shouldn't merely kill you." Voldemort spoke to James making him stop laughing and look at him. "Perhaps now you'll join me?"

"He'll never join you!" Chris snarled making Voldemort lash out at him with magic. Wyatt shielded them but the sheer force of the attack of magic sent both young men backwards into Leo and Henry who caught them.

James struggled against his captors and they released him when Voldemort gestured to them. He clearly thought that James wasn't a threat in his current state. James took his own weight back onto his legs and slowly walked towards Voldemort who fingered his wand. "Voldemort." James spoke for the first time since he'd arrived and his voice was barely there, little more than a croak that by some miracle could be heard in the deadly silent room. "You make it sound like I've only got the choice between you and them." James pointed out. "I'd never cause my family harm."

Voldemort sneered and made to raise his wand but James was faster. He funnelled almost everything he had into the runic sequence which reappeared around him spinning rapidly before it burst out in all directions. Striking everyone in the room. It searched out Wiccan magic and didn't affect those that had it but everyone else staggered and collapsed to their knees, their bodies weakening until they were all lying on the ground, attempting to regain enough energy to raise their wands.

James laughed cruelly and crouched down at Voldemort's side, meeting his red eyes with a level gaze. "You don't know this, Voldemort, but when you're pet demon sent those Death Eaters back in time, Chris and I went after them and we killed all of them including the Malfoys. But you see I went after you on Halloween of 1981 when you went after me the first time. And do you know what I discovered? It wasn't my mother that saved me, it was me."

His family listened in to his weak voice and James glanced up at them as his eyes flashed white. "Your spell couldn't kill the younger me when I was there to aid him. But I had to watch from a distance as you murdered my father and then my mother. I chose to return to this world, to accept all of the pain when I could have killed you then." James whispered though it was loud enough for everyone to hear. "At least now I know I was right. If I'd changed anything I would have my parents back but then I'd be stuck with these hypocritical bastards that threw me away as soon as your little ploy went into action. I don't know what new way you came up with to plant those memories in her, maybe you just used polyjuice to appear to be me while you tortured her. I don't really care and it seems neither did they. The point is that the Wicca witches are more like me then the Wizards ever will be and I'd go through a thousand hells like I just have been through if it keeps them safe. I'd burn down the Wizarding world a hundred times for that matter."

"I'd keep you alive just to torment the Wizards." James continued. "But you'll never admit defeat and you'll keep hunting me until you can claim me as a kill or try to break me to become your weapon and I don't really care except that you're not above hurting the people I love to do that and I'd die a thousand deaths before I let you harm any one of them. This is going to be rather painful for you, Voldemort."

Voldemort managed to frown at James as the weak man placed a hand on his chest letting his white eyes meet his own red ones as James focused only on the white structure in this scape that represented Voldemort and he began focusing his Powers of Projection onto that life. Draining it from the body and casting it out, watching as it faded slowly from his body as Voldemort struggled weakly under his hand until the red eyes faded to the look of a dead man.

James straightened up and glanced at his family and saw Chris was staring at him perfectly still while Wyatt held onto his arm rather pointlessly now. James turned and walked slowly and painfully to where Dumbledore was slumped with his head propped up on the wall near to his family and he looked down at him as his eyes finally changed back as James looked at him with his normal eyes. "I happen to know that if I was anything like you I'd probably force you to announce that I'm innocent but I'm not you and I know how you work. You and your precious Ministry would be destroyed if the truth came out so you're going to continue to claim that I'm evil. You'll probably even fake some story about how the great Dumbledore, or even the great Ronald Weasley, killed Voldemort. You might even claim that I was killed and then hope that I don't appear again and claim otherwise."

"Let me help you out." James continued, enjoying the shocked silence that allowed his rather crazed mind to rant fluidly. "I don't care what you claim but if you ever even think of trying to find me I'll lash out back at you and you won't even know what's happening until it's over."

James ignored Dumbledore and turned to Minerva. "I'm sorry about this, Minerva. But I didn't have the time to place an immunity for you. Every person in this school that doesn't have Wiccan magic is just like this but it'll wear off in about an hour. Quicker if you don't use up more energy trying to fight it."

Minerva managed to blink in response and James almost touched her on the shoulder with shaky hands but drew his hand back and clutched it to his chest at the last minute when he felt a cold shiver and he knew that his spell hadn't effected the Dementors and they'd be here within a few minutes. A shiver ran up his body and he whimpered as he turned his back on the door and backed away.

"What is it, James?" Piper asked him moving to his side rapidly though she didn't touch him. Chris appeared at his other side and his hand reached out and only didn't touch him by a few millimetres.

"Dementors." James whispered as his adrenaline wore off.

"We have to find Felix and Ashley." Wyatt announced.

"We're here!" Felix yelled as he pulled Ashley back down the stairs. "James found us."

James whimpered again and he collapsed both internally and externally and simply folded down to the ground only not hitting it when Piper and Chris caught him. "Get him out of here." He heard Coup tell them and his world exploded into bright lights that brought warmth to him as he was taken across the surface of the Earth and to the safety of the Halliwell Manor.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Two days later

Chris orbed into the Manor leaving James for the first time in Chris' apartment though after the last few days Chris wasn't worried about him hurting himself. He'd taken a day to come out of his shell and talk to him and Chris had spent the last hour merely holding him and soothing his wounded boyfriend but they were making progress.

"Chris?" Piper asked as she stopped him and held his arms. "How is he?"

"He's getting better." Chris told his mother, father and two younger sisters. "I woke up this morning though and he was curled up in the corner talking to himself. I think he had a nightmare."

"I'd imagine he won't like any dark place right now." Leo sighed and hugged his youngest son briefly. "He's alright on his own?"

Chris nodded. "He said I should come and let you know he's alright."

"You should have brought him with you." Piper told him glancing at Prue and Anna who both nodded.

"He..." Chris winced. "He doesn't want to hurt anyone if he loses control."

Piper winced but shook her head. "We know he'd never do that."

"But this morning three of the windows in my room were shattered and he thinks it was him losing control of his magic." Chris sighed.

"Was it?" Leo asked.

"I think so." Chris nodded. "I know he'd never hurt any of us and I wasn't hurt but he's scared about the possibility. You remember when we first saw him, when he lost control when that red-headed guy appeared. He just closes off to the rest of the world and after seeing Azkaban we know why."

"Well everyone wants to see him again, you let him know that?" Piper told him.

"He said Saturday." Chris told her. "I think he's forcing himself but he knows he'll back out if he can so can you get everyone together here for dinner. That way he can't back out without thinking he's offending anyone."

"That's a little devious." Leo pointed out.

"It's his idea." Chris told him. "He doesn't like where he is now. He doesn't like feeling screwed up."

"He's not..." Piper started.

"Honestly mom." Chris interrupted her. "He is. Even I'll admit that and unless we all do we can't help him."

"Did you give him back the ring?" Leo asked him.

Chris grinned. "I think it made the most difference. He hasn't stopped fiddling with it since and keeps taking it off just to hold it."

"It symbolises that someone loves him." Piper smiled at him.

"I'd better get going. I need to go get some food and stuff for the apartment and then get back to him." Chris told her.

"Take some stuff out of our fridge." Piper told him and before Chris could even agree she was pulling out food and bagging it all up. Chris laughed and moved to his sisters, kissing them both on the cheek and giving them hugs.

"If he's worried about hurting us I could always astral-project." Anna suggested. "He can't hurt me like that."

"That's sweet, Anna, but I don't know if I want him thinking there's any other way of seeing you all." Chris told her fondly. "He's got to come out of it and if we give him a way of compromising he won't try. He really misses you all though and he'll see you on Saturday."

Chris accepted the bag from his mother and hugged her before his father walked him out into the hallway. "It's amazing how quickly James became a part of this family." Leo told him. "That speaks more for him than anything else. He's won the hearts of all of the children and they really miss him."

"He wanted me to ask after them all. Patience and Felix especially." Chris told him sadly.

"Patience is okay, she's getting over what she did whether she chose it or not. But seeing how James was when he got out of Azkaban didn't help." Leo sighed. "I'll tell Phoebe that he's doing better and that'll help."

"And Felix?" Chris pressed.

"Phoebe's a little more worried about him but Coup is helping as much as she can but Felix was only recovering because of James' help and we can't just send him to a normal doctor." Leo sighed. "He needs James to help him deal with the desires he felt and of course he felt them from James again and they were so much more real that time."

"Do you think I should tell him that?" Chris frowned.

"I think you're going to have to." Leo sighed before nodding resolutely. "Keeping things from him won't help." Chris nodded and hugged his father before orbing away and back to his own apartment.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Chris reappeared in the middle of the living room to his small apartment and looked around for James finding him in the kitchenette area struggling to open a new jar of coffee with hands that hadn't stopped shaking in days. He cursed almost too softly to hear and Chris felt magic in the air as James' frustration almost shattered the jar. With quick soothing breaths James calmed himself and put the jar down on the table and merely stared at his as he leaned on the counter with his arms.

He had clearly had a shower and had only pulled on a pair of jeans and his hair was wild. Chris moved into James' line of sight making him jump slightly before relaxing and looking at Chris with his faded emerald green eyes that showed no emotion. It pained Chris to not know what James was feeling but he knew James' heart was pure and good and if he had to wait for James' internal emotions to start to show again on his face then he'd merely do exactly that. Wait. He moved behind James and hugged him, wrapping his arms around his lover's torso shocking himself once again by how skinny James had become. How quickly he'd deteriorated within the prison.

James still shook slight at Chris' touch but he was getting used to it and he turned in Chris' arms and buried himself into his front, burying his head under his chin and sliding his hands up under Chris' t-shirt to feel the warm of his skin. James had been almost constantly attached to some part of Chris' skin since they'd come back and Chris wasn't surprised that James needed to feel that Chris was alive.

"I can't open it." James told him softly.

"You want me to?" Chris asked.

James shook his head. "I want to do it."

"Alright." Chris nodded. "I didn't need to go to the shop in the end. Mom gave me a bag of stuff."

"What did she say?" James asked.

"She said that they all miss you and whenever you want to see them is fine with them." Chris paraphrased. "She'll sort something out for Saturday too."

"Felix and Patience?" James asked.

"Patience is okay, she just had a little set back after seeing you again." Chris told him. "Once she sees you're alright she'll get over it."

"And Felix?" James asked and when Chris didn't immediately answer he pulled away slightly to look up but didn't take his hands off of Chris' stomach.

"He felt your desires again after you got out and it's set him back a bit." Chris admitted with a winch. "Aunt Phoebe and Uncle Coup are trying to help him but they can't help him like you were doing and we don't know who we could send him to."

"I need to be there for him." James winced. "But I could..."

"They understand." Chris soothed him and brought him close again.

"I need to know what's happening to him. I have to know if I've got the time to be sitting here uselessly." James told him and pulled away again.

"This isn't useless." Chris told him. "Looking after yourself isn't useless, James."

"But Felix..." James almost sobbed. "I..."

"How about we bring Coup here?" Chris tried. "Just one person. He can tell you all about how Felix is reacting and then you can decide whether it can wait until Saturday or not."

James turned away from Chris but grabbed his hands and wrapped Chris' arms around himself almost like he was hugging himself. Chris tightened his grip against James' tiny frame and rested his head on James' shoulder and merely waited knowing that James was assessing the dangers and knew what he'd do. The small chance of him hurting Coup was nothing compared to the danger that Felix was in.

"Call Coup." James told him eventually. "I have to know."

Chris sighed and called out to his Uncle knowing that by calling Coup he'd come alone. A glow appeared in the centre of the room and Coup appeared almost ten seconds after they'd called him.

"Chris." Coup said in way of greeting and then smiled happily at James. "James, it's so good to see you up and about."

James kept himself firmly in Chris' arms and stopped Chris from letting him go when Chris tried. It was obvious to Chris and Coup what James was doing and Coup could sense his desire to have Chris restrain him so he couldn't hurt anyone.

James tried to speak but couldn't manage it with Coup there so Chris spoke up instead. "James wants to know about Felix."

"He's okay, James." Coup told him.

James shook his head and managed to speak. "Don't cover it. I need to know how he's reacting so I know if I have to come help him."

"You need to think about yourself first." Coup told him.

"No." James shook his head. "Felix might need me."

"Just tell him, Uncle Coup." Chris nodded to him.

"Okay." Coup sighed. "For starters he hasn't let go of either myself, Phoebe, Paige, Henry or Joshua and Joshua is having to stay with us so that Felix can sleep next to him or he just panics."

"He's seeking protection." Chris spoke up but James shook his head slightly. "Not just that?"

"He's also staying with people that can stop him." James muttered weakly. "He's scared about what he'll do if he's alone."

Coup nodded. "Phoebe and I thought that might be the case so we haven't left him alone."

"You can't mean he would..." Chris started.

"That's what I need to know." James muttered, slowly gaining courage around Coup. "Does he talk?"

"Not much." Coup sighed. "He'll say a few words now and then but only out of courtesy and he'll always answer us if we talk to him. We know Josh has talked to him about these desires when they're alone but he doesn't seem capable of talking to us about them and we didn't want to push them." Coup continued talking for about ten minutes and James just watched him and took everything in and finally Coup stopped and sat on the back of the sofa.

James hung his head to look at his boyfriend's arms across his bare chest and merely thought for a while before looking up at Coup. "He's scared of upsetting any of you and being abandoned. That's why he's answering you and he wants help which is why he's going to Joshua but it's my fault that he's not talking to you about it. I told him that the first stage is talking to a friend, someone like me and then onto Joshua. Without me around he's turned to Joshua."

"What do we do?" Coup asked.

"I don't want to hurt him." James mumbled but they both heard him. "If he does anything that scares you or if he has a particularly bad turn then bring him here but I don't think he's in any danger." James bit his lip for a moment. "Just let him be with whoever he wants to be with."

"He's asked about you." Coup told him.

"Tell him that I want to be sure I won't hurt him and then I'll come see him." James told him. "But tell him that if he's really scared he's to have you bring him to me."

"What about your..." Coupe winced and James studied him for a moment.

"Uncle Coup?" Chris frowned. "What...?"

"He means my own desires." James told Chris and felt Chris tighten his arms around him. "They won't be a threat to anyone. You can't feel them right?"

Coup shook his head. "But you shouldn't deal with them yourself."

"When I want to deal with them I'll talk to Chris." James muttered and Chris kissed him on the back of the neck in acceptance of his request.

"Thank you, James." Coup told him. "We know how much you are dealing with and the fact you are more concerned about us means everything. Everyone misses you though."

"We're going to come to dinner on Saturday at the Manor." Chris told him and James nodded almost to himself.

"I'll let everyone know." Coup smiled and glowed red as he disappeared.

James turned and buried himself in Chris' chest again and eventually Chris laid them down on the sofa and switched the TV on and stripped his shirt and jeans off as James took off his own jeans showing that he hadn't put on anything but those. Chris pulled off his own boxers and laid down so James could lay on top of him and then pulled a blanket over them both, letting James merely rest with him.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Friday night

James was startled awake by noises in the other room and for a moment he thought he was back in Azkaban with Dementors outside his door. Before he could stop himself he was in the corner of the room but he managed to stop himself from sliding down the wall as he saw light coming from his doorway and felt the warmth of the apartment well above normal at the moment with Chris' attempts to make it as least like the prison cell as possible. That was also what the dull fairy lights were doing around the ceiling as well.

James caught his breath and calmed himself down before looking up at the doorway as somebody blocked the light. He flinched slightly before recognising Chris and relaxing. "Light, Chris." James pleaded and Chris flipped on the light before walking into the room and letting James fold himself into his arms until his shaking subsided. "I just flipped out when I heard voices outside the room and it was dark and..."

"Shhh, babe. I know." Chris told him. "I should have woken you up before I left."

"What's the matter? Who were you talking to?" James asked.

"Uncle Coup brought Felix here. He had a panic attack just now and ran away when Josh tried to calm him down. They found him hiding on the attic window sill." Chris paused. "At the Manor."

"Not at Cromwell Drive?" James asked referring to Phoebe and Coup's house about a mile from the Halliwell Manor.

"Uncle Coup doesn't think he teleported there." Chris winced. "Probably ran."

James stepped away from Chris and pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and was in the other room within a few minutes of waking up. The light was on as he'd known and Coup was sitting in the armchair with a crying Felix in his lap. The fifteen year old looked so small and scared you could imagine that he was much younger but James knew the effect these sort of desires had on a person. He'd seen fully grown men in Azkaban reverted into their childhood and curled up into a ball in the corner. James had almost been there a few times but he'd never had the luxury of losing his mind completely. He'd experienced and remembered it all.

James crouched in front of Coup who looked at him desperately. "I won't rest until Felix is just like he was before." James whispered so that Felix couldn't hear the words yet he still heard James' voice and looked up at him and almost threw himself at him, sending James to the ground with Felix in his lap. James looked up at Coup even as he held onto the boy who was only about a foot shorter than he was. James and Coup both knew that his words were hopeful. Both hoped they were possible but both knew that Felix might possibly forever hold the scar of that visit to Azkaban. James just hoped he could reduce the scar to where it didn't affect his life like it was now and since they weren't truly his emotions James held hope that it was possible that Felix would only ever be effected in the worst possible scenarios.

Coup and Chris left the apartment for the house on Cromwell Drive for the night and James merely sat on the sofa facing Felix who was curled up under a blanket with an almost constant supply of hot chocolate and James just let Felix talk knowing that the things the boy was saying could never be said to anybody but James. Somebody who could really understand what he was feeling and know how to deal with them. By the end of five hours the sun had risen and James was convinced that, apart from a few episodes like this where the desires were triggered by a nightmare or a bad situation, Felix would start recovering.

They moved on from that to talking about James' re-emergence into the family and Felix ended up trying to convince James that he wouldn't be out of place and that nothing had changed during the three weeks that James had been in Azkaban and that all of his cousins as well as his brother and sister couldn't wait to see him again.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

End Chapter