All too soon it was the end of term and exam season was on them. Chris had been so busy helping both champions prepare for the final task that he had been forced to be very selective when it came to his own revision. He had all but given up on wand work- he knew just enough to pass, he hoped, but with Hermione no longer available to tutor him properly he had lost his key motivation for progression. He hadn't bothered much with potions or herbology either as his education from Piper over the last fifteen years had in most areas surpassed the level of the examination. In the end the only subject Chris really saw a point in revising was History of Magic- a class that was full of more fantastical tales than the Book of Shadows (once you got passed the dull areas Professor Bins seemed determined to focus on).

The mysterious letters for Harry were now arriving daily but Chris was no closer to discovering their originator. He suspected they must be some sort of criminal or why else would his friends be so secretive. Truthfully Chris didn't really care who it was, it was just infuriating that every day when the letter arrived; his friends spend a few minutes in a whispered huddle reminding him that he wasn't really one of the gang.

The morning of the final exam was miraculously different, however, as before the owl carrying the mysterious envelope landed in front of Harry, a large tawny owl dropped a copy of the Daily Profit on top of Hermione's toast and all four of them were immediately draw to the front page headline.

Harry Potter 'Disturbed and Dangerous'

The article, the total opposite of the one Rita had written at the beginning of the story, made Harry out to be completely unworthy to be in the competition. Towards the end it suggested Harry might even be in contact with the dark arts because apparently he could talk to snakes (which, to Chris' mind, was probably the coolest thing he had learned about Harry all year).

Harry just laughed it off as he had done all the others, but Ron and Hermione couldn't understand how Rita could know so many of the details in the article. She had been banned from the school grounds and Hogsmeade yet she knew specifics such as Harry storming out of Divination and had even managed to conduct an interview with Draco Malfoy. The three boys turned to Hermione for an explanation. She had after all been researching all possible methods of magical espionage since Skeeta's last article.

"Well?" demanded Ron. He was more hostile than necessary though Chris understood how furious Ron was on behalf of his best friend. "Have you worked out how she's magically bugging the place yet?"

Hermione was frowning intently, as if the answer she sought was just out of her mind's reach and then at Ron's words it was as if it all clicked into place.

"I have an idea!" She announced. The boys leaned in eagerly to hear it but instead of explaining she shot off- no doubt towards the library.

"What does she think she's doing?" questioned Ron, staring incredulously after her. "We've got the History of Magic Exam in ten minutes!" Chris shrugged, having learned early on never to question either Hermione's library expeditions or her hatred for Rita Skeeta.

"Speaking of; we should get going. Don't want to be late for the last exam." Ron and Harry both nodded and readied to leave. Just as they were setting off, however, McGonagall intercepted them and informed Harry that he was required in one of the side chambers so he could great his family. Harry, who had no family to speak of- at least not one that would travel hundreds of miles to watch him compete for gold and glory- was understandably confused, but he followed McGonagall any way leaving Ron and Chris to ascend the steps to the exam devoid of half of their original number.

Hermione arrived just in time for the exam, but the moment she finished her essay- twenty minutes into the second hour- she handed it in and ran out of the room again, leaving Ron and Chris to exchange exasperated looks.

"Well those were the dullest two hours I have experienced in a while." said Ron after the exam but he couldn't hold back a grin- exams were finally over and the final task was next. Chris nodded, his feelings torn between relief at the fact he wrote a decent final exam, joy that he was now free from studying, concern for that night's challenge and also sadness at the realisation that his year at Hogwarts was almost at an end. "So, lunch? I want to find Harry and find out who these mysterious relatives are. I bet it's Lupin- you know, the werewolf professor from last year."

"Awesome! Can't wait to meet a proper werewolf! I'll track down Hermione and meet you in the great hall." Ron nodded and they split off.

Chris walked slowly towards the library; his sudden realisation that he would soon be leaving made him nostalgic for every corridor. In fact he was so distracted by taking in every crevice the castle had that he almost crashed into Hermione in the entrance to the Library.

"There you are!" He said. "So go on, tell me. What's Skeeta's secret?"

Although Chris didn't quite feel the same level of animosity towards the sensationalist journalist as Hermione did; he still held a grudge against her for his representation in the article about Hermione's love life. Wyatt had now distributed a copy of the magazine to every member of the family- including their grandparents, dead and alive, as well as to any friend that knew about their powers. Melinda and Prue both had framed copies.

"She's an animagi!" revealed Hermione as if this simple statement explained everything.

"A what?"

"You know; a witch or wizard that can turn into an animal at will. It's really dangerous and highly regulated and the ministry keeps a register, but well... let's just say we've met unregistered animagi before so I checked and she isn't on the register meaning that she's doing it illegally! We've got her!" Hermione said all of this without pausing for breath, but Chris hadn't really processed any of it after Hermione said witches can turn into animals easily surpassing parseltongue in the category of coolest piece magic he had learned about since breakfast.

"Witches can turn into animals? How? Can they choose which one?"

"That's not the point Chris!" chastised Hermione. "Rita Skeeta can turn into a water beetle! Remember that time you invited me to come visit you? There was a bug on your jumper- I bet it was her! That's how she is sneaking into the castle. She is literally bugging the place!"

Chris decided that now wasn't the time to appease his own magical curiosity and instead he joined Hermione in her enthusiasm for a mystery well solved.

"You're a genius, Hermione!" he declared, hugging her with such jubilance that he lifted her into the air. Once he put her back down she looked up into his eyes and kissed him. The moment was perfect.

That was until it was broken by a new arrival.

"Aww..." cooed Coop, beaming at his nephew. "Young love, I could sense it three corridors back." Hermione and Chris jumped apart, both of their cheeks reddening quickly.

"Coop!" exclaimed Chris indignantly. "What are you doing here?" Coop shrugged, his joy at Chris' happiness overriding any awkwardness he should rightly have.

"Well I gave your family a lift here to watch the final task and decided I might as well stay and support my oldest nephew as well. The rest of the family wanted to be here too but we weren't sure Hogwarts could handle it. So as Wyatt is talking to your parents, I thought I'd have a look around this beautiful castle in the hopes of running into one of my other nephews." Chris rolled his eyes.

"So you're Chris' uncle?" chimed in Hermione in far kinder tones. "Are you the cop or the cupid?"

"Alas I am the cupid. The cop is way cooler." Hermione laughed and Chris, looking his uncle straight in the eyes, nodded in agreement. "You must be Hermione; my daughter has told me a lot about you."

"Chris has talked about you too, but I will admit that I didn't know whether or not to believe he was related to a cupid. You're not exactly how the books describe you."

"Well I didn't know what I should believe my daughter about you either so I guess now is the perfect opportunity to get to know each other properly."

Hermione smiled and nodded and the pair proceeded to walk down to the great hall together talking all the way as Chris followed in their wake. He couldn't help but marvel at how easily Coop could talk to anyone and anyone could talk to him. He had an aura around him that seem to make people open up and Chris wouldn't be surprised if by the time they reached the great hall Coop knew more about Hermione than he had learned all year.

"Chris!" Exclaimed Melinda the moment she spotted them in the entrance to the Great Hall. She shot up from her place at the Gryffindor table and ran over to her brother and uncle, but the moment she reached them; she ignored the boys and turned eagerly to Hermione. "You must be Hermione!" She said as if she were meeting a celebrity. "Wow, you're even prettier than I imagined. I'm Melinda, Chris' little sister." She hugged the very startled Hermione then moved back and held her hands. "I have to know everything about you! Chris hasn't told me a thing, of course. Not that I imagine he ever talks about me..."

"Actually Mel, I talk about you all the time." Cut in Chris freeing Hermione's hands from Melinda's grip. "You just wouldn't like what I say." Melinda stuck out her tongue at him and then Chris pushed her back towards the table where the rest of the family was sitting.

"Look, you don't need to stay." offered Chris, turning quickly to Hermione. "I come from a family of insane people. It isn't cowardice to turn back now." Hermione grinned and shook her head.

"Nice try. I want to meet your mother." Chris sighed, defeated, and together they walked over to the small huddle of Halliwells. They were sat next to a small group of red heads who could only be Ron's family.

Piper was sat next to Ron's mother and they were deep in an intense conversation which was being watched by the slightly nervous faces of Harry, Ron and an older Weasley boy Chris didn't recognise though guessed was Bill Weasley- the only one of Ron's siblings he hadn't yet met. Across from them at the table sat Wyatt and Leo who were also deep in conversation.

"Chris!" greeted Piper when they drew level. She pulled her reluctant and slightly embarrassed son into a tight hug and then turned to Hermione. "And you must be the fabled Hermione. It's lovely to finally meet you."

"It's really nice to meet you too, Mrs Halliwell." Hermione smiled back.

"Oh, please call me Piper. And this is Leo, Chris' dad."

"Hermione!" said Molly Weasley standing up and pulling the surprised witch into a tight hug. "Oh my dear, how are you? I just want to apologise for the mix up with the Easter Eggs, I never should have believed that Rita Skeeta- Piper has explained everything to me and I can't believe 'Witch Weekly' would ever print such cruel lies." Hermione smiled back and muttered her thanks for the apology.

"Molly, this is my youngest son Chris." Said Piper and Molly Weasley beamed at Chris in a way that couldn't help but make him smile a sheepish grin.

"Chris! Ron has told me all about you." She hugged Chris as well and then they all took their seats at the lunch table and started helping themselves to the divine food.

Just as Chris had feared; most of the lunch was spent answering questions about Hermione's life and their relationship- some more subtly crafted than others. Unsurprisingly it was Melinda that led the interrogation, but the formidable team of Piper and Molly combined was not to be underestimated.

"Ok that's enough." Cut in Leo after a while. He could sense his son's growing frustration and decided to end the conversation before Chris lost his civility and threw his little sister across the room. "There must be something else worth discussing around this table. How is everyone feeling about the final task?"

This wasn't a topic of conversation that either of the Champions really wanted to discuss so close to the event but his words had the desired effect of changing the focus of the conversation away from Hermione and Chris and the rest of the afternoon suddenly became considerably more bearable.

Xx

"Ladies and Gentlemen, in five minutes' time I will be asking you to make your way down to the Quidditch pitch for the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament. Will the champions please follow Mr Bagman down to the stadium now."

As Harry and Wyatt got up from their seats and accepted the well-wishing of both families; the rest of the table burst into rapturous applause. Over at the Hufflepuff and Slytherin tables Cedric was receiving the same support and even the Ravenclaws were cheering for Fleur.

Wyatt felt an electric wave of energy surge through him the moment they left the stuffy atmosphere of the castle. This was it. His final chance to prove himself as a witch. His final opportunity to prove that he made the right choice in leaving his family to pursue this glory.

"You feeling alright?" he asked Harry. He could sense the kid's nerves, but Harry had it under control.

"Yeah I guess. I just want to start now. You know?" Wyatt nodded- Harry took after his own heart.

The stadium was utterly transformed now. Twenty foot high hedges circled it completely with the only gap directly in front of them. Wyatt squinted into the maze, but the tall hedges cast such complete shadows that it was impossible to see a thing.

The sky was almost completely dark by the time they were ready to start, but eventually Bagman's voice boomed through the air announcing the beginning of the challenge.

Harry was at the top of the competition so he got to enter first, followed by Wyatt then Fleur and finally Cedric. Once more the air burst into a mess of cheers, whoops and applause and then Bagman's whistle pieced the air and Harry hurried into the maze. Wyatt wanted to offer him some final words of encouragement but held back. Harry was clearly a competent wizard- he was first in the competition for crying out loud. Wyatt needed to stop looking down on him like he was just some kid and start to view him at the competition he really was. With that last thought accompanying Bagman's second whistle; Wyatt entered the maze utterly determined to secure his victory.

The second he stepped into the maze his world fell into eerie silence. It reminded him of being down in the underworld. He had his mission. He had perfected his methods and for once he had no distractions. He was in his element.

Following the advice his uncle Henry had given him years ago he selected the left wall of the maze and began to follow it exactly. There would be quicker routes to the centre, of that he had no doubt, but this was the only way to guarantee he didn't get lost. He lit his path with orbs- a trick his father had taught him one Hogsmeade weekend. It in some ways the light blue orbs softened his surrounding, but if Wyatt looked too closely at the hedges that now trapped him- he found that the light seemed to make the intertwining branches come alive and slither amongst themselves in unsettling patterns.

Wyatt travelled through the maze at a steady jog, his confidence high despite the number of dead ends he was encountering. At one point he stumbled and reached out to the hedge for support but before his fingers reached the hedge line he could have sworn the branches had reached out for him. He jolted away from the wall- his surprise enough to counteract his stumble and continued on his way at a slightly more careful pace.

Not a lot happened for a while- or at least it felt like a while to Wyatt. This maze was horribly timeless. He suspected he was being lulled into a false sense of security but if that was the task planner's intention then they had chosen the wrong witch.

Finally; Wyatt met his first obstacle, although Wyatt had no clue what he was actually meeting. It was some sort of creature that looked to Wyatt as if it were created from a five year old's description of a scorpion it had seen aged three. It had legs sticking out at odd angles, no head to speak of and was about ten feet long.

"What the hell are you?" He murmured in disgust.

As if in answer; the creature lifted its long sting and then a blast of flame burst out of its end propelling it directly at Wyatt who stumbled backwards in horror. This wasn't at all what he had been expecting.

He sent out a huge wave of heat energy- enough to fry any lower level demon but it seemed to have no effect on the monstrosity. Wyatt tried again with all of his power but the shell was impervious to his attacks and he didn't have time for a third attempt as the creature was readying for its retaliation.

In panic Wyatt telekinetically lifted his foe into the air and then with all his power he sent it flying to another part of the maze for some other unfortunate champion to deal with. It wasn't technically cheating, he assured himself as he continued, he had dealt with the obstacle after all.

His next distraction from the monotony of the maze came in two forms in very quick succession. First a piercing scream shattered the still silence of the shrubbery and then he rounded a corner and was faced with a swamp.

Wyatt wasn't immediately certain of what to do. His entire plan for navigating the maze relied on him following this one wall no matter what but to proceed forward meant he not only had to find a way to navigate he unknowably deep quagmire but he also had to ignore the cry of someone who was clearly in danger. Obviously that second part should be a no brainer. The only people possibly in danger in the maze were the other champions and they were more than capable of handling themselves. What he really needed to do was to silence that pesky white-lighter voice in his mind yelling at him to investigate the scream so he could focus on moving forward.

Gingerly he lowered one foot into the bog and let it sink in. The mud rose just above his ankles before his foot came to rest on the hard floor of the maze. He could lift it out just as easily so clearly the challenge would not be getting through the marsh but rather dealing with whatever traps lay within.

His navigational plan giving him no room to deviate; Wyatt wasted no time dithering and began his progression across the marsh with three long strides. For a moment he thought it was perfectly safe- just a trick to get Champions to turn back, and then something grabbed his leg.

Instinctively Wyatt sent a blast of energy straight at his would be captor and with a hurt squeal, Wyatt's leg was free.

More cautiously now, he took another step forward and it was at this point that he noted the vaguely green and steadily thickening mist that had risen from the swamp. He tried to use his shield to protect himself but the mist just floated through the barrier so all Wyatt could do was cover his nose and mouth and get through the swamp as fast as possible.

"Wyatt help!" screamed Melinda right behind him. Wyatt wheeled around but he couldn't see anyone. "Wyatt! Please!" his sister's voice was hoarse and terrified and seemed to be coming at him from every direction. He tried to move, to find some way to help him but more arms had risen from the bog and were holding both his legs in place.

"Wyatt!" his mother's voice this time. She sounded broken. "Wyatt, your dads hurt you need to heal him now!" Still Wyatt couldn't tell where the voices were coming from- the fog was so thick now that he could barely see a metre in front of him.

"Wyatt!" More and more voices were screaming his name now- he could hear his aunts and uncles, his cousins, his friends from back home. They were all in danger and all Wyatt could think about was how he needed to reach them.

In his panic he tried to orb to them. Of course, the spells around the school meant he couldn't go anywhere so all he did was dissolve into orbs but for those brief moments he wasn't whole; his head suddenly cleared and the voices were gone and he returned to his senses.

"It's not real." He muttered to himself once he was fully formed again. "It's just the mist. Everyone is fine." He sent a blast of energy down at the hands that held him and kept on moving, constantly talking to himself to block out the steady crescendo of voices and screams until finally he reached the other side.

The moment he was clear of the swamp he bent over double, taking a few breaths to recover from that ordeal. It had all felt so real. He could still hear his sister's shrieks ringing in his ears and felt compelled to shut his eyes and sense for her- just to make certain she was alright. To his relief she was still sat on the outskirts of the maze with Chris, Callum, Coop and his parents- all safe and sound.

He took one final great gulp of air before continuing but had barely made it to the next turning when once more a shrill cry rang out- just as it had a few minutes ago before he stepped into the cursed marsh land. Wyatt wanted to ignore it. He knew it was just Fleur- she had probably run into the creature he had sent flying over the maze wall. Unfortunately, due to his most recent ordeal, his White-Lighter senses were on high alert and at the sound of someone in danger they leapt into action- giving him no choice but to comply.

"Fleur?" he called. No response. He kept moving along the path until he reached a junction and then he tried sensing for his onetime girlfriend. Unfortunately they hadn't spent enough time together for that bond to have formed but fortunately it wasn't necessary as at that moment Wyatt heard a loud bellowing shout one hedgerow over.

"Crucio!" yelled Cedric as Wyatt wheeled around the corner. This time Fleur didn't scream, she just let out a pitiful moan.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" demanded Wyatt. With a wave of one hand he disarmed Cedric and with a forceful swipe of the other he pinned the Hogwarts champion against a hedge. Cedric wasn't giving up without a fight, however, and he fiercely fought his invisible restraints whilst at the same time shouting a steam of vicious curses at both Fleur and Wyatt.

"Va te faire foutre!" Fleur yelled at Cedric. And then to Wyatt; "Knock him out before 'e does anything else!" Wyatt nodded, and slammed his fist into Cedric's face with just enough power to knock him out and leave a well-deserved bruise, but shouldn't do too much lasting damage.

"What the hell was that all about?" He asked Fleur, hurrying to her side to ensure that she was alright.

"I zink 'e was enchanted. 'E 'ad the eyes of a man possessed." Wyatt felt a chill go down his spine. He didn't like the thought of Cedric snapping and torturing Fleur of his own accord but the idea that someone else would deliberately sabotage the competition in such a way was no more comforting. Trying to shake this thought he focused his attention on Fleur. She was white as a sheet and shaking like a leaf. The curse had contorted her limbs so much that Wyatt could see her right leg had snapped under the pressure and he would guess that both wrists were sprained and her shoulder dislocated. He reached out an arm to heal her injuries but she jolted back. "What ze hell do you zink you are doing?" she demanded.

"Relax; I'm just going to heal you. You can't carry on in your condition." Fleur smiled slightly at Wyatt's kindness but shook her head.

"You are an idiot. I am not carrying on at all. Obviously a cannot walk and I do not need your charity. Hand me my wand." She ordered. Wyatt complied instantly and Fleur shot a jet of red sparks up into the air as Professor McGonagall had instructed they should do if they surrendered. Then she leant up towards him and lightly kissed him on the lips in gratitude. "Now go. You have wasted enough time 'ere and I will not tolerate all three of us true champions being beaten by that child."

Wyatt nodded and set off at a jog back to the path he had originally been following. There were now only two competitors. Wyatt could almost taste his victory.

Along his path he ran into a few more magical obstacles and dangerous creatures- including a sphinx which stumped him for far longer than he cared to admit- but none of them offered him any real challenge until he ran into the giant spider.

Wyatt wasn't a fan of spiders. Chris often teased him for this. He could fight demons and warlocks any day of the week but the moment he was faced with a spider larger than a dime; he froze and more often than not it was up to Chris to remove it. Wyatt never wanted to kill spiders- any creature that could navigate eight legs at once and create such intricate webs was surely capable of solving it's friends murder and the last thing he wanted was to be the target of spider-y retribution. It was literally the thing of his nightmares.

This spider was definitely bigger than a dime. It was gigantic and had just crashed through the hedge directly behind him. Wyatt wheeled around and froze, staring up into its eight gleaming black eyes.

"Holy..." He breathed, multiple explicates running through his head. He raised his shield and stepped back. He tried to telekinetically lift it as he had done with the first monstrosity of the night, but to no avail. Similarly none of his other active powers seemed to do any more than irritate the spider and Wyatt quickly realised he only had one option.

He turned on his heels and ran.

He sprinted down three hedge lined corridors, all the while hearing the spider crash along behind him. Three times he was forced to disperse into orbs to avoid the creatures' razor sharp pincers from seizing him but he was fast running out of breath and knew he couldn't keep it up for ever. 'This is it.' he thought to himself. 'This is how I die.'

Suddenly a red flash of light came flying towards him, skimming his face as it flew over his shoulder. Wyatt recognised the light of a wand-spell but judging from the cacophony the spider was still making behind; the spell had had about as much affect as Wyatt's own magic.

Another flash of red light flew past him and now his eyes had focused ahead enough to see the source. It was Harry. He was standing still next to a left turn, his wand out stretched.

"What are you doing!?" screamed Wyatt, unable to keep his terror from his voice. "Don't just stand there! Run!" Harry nodded and began down the turning. Wyatt followed and wasn't sorry he did as there, 100 yards ahead of him, was the gleaming Triwizard cup.

Even despite his exhaustion; his long legs gave him an easy advantage over the boy wizard and soon he had overtaken him. A victory for Wyatt but- given how close the Spider had been on his heels- this was not good news for Harry.

Wyatt spun around just in time to see the unfortunate boy hoisted of his feet and lifted twelve feet into the air. Harry struggled madly- kicking every limb in his reach, but all in vein.

"Harry!" Cried Wyatt- seeing the unfortunate boy in such danger conjured flash backs of his ordeal in the swamp and there wasn't a single part of him wanting to abandon Harry just to reach the cup first. Knowing the spider was impervious to his magic, he focused all his power on Harry. He telekinetically yanked Harry free of the spider but judging from the ear-splitting cracking sound the freedom had come at the cost of the boy's ankle.

"Do you have your wand?" Asked Harry from the ground- no doubt only adrenalin was keeping him from passing out. Wyatt nodded - Callum had insisted he took it as a precautionary measure- but Wyatt couldn't see what good it would do. "On three yell 'stupefy'!" The kid ordered. Wyatt nodded again and pulled out his wand. He wasn't good at the technical element of wand work but he had been practising channelling as much of his power down the magical sick as possible. "Three!"

"Stupefy!" The boys yelled in unison and the two of their powers combined did what one could not. The spider keeled over and Harry and Wyatt were left panting in the final corridor of the maze, each within fifty feet of 'eternal glory'.

"You alright?" asked Wyatt. He knew he could just take the cup. Harry's ankle had shattered so he was going nowhere fast. Something pulled Wyatt back though and instead he walked over to Harry, knelt down and healed the deep wound. Harry frowned.

"What are you doing?" He questioned. "Just take the cup! You deserve it! End the competition and get us out of here!" Wyatt shook his head and pulled a frustrated Harry to his feet. "Look, you saved my life, ok, stop being so noble and just take the cup!"

"No. You only needed saving because you paused to try and help me. You deserve it just as much as me. You've been ahead every stage of the competition. You've earned this." Harry shook his head and neither of them took a step towards the trophy. Wyatt groaned. Apparently Harry shared another trait with Chris- stubbornness. The pair glared at each other, each convicted in their determination to bow to the better man.

"Together?" offered Harry breaking the standoff after a few tense minutes.

"Can we do that? Can two schools win?"

Harry shrugged. "The competition is meant to be about fostering new friendships right? That is if you're prepared to share the glory."

Wyatt grinned. "Hey, I'm the Twice Blessed son of the Charmed Ones and you're 'the Boy Who Lived', right? I think we can afford to share this one."

Compromise reached; they finally walked to the trophy. They stopped side by side; an arm's reach from their prize and looked at each other.

"On three then?" said Wyatt. Harry nodded and returned the older witch's smile.

"One- two- three."