Chris spent most of the next two weeks with Hermione and her friends. Their teachers seemed to believe that their subject... so they were spending an increasing amount of time in the library writing essays and practising for tests whilst Hermione continued with Chris' wand lessons, and that's exactly where they were the day Harry stormed over to them, waving a copy of the wizarding newspaper at the pair of them.
"Have you seen this?" He exclaimed, slamming it down on the table before them to reveal a large picture of Harry on the front cover. "I can't believe it! Half the school already hate me, and now this!"
"Oh Harry, I'm sure it's not that bad." Soothed Hermione, straightening out the paper before her to read the rest of the article. Her face steadily fell into a frown as she read the front page, "Okay, so it's not great but I'm sure there's plenty about the other Champions inside." She assured him after a minute.
"There's one line." Harry told her hotly, angrily flicking through the pages to find the rest of the article, slamming it down on the desk when he had done so, drawing annoyed glares from other users of the library.
'...and we wish this brave young man every luck as he goes forth in this challenging competition, completing against Miss Fleur Delacour (Beauxbatons, France) and Wyatt Halliwelt (Magic School, USA).'
"Halliwelt. Nice." Commented Chris as he read the article as well. "Well look on the bright side, at least now everyone from my school will finally understand all the hype about Harry Potter- the err..." He glanced back down at the article to where Rita Skeeter had described the trauma he had been through as a child, "Oh right yeah, 'The boy who lived', it's just so dramatic."
"I think I preferred it when at least some people didn't look at me like I'm a freak." Responded Harry miserably, Sitting down in one of the free chairs and burying his head in his hands.
"Wait, so no one has heard of Harry Potter where you come from?" Asked Hermione with interest, "I thought he was famous all over the world, even the Beauxbatons students know who he is." Chris shrugged,
"Well, we don't really have the same sort of community you guys do." He explained. "When I was growing up I met more demons then I did witches, so unless he's famous with non-witches, I wouldn't have heard of them."
"Demons?" Questioned Hermione with fascination. "They really exist?" Chris nodded, his eyes momentarily darkening as memories of his many traumatic dealings with those creatures flashed through his mind. "I thought they were just a Myth."
"That's what I thought about Giants and Wizards in pointy hats." Pointed out Chris, "But back in San Francisco, they seem to be anywhere, to be honest I'm surprised you don't have them here, they can travel all over the world. You must have some books about them in all of this." He gestured around at the thousands of books that surrounded them,
"Well, I have read one story about demon's in Britain." Considered Hermione as she tried to remember what she had seen. "According 'An ancient history of magic in the British Isles.' demons did used to be a dangerous threat, but then Merlin somehow banished them from the shores and they were never able to return."
"Merlin?" Questioned Chris sceptically. Although his brother was the heir to Excalibur, his Mum and Aunts had always said that that Merlin himself was a Myth.
"Yeah, oh you must have heard of Merlin!" Insisted Hermione.
"Even Muggles have heard of Merlin." Agreed Harry, "You know Merlin, Camelot, King Arthur, Gwenev..." Chris held up his hand, indicating Harry could stop explaining.
"My brother turned seventeen recently." He told them, "Trust me; I know who King Arthur is." Hermione frowned at this cryptic comment, but continued telling the story.
"Yeah well, apparently one year, Camelot was under siege by practically the entirety of the Underworld, and they were winning. Thousands of people died, and the Knights of Camelot were powerless against them, so they thought everything was lost, but as Merlin watch the demons destroy the city and kill his friends, his anger and sadness gave him such power that, apparently, with a raw, sent all the demons flying back down to hell, and was somehow able to shut the daws behind them so they couldn't return." She recalled, as dramatically as she could make the story sound. "Of course no one real believes it." She added as an afterthought, "There's no official record of it, where as there is with a lot of Merlin's other achievements, so it has largely been believed that Demons never existed."
"Well that's great Hermione." Stated Harry, returning his attention to the paper before him, "But is there any chance that book also told you the way to banish every single copy of the Daily Profit? Because if not, I'm going to be a laughing stock!"
Harry was not wrong. Over the next few days, everywhere he went he drew harsh and mocking comments from much of the school Not only the Slytherins, whom Chris had come to expect a certain level of nastiness from, but also Hufflepuffs and even a few Ravenclaws, all of whom apparently believed that Harry was deliberately trying to draw all the attention to him and away from Hogwarts' true Champion, Cedric.
On the final Saturday before the first task, all of the students above the second year were allowed to visit Hogsmeade, and Chris was particularly looking forward to escaping the confines of the grounds and exploring somewhere different with his new friends. He knew that some of the other Magic School kids, including Wyatt and Callum, were planning to orb, shimmer or teleport to other places the moment they were clear of the protective enchantments, and go see their family or visit Diagon Alley - about which they had heard much about, but Chris had decided to stay with Harry and Hermione.
That Saturday, Chris awoke as normal and walked down with his brother to the Great Hall. Wyatt was still trying to persuade him to go with him, as he wanted to go to London in the morning and home in the Afternoon, but Callum was planning to spend the whole day with his Dad, leaving Wyatt alone. Eventually Chris conceded, agreeing to spend the morning with his friends, but after that he would orb back to the Manor and spend the rest of the day there. This was their last opportunity to go home before Thanksgiving and Piper had already written to her sons, promising them a proper Thanksgiving meal if they came back.
Harry and Hermione were already eating Breakfast when he arrived, and they seemed to be arguing about something that was making Hermione very annoyed. As he approached, he heard Hermione insist that Harry needed to get out for a bit and Harry replied, in quieter tones, something about how talking to Sirius tonight would make him feel better as well.
"Hey," Greeted Chris, sitting down opposite them and grabbing a slice of toast, "Are we still on for Hogsmeade today?" He checked, worried that Harry might be going to meet this Sirius guy rather than staying with Hermione and him.
"Yes." Replied Hermione firmly before Harry had a chance to object. Chris turned to Harry, to confirm this, and Harry simply nodded in defeated agreement.
"Fine." He conceded, "But I'm bringing my cloak, and Chris, you've got to keep it a secret and not give me away." Chris frowned- having no idea what in the world Harry was talking about, but nodded any way, and twenty minutes later the three of them were headed for Hogsmeade.
Despite Harry's complaints, Hermione dragged him into all of the crowded shops, wanting Chris to experience everything Hogsmeade had to offer. So, as Chris bought vast quantities of sweets for his sister and cousins, or a collection of tricks from Zonko's, Harry was forced to desperately try and avoid the mass of students surrounding them, careful that none of them stood of his cloak.
Eventually Hermione conceded to Harry's request, and they decided to visit the Three Broomsticks, and give Chris his first taste of Butter Beer.
Hermione offered to buy the drinks, so Harry and Chris wound their way through the crowded space, to a small table right in the corner, where they sat and waited for Hermione.
"So are you with us all day, or are you meeting your friend?" Asked Chris casually, trying not to move his lips so he didn't look like he was talking to himself.
"What friend?" Asked Harry in confusion.
"You know." Maintained Chris, "You were talking about meeting up with him at Breakfast, um, Sirius or something." Harry froze, although Chris didn't see this, and he grabbed Chris' arm firmly, making the young Witch turn to face the space where his head most probably was in surprise. "What is it?" He asked.
"Look." Hissed Harry, glancing around to make sure no one was looking at Chris' startled expression, "You need to forget that name." He instructed, not having known Chris nearly long enough to trust him with his God Father's secret, "It's nothing important, I'd just rather as few people as possible heard about him, ok?"
Chris frowned, clearly there was something more going on here than Harry was letting on, but he decided to let it go for now, whatever it was, he doubted it was worth arguing with an invisible man in the middle of a crowded room.
"Everything okay?" Asked Hermione, as she set two foaming tankards of hot Butter Beer down on the table, subtly slipping the third one under Harry's cloak. Both boys nodded, although of course Hermione could only see Chris'.
Just as Chris was about to bid his friends good bye, two teachers began weaving their way towards them. He recognised them as Moody, the mad yet brilliant defence against the dark arts teacher and Hagrid who taught Care of Magical Creatures.
"Hello Hermione, Chris." Beamed the half Giant. Clasping a ginormous hand on Chris' shoulder. The two teachers were stood either side of Harry, and although neither of them should be able to see him, both seemed to mutter something quietly down to the boy, making Chris suspect his Defence teacher's eye did more than just see through tables.
Xx
"Chris!" Squealed Melinda as he orbed into the Manor. She through her arms around her older brother as they hadn't seen each other in years instead of less than a month. She dragged him into the kitchen to where Wyatt was already sat, discussing the tournament with Leo as Piper started to cook what was lunch in America, but dinner for the boys who were running on UK time.
Both his parents greeted him enthusiastically, hugging him tightly, before Piper began to fuss over how scruffy his hair was and how he had managed to get holes in another pair of trousers. Melinda babbled nonstop through all of this, informing both of her brothers about every detail of what had been happening since they had been away. There had been a few demon attacks, and she had even been able to stop one, whilst their cousin PJ had broken up with her boyfriend because her Cupid powers were beginning to develop and she had discovered he was also seeing another girl in a different school.
"But you're not to say anything." She instructed sternly, looking up at both her bemused brothers, "she was really upset about it, and doesn't like it when it gets mentioned."
"So why did you tell us?" Asked Wyatt. Melinda shrugged, but before she could answer, Piper had ordered her to peel some potatoes, so she sighed and wondered off.
Dinner that night was a very excitable affair. Paige, Phoebe and their families had all turned up for the early Thanksgiving festivities and they were all eager with questions about Hogwarts.
"Wyatt tells me your friends with that poor boy who ended up being Hogwarts' second champion." Leo told Chris who nodded. "How's he holding up? I bet he must be terrified." Chris shrugged, thinking about the way Harry had been acting recently.
"To be honest, he seems more upset about the attention he's been receiving since his name was selected rather than concerned about what he's going to face." He confided, "Most of the school are really angry that he's steeling Cedric's glory, and the article about the champions didn't help."
"It was a terrible article." Agreed Wyatt from the other side of the table, "You know, she actually asked me a load of questions about my upbringing and all of the demons and stuff, she seemed really interested and then spells my name wrong!" Wyatt was the only person Chris had met who was actually more annoyed about his mention then Harry's attention. "Can't wait for Tuesday though." He continued enthusiastically, "Whatever we have to face will be better than all of this anticipation!"
Leo smiled, but scolded him for being so enthusiastic about such danger. Piper then cut in, fretting over Wyatt's safety and even Harry's, despite the fact that she had never met him. After dinner, Chris poured the bag of sweets he had brought from Honeydukes onto the floor of the living room and all of the Children, including himself and Wyatt began to enthusiastically explore the magical sweets.
"These are brilliant!" Grinned Henry Junior as he sucked on a levitating sherbet ball which made him hover two feet off of the ground.
"Eurgh!" Exclaimed Parker, spitting out an every flavoured bean into her hand, "That tastes like spinach!"
"Really?" Asked Patty, who had bitten into one of her own, "Mine tastes like doughnuts!"
As it was barely the evening in San Francisco, Wyatt and Chris completely forgot about the time difference and so it was long past midnight back at Hogwarts before they remembered they were meant to orb back to school. Piper quickly packed them some more jumpers and clothes, along with some biscuits and vanquishing potions into a bag, before giving them each one final hug and watching as the pair of them disappeared into orbs.
It was a long walk from the village back to the castle. Dumbledore had agreed that the gate could be left unlockable by a simple charm that night so as the magic school students could get back in after they visited their families. Despite the several weeks of practising, it still took many attempts for the boys to get the spell right, meaning that after the considerable walk from the gate to the seventh floor where they were staying, it was long past one.
Despite this, however, Callum was still awake, and appeared to be excitably awaiting their return. "You'll never guess what happened!" He challenged in an eager whisper, trying not to wake up the other students, "So I got back from my Dad's at about midnight, and as I walked past the grounds keeper's cabin, I saw through the window that Harry Potter was there and then he suddenly turned invisible!" Chris acted as surprised as Wyatt at this news, despite the fact that he knew all about the invisibility cloak, "Any way, Hagrid left the cabin, and I'm guessing Harry was with him, because I followed them into the forest and you're never guess what I found out!" Chris and Wyatt both gave him blank, yet interested stares, as they awaited the answer. "I found out what the first task it!" Chris grinned at this news. If Harry had indeed have been with Hagrid, then that meant he also knew what the task was, and so would have two extra days to prepare (and of course it was good for Wyatt as well, although Chris hadn't any concerns about Wyatt's safety). Wyatt's face however darkened, and he shook his head firmly,
"I don't want to know." He hissed, to surprised looks from both Chris and Callum.
"What, why not?" Questioned Callum in frustration, "trust me mate, I think it could be useful knowing in advance in this case." Callum seemed pretty nervous about the idea of Wyatt entering the task blindly, but Wyatt ignored this, continuing to shake his head.
"I don't care." He replied in determination, grabbing his pyjamas and beginning to change. "If I know, that just gives me another advantage over the others, and don't you think it's becoming slightly unfair?" He pointed out, echoing Chris' concerns the day they had arrived at Hogwarts.
"But it's not an advantage if everyone knows." Persisted Callum, fed up of the Halliwell stubbornness Wyatt had definitely inherited, "The French Headmistress was there so Fleur is going to find out, Harry clearly knows, and I doubt he'll keep it from Cedric." He informed him, tempted to just tell Wyatt without his permission.
"I don't care." Wyatt reiterated, climbing into his bed, "If they all have this advantage then it will make things more equal, and that's the way I want it. If I'm going to win, I want to win fairly, and without cheating."
"Wy, you're facing people who have trained with wands for at least three more years than you, you'd be surprised how powerful they really are, whilst you are struggling to perform even the simplest of spells." Callum argued, "I get that you're the twice blessed and everything, but these witches aren't powerless, and they will be prepared, and you need to stop being so egotistical that you think you are automatically going to win." Wyatt sighed, and stared his best friend in the eye, wanting him to understand.
"I know they are powerful, and I know that I do have a competition ahead of me ok." He stated forcefully. "This isn't me being arrogant or complacent; this is just the way I want to play the competition. I want to follow the rules and find out how good a witch I really am, and if that means giving my competitors a slight advantage then fine, but this is how I am playing it, and I need you to agree to accept that!" Callum sighed, still clearly very concerned, but gave him a curt nod any way.
The three boys finally climbed into bed and the older ones fell asleep almost instantly. Chris however couldn't rest. He thought about Tuesday, and what they could be facing. Whatever it was clearly dangerous, as Callum was usually more reckless and certain of Wyatt's power than Wyatt was, and if even he was nervous, Chris knew that what was coming wouldn't be good, and that now two people he cared about would soon be in great danger.