"Hey, I gotta go. My mom's calling me," Chris whispered, shaking the half-asleep woman gently. Aurelia nodded, causing the man to chuckle before locking her apartment door and orbing from the house. Once he appeared in Magic School, his eyes landed on his dreaded father. "Yeah, Mom, what do you need?"

"We need your help," Piper spoke, looking from her son to Leo.

...

Chris clutched the back of the demon's shirt, dangling him over the edge of a small cliff in a volcano; the demon shuddered, and Aurelia's voice echoed faintly in the back of Chris' head, yelling about how cool magic seemed to be. He knew that, if she saw the everyday life of it all, she would change her opinion on it, and her opinion on him, very quickly.

Truth be told, he had no idea what the hell was going on between he and Aurelia. He knew what love felt like, considering Bianca, but he'd never felt anything quite this strong; it was like just looking into her eyes cast a spell on him that he could never escape from.

But, he wasn't complaining.

"Barbus escaped the Fires of Hell, and so did you." Leo's voice brought the witchlighter from his thoughts, "I know he helped you."

"Please," the demon began, "I don't want to go back down there. Don't throw me back down there."

Chris nudged him forward slightly, causing the demon to yelp in fear. Leo looked to his son, "Chris, I don't think this is the best way."

"Last chance, Phinx." Chris muttered, pulling the demon back toward him, ignoring Leo; he wanted nothing more than to launch the scared demon into the fire, but he knew he couldn't just yet.

He hung him over the edge once more, causing the demon to cave. "Ok, ok, ok, ok! Phantasms. We used Phantasms!"

"How?" Leo asked, getting out of the dad-stance that he'd been standing in.

"Barbus buddied up to a couple of them down there." The demon explained, "He used them to do stuff for him, you know, since they can travel back and forth, and all."

"What kind of stuff?" Chris chimed, causing the demon to panic even further.

"I don't know! I swear, I don't know! But, whatever it was, he said it could resurrect him, somehow. It could give him new life; permanently, too, he said, if he won something."

Chris and Leo looked to one another, "The case." The blond said, "He must've used the phantasm to cut a deal with the demon members of the Tribunal. We need proof."

The brunette shook the demon by his shirt, "What do you think he is?"

"He's a demon, they'll discredit him."

"It's better than nothing."

"It's a waste of time."

"It's the best we've got!"

"Then we need to do better."

"Look-" Chris began, only to be cut off by the screaming of Phinx. He'd let go of the demon's clothing, causing him to plummet forward and back into the Fire of Hell. He snapped his head toward the abyss of fire, "Shit."

...

"Hi, welcome to Flight to France. I'm Au-"

"Aurelia Shade." A woman's voice interrupted her, causing the teen to freeze as she slowly looked up to meet her gaze. Nausea overcame her stomach, and she'd stumbled slightly at the woman in front of her. "It's nice to see you again."

"Nadia." She muttered, staring into the woman's blue eyes with fear and hatred coursing through her veins. "What are you doing here? More importantly, how'd you find me?"

"Contacted your professor; he doesn't seem to be your biggest fan, either, huh?" The blonde smirked, before looking back to the menu in her hands. "I'll take the Ze Gigot, lamb chops, with a side of mashed potatoes, a croissant, and a diet Coke."

She was frozen, completely disregarding her words. "What all did he tell you?"

"Oh, nothing too bad. Just your work and home addresses. And that you're seeing some cute brunette," she smiled, cruelly. "Can Mommy Dearest meet him?"

Aurelia ran from the table, throwing herself into the bathroom and vomiting into the toilet. Her boss ran in after her, her eyes widening as she allowed the teen to go home for the rest of the night.

...

She was locked in her bedroom, after checking that her apartment door and windows were locked ten times; her skin was bare, having washed off her makeup after crying on her way home. She contemplating making a police report, but had lost all trust for cops when they'd shrugged her off the last time she'd had to call them.

The city was winding down, slowly, and she'd begun to wonder if Chris was ok. Yeah, he'd be gone for a while fighting demons, and stuff, but with her foster mother on the loose, she was more worried than normal.

The stars twinkled in the sky, just brightly enough for her to seem them through the light pollution; her CD player was playing Angel by Aerosmith, quietly. She moved the device to her room, knowing she'd be in there until morning.

A blue light reflected on her window, causing her to smile softly to herself as Chris approached her. "Hey, so, uh-" He saw her expression as he sat next to her, "What's wrong?"

"Chris. . . I, uh, I think it's time to tell you the truth. . . you know, about my past and everything." She took a deep breath, pulling a photo album from the drawer of her nightstand; she handed it to him, the red leather cold against his fingers as he slowly opened it, his jade green irises observing the pictures. "I already told you I was in foster care, and that my biological family is complete ass, but I never mentioned my foster family. . . there were eight of us, not counting Nadia and Greg, the foster parents. I was the youngest, and one of three girls."

He looked at her with glossy eyes, his irises twinkling with curiosity and anxiety; he knew that he wasn't prepared for what he was about to discover.

"The oldest of us, Hayden, liked to, um. . . assault the younger ones. Mainly me." She said, her breath shaky, "When I told Nadia and Greg, they'd lock me in the basement until I lost my voice. Always saying that losing my voice should teach me not to throw around such heinous accusations. I ran away from it all when I was seventeen, started living in a homeless shelter until I finished high school with a scholarship." She showed him her scarred fingertips, "I took every measure I could so that they wouldn't find me."

Chris gently held onto her hands, letting her grasp his full attention as he slowly rubbed circles on the back of her hand. "What made you tell me this now?" He asked, his tone soft as he spoke. She looked into his eyes, tears threatening to spin from her own.

"Nadia found me. She showed up at the restaurant, tonight, and told me that she'd gotten my address." She whispered, "I'm scared, Chris."

The brunette engulfed her into a hug, letting her bury her head into his chest as they layed back on the bed; he held her tightly, allowing her to silently cry into his shoulder. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you, Freckles. . . She'll have to kill me, first."

"Thank you, Chris."

"Don't thank me for lo-" He cut himself off, clearing his throat, ". . . for caring about you, Aurelia."

"What the fuck was I about to say?"