The atmosphere in the stands was light and jovial. After the crowds cheered in the four champions the energy never really let up and although no one could see what was going on in the maze: wild theories were spreading through the Quidditch stadium about the sort of challenges the champions would face.

"10 sickles says there's a dementor in there." offered Lee Jordan.

"Dementors aren't monsters to be fought, they are meant to be guards." objected Hermione

"Well maybe they'll be guarding the cup." argued Lee.

"Hagrid's arms looked really burnt when I saw him this morning- you don't think he put one of his Skrewts in there, do you?" said Ginny, the whole group shuddered at the thought of facing one of those monstrosities in such a confined space as the maze.

"Five sickles on Harry winning." spoke up Ron.

"Only five, Ron?" said Fred, "I thought he was your best friend. Five sickles doesn't indicate a lot of faith." Ron's ears went red and he muttered something about that being all he had but the conversation had already moved on.

"Galleon says Cedric's out first."

"George!" admonished Mrs Weasley, silently indicating Amos Diggory who was sat nearby. George merely shrugged and shook on the bet with both Lee and Fred.

"Three Galleons on Fleur." said Bill, who'd had one eye on the French Champion since lunch. No one took this deal as all his siblings spent the next several minutes mocking his obvious attraction to her.

When the first red sparks shot out from the maze and Fleur and an unconscious Cedric were brought out however, the atmosphere quickly changed. She was limping and telling anyone who would listen about how Cedric had attacked her and Wyatt had saved her. Amos brushed the whole thing off as nonsense, but the rest of the crowd was clearly unsettled.

Mrs Weasley called for an immediate ending of the task until this matter could be sorted- especially when Fleur insisted that Cedric seemed to be under the imperious curse but Ludo Bagman made the rules very clear.

"I'm sorry Molly, but there is simply nothing we can do. We have no evidence that there is any foul play. Over the years champions have attempted all sorts of unfortunate methods to win and we simply can't call off the tournament this close to its end."

"Can you sense where Wyatt is?" asked Piper, pulling Chris off to the side away from the anxious Weasleys. Chris nodded; he had been checking of Wyatt every five minutes or so since the competition had started.

"He's still in the maze, I-" then Chris broke off. Wyatt had gone. Chris frowned and tried again, assuming some sort of magic in the maze was blocking the signal but Chris could feel nothing. The same sort of nothing he felt whenever Wyatt went into the underworld, but that was meant to be impossible in Britain- that was what Hermione had said. "Mum, I think something is Aghhh…"

Chris stumbled back a little in pain and confusion and in an instant both Leo and Piper had grabbed hold of him to steady him. Chris had never felt pain like this before and it took him a few moments to realise where it was coming from. "Wyatt…" he muttered, clutching at his chest.

After that there was uproar. Teachers were sent into the maze to try and track down the boys, but soon the news came that not only were they not to be found, but the cup was also missing. No one was allowed to leave, the ministry was contacted and both Molly and Piper were fearsome task masters when any member of staff didn't seem to be actively looking for their boys. Piper tried to call her sisters so they could use the power of three to locate them, but technology didn't work in Hogwarts grounds and in her anger she obliterated it with her powers. Coop was just about to leave and fetch Paige and Phoebe himself, when two bodies fell into the middle of the crowd.

Everything went very silent and still. Even though the boys had landed face down, there was no question about their identities. They both lay incredibly still. Harry was in the middle, clutching firmly onto the cup with one hand and Wyatt with the other. He didn't try to move but his body was moving as he took deep breaths so it was clear that he was alive. Wyatt, on the other hand, was lying terrifyingly still.

"Wyatt!" screamed Melinda, breaking the moment. She tried to run towards her brother but Coop grabbed her around the waste and lifted her up, carrying her through the crowd away from Wyatt to stop her.

There was suddenly a clamour of voices and yelling and movement as students tried to get a better view and teachers tried to keep them away. Piper, Leo and Chris were at Wyatt's side in seconds. Leo gently rolled him on to his back and began feeling for a pulse and listening for his breath and Piper gripped his hand as though she could save him through sheer force of will.

"He's… he's not dead." stammered Chris uncertainly. "I… I… can just f.. pain. I mean I don't think I'd feel that if he were… If he were…" Chris couldn't bring himself to say it."

Molly was at Harry's side, as was Dumbledore who was turning Harry to face him and gripping him tightly by the shoulders.

"Harry! Harry!"

Harry opened his eyes and let go of the cup, but he didn't let go of Wyatt. His eyes were wide and traumatized.

"He's back." Harry whispered. "He's back. Voldemort." Cornelius Fudge who was hovering near by, went pale at this news and began muttering as he backed into the crowed. Chris didn't care about that however all he cared about was his brother. He was knelt between Harry and Wyatt and turned quickly to his friend.

"Harry, what about Wyatt?" he demanded, unable to stem the tremor in his voice. "What happened?"

"The cup. It was a portkey." said Harry. "They were waiting for us. Wyatt wanted to orb away but Wormtail he… Wyatt got his shield up in time but the spell still sent him flying. I thought he was dead. But the ghosts… they came out of Voldemort's wand. Wyatt said he was alive. He said you could save him." Chris' heart dropped like a stone at the mentioning of Wyatt's ghost. He turned to Piper and Leo, his eyes wide and helpless.

"What can I do?" he asked. "I don't have my healing powers yet!"

"Neither did Paige the first time she saved Henry-" said Piper softly, smiling reassuringly at him through her tears, "-but when she needed them most, her powers came. You can do this Chris."

Chris breathed in deeply and held his hands over Wyatt's still body, concentrating hard. When concentration wasn't enough he started muttering. "Heal. Heal." with more and more desperation each iteration. "I can't do it!" he declared after only a few moments. He dropped his arms in defeat and look away, not wanting to his parents' disappointed faces or the face of the brother he couldn't save. "Get Paige. She can save him." Even as he said this, he knew it wasn't true. He could feel Wyatt's pain slowly fading and he didn't think that meant he was getting better. Time was running out. There was no time to leave the Hogwarts grounds, beam to Paige and get back to Wyatt.

"Chris. Look at me." said Leo calmly, reaching across Wyatt and taking one of Chris' hands. "I know it isn't easy, but this power is inside of you. Don't over think this. Your power doesn't come from your brain. It comes from your emotions. You know that. Close your eyes take a deep breath and just think about Wyatt. The rest will come."

Chris nodded uncertainly, hovered his hands once more over Wyatt's body and closed his eyes. This time he tried to clear his mind. He focused on this past year- the time he had spent with his brother as they had explored the school and hunted for Excalibur. Then he imagined what his life would be like without his brother- no one to get him lost in the forbidden forest. No one to stand up for him against bullies. He remembered Melinda screaming Wyatt's name when she saw his dead body and the feeling of his own heart stopping when he listened to Harry's tale.

And then a miracle happened. He felt a feeling of warmth spread down his arms and concentrate in his hands. He opened his eyes to see his hands glowing. He looked up at his mother and father who seemed to be overflowing with pride and relief.

As Wyatt had no physical wounds on his body, they had no instant way of knowing if Chris' magic had worked but they didn't have to wait long to find out.

"What happened?" murmured Wyatt, opening his eyes, and then immediately closing them again, scrunching them tightly to shield his pupils from the afternoon sun. Then some of his memories came back and he shot upwards, swaying slightly at the sudden jolt. Leo reached out to support him and Piper took his hand, unable to stop a tumult of tears spilling down her face. "Harry…." exclaimed Wyatt. "Is he ok? He wasn't close enough… I couldn't protect him with my shield."

"He's ok!" spluttered Piper. "He got you out. Chris heeled you." Wyatt turned to his little brother with a surprised but proud smile.

"'course you did." he muttered, patting Chris' cheek a couple of times clumsily. Chris didn't even acknowledge the compliment however. He was looking around for Harry. He knew his friend would want to know Wyatt was safe, but for the life of him he couldn't spot the young wizard.

"WYATT!" exclaimed Melinda, pushing Chris out of the way in her haste to reach the eldest Halliwell boy and wrap her arms around him, almost pushing him over again. "Oh my God I was so scared!"

"You did it!" came Hermione's voice from above Chris, snapping him away from his search. More people were taking an interest in Wyatt and still no one commented on Harry's absence.

"Yeah, have you seen Harry?"

Hermione shook her head and the pair of them walked over to where Ron was standing with his sister.

"Yeah, Professor Moody took him back up to the castle." he shrugged when they asked him. "Probably wanted a full report on what happened."

"Surely that is Dumbledore's job." said Hermione. The Headmaster was standing by the entrance to the maze having a very serious talk with Cornelius Fudge. None of this felt right to Chris. Why would Moody take Harry away from everyone he cared about straight after a traumatic accident. It couldn't be on any of the professor's instructions. Everyone Harry had ever met at Hogwarts was standing on the Quidditch pitch. Hermione also seemed uneasy. "You know, I overheard Professor Mcgonagall say that it would have to have been someone in the school with a lot of magical skill and knowledge about the Schools' defences to have turned the cup into a portkey…"

"That could be any one!" objected Ron, seeing what Hermione was thinking, "Moody was an Auror. He would never help You Know Who!" objected Ron, but Chris wasn't convinced.

"The day Wyatt and I hunted for who stole Excalibur; the spell led us right to Professor Moody. We didn't think anything of it at the time but after he walked away from us the sword pointed after him…"

There was a pause as the three friends considered all of this. Then, as one, all three of them sprinted in the direction of the castle.

"Ginny, tell Professor Dumbledore!" yelled Ron over his shoulder.

The group didn't slow down even as they reached the many stairs that stood between them and Moody's office, climbing each case two at a time and racing down corridors until they reached the correct door.

"It's locked." breathed Ron, collapsing against the wall. Neither Chris nor Hermione took any notice of this however.

"Alohomora!" said Hermione at the same moment as Chris pushed his full telekinetic power at the door, sending it flying off its hinges.

There sat Harry, with Moody standing above him, wand out and pointing directly at Harry's heart. The door had broken in half and smashed Moody's desk. Hermione reached out her wand arm again but before she had a chance to say another spell, the Professor wield around and directed his wand at her.

"Expelliarmus!" he yelled and both Hermione and Ron's wands flew straight to him. Chris tried to use his own magic, but something in the room was dampening his powers.

"It was him!" exclaimed Harry, "he put my name in the cup and turned the cup into a Portkey. He has been manipulating things all year! I think he stole Excalibur too!"

"Thank you for reminding me, Potter." said Moody, turning an unpleasant smile towards Chris. "I'll be wanting that back before I leave."

"Too bad." said Chris more bravely than he felt. He carefully placed himself between Moody, and Hermione and Ron as he continued, "Professor Dumbledore knows you took Harry. He's on his way. It's over."

Moody sneered at this claim and clearly didn't feel too threatened by the three teenagers before him nor the injured boy in the chair behind him. Even so, Chris felt a little surprised that the threat of Dumbledore did nothing to cause alarm until they heard an explosion and the whole floor beneath them shook.

"You four are very smart at figuring all this out." said Moody taking one limping step towards Chris. Hermione gripped his hand but Chris steeled himself not to move an inch. "Of course, you seemed to have forgotten I had an accomplice in all of this."

"An accomplice?" whispered Hermione. Chris too was caught off guard by this but Harry let out a low groan.

"Draco." He said. "Remember? He was the one who took the sword. I'll bet his father put him up to it. He was there tonight."

"Lucius Malfoy?" spat Moody. "That spineless, greasy haired…" his insults faded off into a mutter as he brought himself back round to the point. "The Malfoy boy is not being controlled by his father. He is being controlled by me."

"The imperious curse?" guessed Ron, audibly swallowing.

"That's right boy. Right now Malfoy's only instruction is to stop Albus Dumbledore get to my office." Another explosion came from below and Moody used the distraction to pull Harry to his feet and put a wand to his throat. "One chance, boy." he growled, pressing the wand so deep into the side of Harry's neck that it forced Harry to cough several times.

"I can't get it!" objected Chris. He held up his hands to prove he wasn't a threat, but Moody took this as a sign that he was trying to use his powers and, keeping a tight hold on Harry, redirected his wand to first Chris and then, realising Chris' weakness, Hermione. "Dumbledore is protecting it! Wyatt gave it to him after you tried to steel it the first time!"

"And you took it back the day you tracked me through the castle with your brother." retorted Moody accurately. "Don't bother denying it. I was watching you the whole time." he tapped his magical glass eye with his wand momentarily before returning its point to aim at Hermione. "I know you didn't give it back because I was in the headmaster's study tonight and it wasn't there."

"The sword corrupts whoever holds it!" said Chris, trying a different tactic. "If you hold it then it will consume you! You won't be able to give it up even to Voldemort! It will force you to kill your leader!" Chris noticed Ron flinch when he said the name which was the only reason he even knew he had correctly remembered the unusual name of the wizard he had heard stories of all year.

"NO MORE EXCUSES!" yelled Moody. He looked quite mad and his face seemed to be contorting before their eyes. Chris thought it must be his imagination and fear projecting it onto the Professor's head but it certainly looked like his skin was bubbling. Moody's hands were shaking with anger and the wand was still pointing at Hermione. "YOU WILL BRING ME TO THE SWORD OR I WILL KILL YOUR FRIENDS."

"Ok! Ok!" said Chris. He wanted to raise his arms in surrender, but remembering how poorly that had gone last time; he put them behind his back instead. "Wyatt enchanted his suitcase. We all put spells on it. I don't have the skill to open it but your eye will show you it is inside and you can take the whole case. Just please don't hurt my friends!" He gripped Hermione's hand tightly

"That's what I want to hear." said Moody, and even though his voice had gone down several octaves his face still seemed to be boiling over with anger. Oblivious to this, however, Moody pulled Harry over to his desk and pulled out a large green crystal on a rusty iron chain.

"Put this on." he commanded Chris, limping back over and thrusting it at his chest. "The spells I have put on my office stops your powers working in here, but this will keep them at bay throughout the castle." Chris' heart sank but he didn't dare disobey the order. He had hoped that Moody might have forgotten about his powers so that he could attack the professor the minute they were out of range of his dampening spells but once again he was ahead of them.

Chris' mind was racing as he led the way out of the classroom and along the corridor. He considered calling for Wyatt but his brother was injured and besides: people knew they were in danger they were just unable to reach them because of whatever Malfoy was doing downstairs. He considered ripping the dampening crystal off and attacking Moody when he least expected but he didn't know how far the spell reached. He would only have a fraction of a second advantage over Moody and if he didn't instantly regain his powers then he risked the lives of his friends- he was currently the only one of the three not expendable to the deranged teacher.

He tried to catch Hermione's eye, hoping that she might have some sort of plan but she was walking behind him next to Ron and there was no way for them to exchange glances without Professor Moody noticing. He didn't dare look back but he could hear the thud of Moody's wooden leg every other step and the scuffle of feet as he dragged Harry along with him. He could just imagine Mood's eye rolling around in its socket, keeping a close eye on his four hostages as well as looking out for any oncoming attacks.

They had reached the Magic School common room now and Chris still didn't have a plan. He knew he couldn't let this man get his hands on Excalibur but he was out of options.

"Magic School are the Cham-" he said, beginning the words of the password that had been magically enchanted to change to reflect Magic School's position in the tournament. He knew it wasn't strictly accurate as Harry had technically also won and no one would be celebrating tonight as they had planned but it was still the password even if the words felt hollow.

"Shut up." yelled Moody before the password was complete and Chris heard Harry let out a yell of pain. He wheeled round and saw Harry was now on the floor with Moody's wand pressed into his temple.

Except it wasn't Professor Moody. Now that the man's face had stopped boiling, Chris found himself face to face with a younger, though no less scarred and haunted, face of a totally different man. As Ron took a step forward to try and defend Harry, Chris found himself talk a few steps backwards in surprise.

He had seen glamour and other spells that changed the way other people saw you, of course, but he had never seen anything like this. The man's whole body had changed. His clothes were now several sizes too big and hanging off him as though he was a small child playing dress-up with his parents' clothes. As Chris watched; the wooden leg he had been limping on for as long as Chris had known him fell to the floor and a whole new leg grew out of the stump, skinny and wobbling slightly as it had been out of use for so long. His electric blue eye also fell out of his face, pushed out by a real eye. It landed on the floor and rolled along the corridor until it came to rest against the foot of a suite of armour. The whole time it spun around and still seemed to see everything even though no one was connected to it.

"Why have we stopped?" demanded the stranger. His voice was still low and gruff but it seemed more forced now. As though he had forgotten his real voice and only knew how to speak as the man he was impersonating. Chris thought the man must know his disguise was lost. He simply must not care anymore. He had no intention of staying at the school and he was too distracted by approaching his goal to care about his identity any more.

"This is the common room. You told me to shut up when I started saying the password." said Chris in a monotone, still staring at the strangers remarkably changed appearance.

"WELL SAY IT NOW!" yelled the man, wildly pointing the wand between the four students. Chris nodded and said the password and led the way into the room followed by a very shaken Ron and Hermione but Harry was still staring at the man.

"You're Barty Crouch's son." he said, standing frozen in the doorway. "You're meant to be dead."

"Well that makes two of us Potter." snapped Barty Crouch Junior and with a blast of red light he sent Harry flying into the room, straight into the back of a large arm chair. Hermione gasped and ran to his side and Ron tried to stand in between them and Barty, but the man had no time for such heroics. "Move. All of you. This is almost over."

Hermione shakily helped Harry to his feet and Ron put his arm around him to support him as they all walked over to the stairs to the boy's dormitory. Barty Crouch followed last and Chris noticed the man had pulled a second wand from his oversized robes. This one must be his own wand as he tossed aside the original so it clattered back down the stairs. Perhaps the old wand no longer worked so well now that his disguise had faded. Perhaps that had been the only thing that had saved Harry's life. Chris wasn't entirely sure how wands worked but he did feel like he had formed some sort of connection with his new wand despite how little ability he had with it.

"It's in there." said Chris, pointing to a closed trunk at the end of the bed. It looked innocent enough and was half concealed by dirty laundry but Chris and Wyatt had spent a whole day looking through the book of shadows for any spell that would protect and conceal it and then had performed them all.

"Open it." commanded Barty, shutting the door behind him and muttering a locking charm.

"I can't" said Chris, holding up his hands and taking a few innocent steps backwards towards his own bed as the former professor pointed his wand at him. "I told you. It is protected by strong magic. Only Wyatt can get into that case. You'll have to give Voldemort the whole thing."

"And how do I know it is even in there?" pointed out Barty, using his wand-less hand to point to where the electric blue eye no longer resided. His wand hand continued to flit between Harry, Ron, Hermione and Chris whenever one of them made the slightest movement.

"I guess you'll just have to trust me." said Chris, trying to stay calm but a noticeable tremor slipped into his voice.

"Well if this is Excalibar and you can't open the trunk, then I guess I have no further use for you, do I?" he said, now pointing his wand levelly at Chris, a murderess glint that would not be out of place on a demon, had appeared in his eyes.

"No!" yelled Harry, limping to block Barty's view of Chris.

"I have no qualms killing you, boy." pointed out Barty, pulling his arm back ready to strike. Ron let out a yell and pushed Harry out of the way.

"Ron, no!" yelled Harry and Hermione.

"Avada-" began Moody, but he was never able to finish the spell.

"STUPIFY!" yelled Chris who had pulled his wand out from beneath a pile of books on his bedside table. Hermione had seen what was happening just in time and pulled Ron out of the way so Chris' spell hit Barty Crouch full in the chest, sending him flying into the locked door, knocking him unconscious.

In the common room beneath them they heard the muffled sound of half a dozen voices and then footsteps racing up the stairs.

"Chris! You did it!" cried Hermione.

"Yeah." said Chris shakily, "I'll never say another bad word about wands again."

Ron roared with laughter, though Chris knew it was more from relief than his wit. Hermione too let out a soft laugh and hurried forward, embracing him in a tight hug and kissing him warmly. He could feel the tears on her cheeks and gripped her harder, only letting her go when, with a bang, the door flew open and Professors Dumbledore, Snape and Mcgonagall burst into the room, followed by Piper, Molly and Ginny.