Charmed Wizard

After taking Harry shopping and then taking him back to the Manor, Phoebe went home to see her husband and other children. She missed her children very much and she really did need to talk to Coop about everything.

Phoebe walked in through the front door and found her husband seated in the living room. “Hey.”

“Hey. Long time no see,” Coop said in a tone that made it clear he was not happy.

“Where are the girls?” Phoebe asked.

“Out back. You here to stay?” Coop asked.

“No, I'm going to spend one more night at Piper's,” Phoebe said.

Coop sighed unhappily.

“Look, Coop, I know this isn't the best situation. I know that I'm putting a lot on you right now. I'm not doing that on purpose. There's just a lot going on,” Phoebe said.

“That you don't want to include me in,” Coop said.

“No, it's not like that! I am just trying to handle this the best way possible so that I don't damage my son any more than he already is,” Phoebe said.

“What about the rest of us? What about our girls?!” Coop asked angrily.

“Okay, don't go there!” Phoebe yelled back. She was trying to understand where her husband was coming from, but she wasn't going to stand there and listen to him claim she was hurting their children. He did not get to use them that way. “The girls are fine. I have spoken to them every day and they have been fine. This is about you. I'm sorry that this is hurting you, but he's my son. He has to come first!”

“Right. So I'm just supposed to be okay with the fact that my wife has been gone for two days, spending all her time with her ex-husband and the son no one knew still existed?” Coop asked as he stood up from the couch.

Phoebe sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “What do you want me to do, Coop? You want me to ignore the boy that I have loved and longed to be with from the moment I lost him? The child I thought I was responsible for killing? Or is it that you want me to tell him that he has to get over the shock of finding out that everything he knew about himself is untrue, just because he's inconveniencing you? I'm not going to do that. I'm sorry that this is hurting you, but my concern has to be with my child. He's going through hell. He has to deal with a whole bunch of strangers and the realization that he is not who he thought he was. That's on top of having just been removed from an abusive home.”

Coop looked surprised. That was something he hadn't known. He knew there must have been a reason for Phoebe to deviate from her original plan, but he didn't know it was something like that. “He was abused?”

“Yeah. Cole and I found him on the floor bloody while a man at least three times his size was beating him,” Phoebe said. She could barely keep the tears from her eyes as she recalled the events. “So it's even more complicated than we originally thought.

“Alright, I'm sorry. I just want you to come home. You can't stay at Piper's forever,” Coop said.

“And I told you it would only be for one more day. Cole put an offer down on a place today and it was accepted,” Phoebe said. Cole had been at the Manor when she returned with Harry and he told her he was successful. “Harry's going to stay with him for a little while.”

“Really? I thought you wanted him to live with us,” Coop said.

“I do, but we think it's best for him to just live with Cole for now. That way we're not forcing a bunch of strangers on him all at once. I'm going to tell him about you and the girls, but we think it's best that he gets to know you gradually before he comes to stay with us,” Phoebe explained.

“So then you'll be going over to his place all the time,” Coop said. He wasn't sure his feelings on this arrangement. One one hand, he was kind of for this kid living with Cole. So much was happening so fast. He wasn't even sure how he felt about this kid, plus he didn't like the idea that Cole Turner could show up at his house at any moment, but he also didn't like the idea of his wife disappearing to his house every day.

Phoebe sighed. “Coop, Cole is going to be a part of my life. Neither of us have a choice in that. I love you. I don't know why you can't trust that.”

“Look, I just don't like him being around. I'm sure he's still in love with you,” Coop said. He also wasn't sure Phoebe didn't still love him. He knew all about the men Phoebe loved. She had been the most passionate about Cole, looking past even the fact that he was a demon. Hell, she married him and then stayed with him when she found out he was evil again. Plus, she held onto that picture he found all these years. God, Coop wished he'd never found that picture. If he never had, Phoebe wouldn't have had that premonition and none of this would be happening.

“Okay, I seriously disagree, but even if was, I'm not in love with him. But again, he is a part of my life. We have a child. That's not going to go away. I need you to try to accept it and not get upset every time I'm around him,” Phoebe said.

“Alright,” Coop said after a minute.

“Thank you,”Phoebe said before pulling him into a tight hug.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Harry was sitting at table in the dining room writing a letter to Ron. Hermione knew everything that was going on, but he'd had yet to explain it to his other best friend. He could only imagine Ron's surprise when he read it

Harry was about halfway through the letter when he heard footsteps. He looked up to see Phoebe and Cole come towards him.

“Hey. Can we talk to you for a minute?” Phoebe asked.

Harry nodded and put the letter aside.

Phoebe and Cole walked over and sat across from their son. “You writing a letter?” Phoebe asked.

“Yeah, to a friend of mine. He and his family have been good to me. If they don't know I'm gone already, they will soon and I don't want them to worry,” Harry said.

“Sending a letter sounds like a good idea then. “So there are some things we have to tell you. For one, we don't actually live here.”

Harry nodded. “Piper told me that. Where do you live? And why was I brought here instead of there?”

“Well, actually, Cole and I have to separate places. We don't live together anymore. He lives by himself and I live with my husband,” Phoebe said.

“You're divorced?” Harry asked surprised.

“We are. We had some problems and we decided it was best to end things,” Cole said. It was of course far more complicated than that, but Harry did not need to know their ugly and bloody history right now.

Harry wasn't sure how to feel about this. It wasn't that he cared they were divorced. He barely knew them, so he had no reason to want them together or anything. It just meant this situation was even more complicated. Who would he live with if his parents didn't live together? And what about this man Phoebe said she was married to? Was he going to want Harry around? What would he do if he didn't?

“It doesn't really mean much for you. Cole and I both love you. This just means you'll have two different homes,” Phoebe said.

Harry nodded. “Which one of you will I live with?”

“For now, with Cole. I really want you to live with me, but we don't want to overwhelm you. I live with my husband and our three kids,” Phoebe said.

Harry's mouth dropped open in shock. “I...I have siblings?” He never even considered that possibility. He probably should've, especially now knowing that Phoebe was remarried. It had just never occurred to him.

“Yeah, three sisters. PJ, which is short for Prudence Johanna, Parker, and Peyton,” Phoebe said.

Harry began to breath heavily as the overwhelming feeling returned. Actually, he should say as it got worse, since it never really went away. Everything was just happening so fast. First, he found out that he wasn't who he thought he was. That his parents weren't who he thought they were. Then he was forced to stay with strangers who were actually his parents. There was also the strange powers that he had and learning that he he was part demon. Now he found out he had siblings. He'd always wanted siblings. He'd envied Ron for having so many. But it was just too much all at once. He didn't know how to deal with this. It was too much. And that was coming from someone who'd faced Voldemort three times, not even counting when he was a baby.

Phoebe could tell he was getting upset and immediately tried to reassure him. “Harry, listen, there is no pressure. We know how freaky all this is for you. That's why we decided to take this slow. You can stay with your father while you get to know us. Once you're comfortable enough, we'll talk about getting to know the rest of the family. We will follow your pace.”

“I want to be alone,” Harry said before bolting from the room, unable to take anymore.

“Maybe I should've waited,” Phoebe said. She'd pushed him too far. She should've waited a couple of days until Harry was a little more over the shock.

Cole shook his head. “No. If you waited any longer, he probably would've been angry that he wasn't told sooner. He just needs some time to process things.”

“Maybe. I'm gonna go get some air,” Phoebe said before getting up and leaving the room.