Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Thank you all so much for the reviews for the last chapter! I'm sorry it took me so long to get another one up. I had some serious writer's block.

I believe I can get this going, and I'm going to try hard to keep up with writing this story!

Harry sat in the school library, books and papers sprawled out on top of the table in front of him. Professor Snape had decided to pile his students up with tons of homework, leaving Harry incredibly irritated. He fumbled with the book in front of him, trying to find the page he needed. Ron sat beside him, head rested in his arms on top of his book. After skimming through the book and finding nothing, Harry let out a frustrated sigh and slammed the book shut.

Ron's head snapped up, awakened by the loud slam, and let his gaze rest on his friend, "I'm trying to sleep here, mate!" he spoke in a harsh whisper, rubbing his tired eyes.

"Sorry Ron," Harry apologized, eyes wandering back down to his homework, "It's just that Snape gave us so much work and I can't find the answers for the life of me." Professor Snape sure knew how to torture a student, Harry mused.

"Just ask Hermione for help," Ron suggested, resting his head back down on his books, "She's like a walking encyclopedia."

"I would have asked her, if she was here," Harry opened up another book and began to flip through it randomly, "She went off to get books twenty minutes ago!"

"Harry, Ron!" The two boys snapped their heads in the direction of the call, falling on the image of their friend rushing towards them, a smile on her face. She clutched her books tightly in her arms.

"Finally," Harry spoke as Hermione took a seat next to him, placing her books on the table, "You've been gone so long. What happened to you?"

"We have a new student!" she exclaimed with excitement, "And he's from America!"

"Wait, what?" Ron chirped in, eyes wide, "I thought America was in some huge war right now?"

"Yeah," Harry nodded, looking from Ron to Hermione, "I heard that whole country was on a sort of lockdown or something. Lord Wyatt won't let anyone in or out." The three had read that in The Daily Prophet that morning. Apparently Wyatt had taken his lockdown of the country to new extremes after the escape of some valuable prisoner.

"I don't know how he got out, but he did," she spoke with a smile, "It's just so amazing to have an actual witch in our midsts. I've always been intrigued by the Wiccan world, the way they use magic, their active powers, it's just all so different from our way. . ." she paused for a moment, before staring right back up, "Chris--the new boy--he's a telepath. He can read thoughts and control things with his mind. I don't know what other active powers he has, but I bet he has tons more," a beat, "Oh, and he's a half-breed. He's half witch-half whitelighter, I'm guessing. Half-breeds are extremely rare, they only make up about one-eighth of the Wiccan community. . ."

Ron rolled his eyes at his friend's long rant and rested his head in his hand, "Told ya'," he spoke up, looking towards Harry with a smirk, "walking encyclopedia."

Hermione sent a deadly glare Ron's way, "Fine Ron, I'll stop. But don't think you're getting any help with the homework Snape gave us." She opened on of her books and turned to a specific page.

"Come on, Hermione," Ron spoke, "I was just kidding," She looked up from her book, "Now, seriously, Harry and I need help with Snape's overload on homework."

"Does he know much about the war?" Harry questioned after a brief pause, looking over towards Hermione. He was a bit curious about the new student, as she was, and if it was true what they had heard about an alliance between Voldemort and Lord Wyatt, then any information about America's war would help them greatly.

"Yes, actually," Hermione beamed with enthusiasm, "he told me that he and Lord Wyatt knew each other before the war started. They were 'close,' as he put it," she paused, "he knew Wyatt, so maybe he could help us figure out how he thinks. When I brought Lord Wyatt up, he seemed to know a lot about the way his mind worked."

"Is that why he's here?" Ron chimed in, "Because he was close to Lord Wyatt before he was Lord Wyatt?"

"Perhaps," Hermione nodded, "He seems to have a neutral stance in the war though. He told me he wasn't fighting on either side."

"What?" Harry questioned, voice raising slightly, "He isn't fighting with the Resistance?" Harry found this fact outrageous. How could someone just stand around and watch their whole country fall to evil without a fight? If it was his country--which it soon may be--he'd fight along with good. He wouldn't let evil overcome and he wouldn't let innocent people die.

"Lord Wyatt and him were friends," Hermione reminded, "Don't you think it would be hard for you to fight someone you had grown close to?" she inquired, "What if you had to fight Ron or me? Would you really pick up a wand against us without hesitation?"

Harry sat silent for a minute, taking in that scenario. He knew he wouldn't have the heart to hurt Hermione or Ron. They were his best mates, and if they ever did turn against him, he knew it would be incredibly hard to point a wand towards them, intending to harm them in any way.

"It would be hard," Hermione almost spoke his thoughts for him, "I know it would be hard for anyone to fight someone that they once were close to."

"But what if they were so far gone that their old self disappeared completely?" Ron questioned, "What if there was nothing left of the person you knew? There is no way that Lord Wyatt had been like this while he and Chris were friends. He kills his own kind, and I heard that he even killed his own family!" Ron looked from Hermione and Harry, both heads staring down towards the wooden table, "That's just pure evil."

"...There may be," Hermione spoke up shyly, "somewhere inside of him, some small part of him that is still his old self." She looked up at her two friends, "Maybe that's what is keeping Chris from choosing a side. He won't fight for Lord Wyatt, but he won't fight against him either because he still believes the old Wyatt is in there somewhere."

Harry nodded in agreement, "He could still be." Harry understood Chris' reasoning--somewhat--now, and he got how hard it must be to choose a side when both sides seemed wrong.

"Well," Ron spoke up after a long pause, "where is this kid?" His gaze moved towards Hermione, "I want to meet this American half-breed for myself."

Chris exhaled and released the smoke from his lungs. He watched as the cloud rose up high into the air, swirling around until it disappeared for good. He had been able to locate a peaceful lake, not that far away from the school, that was able to provide him with the privacy and space he needed to think. Chris lay in the grassy meadow, back against the stiff ground, his eyes staring up into the cloudy sky. The sun was setting, laying low near the horizon line, coloring the sky in shades of orange and pink.

As he took puff after puff of his cigarette, he wondered what his father was doing Up There, in Elderland. Probably sitting on his golden throne, shaking his head in disapproval at both Wyatt and him, wondering 'where did I go wrong?'

Chris snorted at the thought of his absent father, a smirk appearing on his face. The man hadn't done any wrong with him, he'd never been around long enough to leave any lasting impression. Thankfully, he and his father hadn't had much contact since their last meeting on the Golden Gate Bridge. He was beginning to miss that spot. The place had been a great place to think and great place to get away from the chaos bellow.

He remembered the first time Leo had introduced him to the spot. He had been five then, and Wyatt had been seven. It had been that rare occasion when he had been included in a father-son outing, and Leo had orbed them on top of the high bridge. Wyatt hadn't taken well to the height, something he was still not fond of to the day, but had keep up a brave facade.

His father had held his small hand, smiling down at him with excitement. Chris had matched the expression even more enthusiastically. He loved it up there, and was fascinated by the view. Cars rushed down below them, the beautiful city, bright and wide, was spread out in front of them for miles. He had wanted to stay up there for hours, studying the large city and taking in every little detail, but Wyatt wouldn't permit it. He wanted to go home, he hated the height--though he didn't show it--and wanted to play a game of catch before night fell. Leo had quickly obeyed the elder boy's wishes and orbed them back home. Chris had watched from the steps the rest of the night as Leo and Wyatt threw the ball back and forth. Wyatt had forgot to give him a turn.

The jingle of orbs snapped Chris from his memories, and he turned his head to stare at the visitor.

"Wow, I can't believe you had the guts to actually come down here, Auntie Paige," he stared at the brown haired woman, taking a drag from his cigarette leisurely.

"I did what was best for you Chris--"

"No, this is not what's best for me," he snapped up straight, cutting his aunt off with an enraged roar, "I should be back in America, back in that cell, chained up where Wyatt had left me." He stood up and charged over to his aunt, "You should have butted out." He pointed an accusing finger her way.

"Chris, you are my charge, and my nephew," she reminded, voice stern, "I have to protect you and take care of you. I was not going to leave you there and let you die."

"Well," Chris started, crossed his arms, "technically, I did die," he strode off closer to the lake, taking a puff from his cigarette, "Wyatt just resurrected me," he turned to face his aunt, "you of all people should know he'd never let me die, permanently," Chris paused, "I'm of too much value to him."

The two just stood, silent, for minutes. Paige couldn't think of what to say. She wanted to apologize, wrap her only living nephew up into a hug, and protect him from his tyrannical brother. She wanted to persuade him to join the Resistance, as she had, and fight to stop Wyatt. Chris wouldn't do it though. He had too much loyalty to Wyatt, and she knew that he'd never be able to harm his brother. They had been so close as kids, the best of friends, and she knew that Chris didn't have the heart to hurt Wyatt, even if deep inside he wanted to. And hell, did he want to. She could see it in his eyes, the fury that seemed to fill him whenever Wyatt was mentioned. He wanted to hurt his brother, but he couldn't. Not because of strength--Chris was the only one strong enough to take on his brother--but because of blood. Chris could not--would not--lose the only living family he had left. Especially by his own hands.

"What do you think this school will do to me?" Chris questioned, breaking the silence. He placed a new cigarette between his lips and lit it, "Make me turn to the Resistance or something?" He let out a laugh, "Because that isn't going to happen, and you know it won't."

"You'll be safe here," she assured her nephew, "that's all I want right now." It wasn't the whole truth--she did hope that Chris would finally come to his senses and join the fight against Wyatt--but she was concerned for his safety more than that at the moment. Wyatt was messing with his mind, she had sensed her charge's pain as his brother meddled and pulled apart at his brain. She knew that anymore would cause Chris to snap, leaving him insane. That was the main reason she enlisted Dumbledore's help. She knew that the old wizard had a teacher at the school that could help Chris fix his mind, and she knew that Dumbledore would be able to get him out without notice and keep him safe within the school.

Chris stared at his aunt for a moment, before simply nodding and taking a seat down by the water. Paige slowly made her way over, sitting down next to her young nephew.

"You know what will happen if he finds me here," Chris spoke up after taking a drag, eyes kept steadily on the water. After a pause, he continued, "He won't let that old wizard live."

"He won't find you," she told her nephew, voice confident, hiding her doubts, "Even if he's made an alliance with Voldemort, he won't find you here."

He turned to glance at his aunt, "How do you know that he won't?"

She paused, thinking for an answer, before speaking up, "I don't," she told Chris, voice laced with dejection. "You're safe for now though, I promise you that."

Chris gave her a simple nod and inhaled. He let the smoke out slowly, eyes studying the calm waters.

"I should really snatch that out of your hands," she commented with a smile, "your mother would kill me if she caught me letting you smoke that thing."

She noticed the small smile appear on her nephew's face, causing her smile to grow even wider. She knew Piper was looking down right now, ranting on about how she'd snatch that thing, along with the whole pack, and chuck it in the lake. Piper was probably about ready to kill her for letting Chris continue to take puff after puff; good thing she was already dead, Paige mused to herself.

She stared at her nephew, who's eyes were still focused on the peaceful waters, and felt a singe of guilt. She wasn't aloud to tell him that she saw his mother regularly. She wasn't aloud to tell him that she was Up There, watching down on her two sons, wishing that she could make contact with any one of them. The Elders had made it clear to both sisters that Piper was not allowed to see Chris or Leo. For Chris, it was a punishment--a cruel punishment, in Paige's opinion. They knew how much Chris missed his mother, they knew how much it had torn him apart, but they wouldn't agree to let Piper visit him until he chose to join the Resistance. Paige was the only sister allowed to make contact with any of the two living Halliwells, since she was born half-whiteligther and assigned to Chris and Wyatt before she had died. The Elders felt the need to punish the only living Halliwell that was still under their domain until he went the way they pleased.

Paige heard the familiar chime of bells in her head, and rolled her eyes in exasperation at the Elders. They were calling her for a meeting about Chris, she knew that already. Leo would be there, but she would keep the boy's whereabouts a secret from him. She knew Chris didn't want anything to do with his father right now--that was why he blocked the estranged man from sensing him, obviously--and she would respect that wish, for now. She looked over towards her nephew, who was now back to laying on his back, exhaling smoke from his lungs in a cloud. His eyes stared up at the sky--up where the Elders and his mother were watching his every move--as he inhaled again from the stick that rested between his lips.

"I have to go," she told her nephew, catching the boy's gaze as she spoke, "I'll check on you sometime soon, I promise."

"I don't need to be checked up on," he informed his aunt, removing the stick from his lips, "I am fully capable of taking care of myself." He hated how his aunt seemed to deem him incapable of caring for himself. He was sixteen years old for heaven's sake, he could handle a simple task like that.

"Well, humor me, then. Will you?" she gave her a nephew a small smile as she stood up, "I like to be needed."

He gave a weak smile in return, waving at her with his hand, "I'll be seeing you soon then, Aunt Paige."

With that, Paige orbed out, smile still intact, leaving Chris to lay in the grass by himself.

The sun had finally set, Chris noted, and the sky had turned from the swirls of pink and orange into the darkness of early night. His head cocked towards the castle, staring at the huge structure in the moonlight. It looked sturdy and strong, protecting the students inside with it's heavy brick walls. If Wyatt did find him, then those walls definitely would not last for long.

He sighed and turned his head, putting out the cigarette in the grass. He shut his eyes and took in the sound of silence. An odd calm fell over him, slowly--something that he hadn't felt for weeks. It was too good to be true, and somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew this peace would not last as long as he'd want it to.

Thank you all so much for reading, and I hoped you enjoyed the chapter!

Once again, sorry it took me so long! I'll work on getting chapters up faster, and writing them as well, haha.

In the meantime, please review! I appreciate every single one of them!

:)