A/N: This chapter holds rather a lot of flashbacks. I just really don't want to spend that many chapters on life before school. This chapter does hold some important information though.

Chapter two: Journey of my Life

Brac Griffith simply grinned at the fight that had broken out in the bar. For the past three years he had lived in New York, the big city reminded him of the home he had once known in London.

Standing up he decided it was time to leave, he didn't want trouble or a good fight. Brac made his way to the nearby alley of the bar. After making sure no one could see him, he closed his eyes and thought really hard about where he wanted to go. With a small audible pop, he disappeared.

Brac first heard the screeches of two females as he appeared in his apartment.

"Brac don't do that, it freaks me out."

Brac looked down at Heather. She sat on the floor looking like she had just fallen onto it, which she probably had. Her blond hair was in a messy bun, leaving her sweet face unhidden. Blue sweat pants and a white tank top showed off her figure. All in all she was a very pretty twenty-three year old.

Sarah, Heather's young daughter sat next to her mother. The shock at seeing her 'uncle' suddenly appear out of thin air was gone and the three-year-old held up her chubby hands, "Me too. I wanna do tha too."

Laughing, Brac leaned down to pick up the demanding toddler, his goddaughter. Once she was safely tucked in his arms he reached down to help Heather off the floor.

"How do you do that," Heather shuddered, appearing out of thin air was not normal.

"I've already told you, I don't know it just happens," Brac sighed, even he didn't understand what he could do. Things had just seemed to happen to him once he moved to America five years ago. Though disappearing and reappearing somewhere else was the first odd occurrence.

-Flashback-

Brac ran down an alley, the officer right behind him. Turning left he groaned, it was a dead end. Trying to find something to climb at the end, the officer came upon him grinning. "Now, now, thief can't have you getting away."

Brac turned around, silently cursing himself for his stupidity. How could he get caught. Brac wished he could be anywhere else. Anywhere where there wasn't a police officer waiting to bring him in.

Suddenly everything went black. Brac gasped as the pain assaulted him. It felt like a giant hand was squeezing him to death. Just as suddenly as the pain started, it stopped. Brac opened his eyes, he hadn't known that he'd shut them, and looked around. He was defiantly not in the alley anymore. Looking around he saw the trees and carefully planted gardens.

Brac was shocked, he didn't understand how he had managed to get to the other side of town. He didn't feel like he had been knocked out and dumped her. After all the officer would have taken him in right. Confused, Brac decided it would be best to sleep on it. Maybe after a good nights rest he would be able to figure out what happened.

-End of Flashback-

Brac still didn't know how the whole teleporting thing worked but he wasn't about to complain. Not when it was so helpful. Looking at the toddler in pink pajamas then at Heather, Brac raised an eyebrow, "Why are you two awake. It's midnight and you have work tomorrow."

Heather looked sheepish, "You were right, I shouldn't have let Sarah sleep that extra hour. Now she won't go to bed and I've tried everything."

"I'll stay up with her, you get some sleep."

"Really, oh thank you," Heather smiled and kissed Brac's cheek before going to her bedroom.

"Come on princess, I'll read you a story," Brac smiled at Sarah and walked over to the bookcase nearby. He had appeared in the living room. The slightly small room held a black leather couch and matching chair, a coffee table sat in front of the couch and a television against the wall also in front of the couch. The front door stood a ways behind the couch with bookshelves lining the wall. When walking into the apartment, the kitchen/dining room was through an archway on the right wall. The left wall held three doors. The first led to Heather and Sarah's bedroom. The second led to the small bathroom. The third was Brac's room.

Brac was very proud of the apartment he and Heather shared. For three years now he had called it home. He and Heather had started renting it not long after they had met one another in California. They had moved to New York three years ago and Heather had fallen in love with the place. Brac hadn't been about to question a pregnant woman over her choice either.

-Flashback-

Brac walked back to the motel he was staying at happily. He had had a good day and had made over two hundred dollars. The crash of glass overhead warned Brac and he rolled out of the way of a flying lamp. A shard of glass hit his shoulder, but Brac didn't notice he ran up the few steps leading to the building. The screams of a female in distress reaching his ears. The door was locked so Brac stood back and kicked it. After three kicks the door shuddered and opened. Not wasting time, Brac ran up the stairs, letting the screams lead him to the needed room.

Inside the bedroom Brac found a bulking man beating an obviously young woman. Brac felt rage building up inside of him; Vine had pounded it into his head that it was wrong to hit a female who couldn't fight back.

Brac couldn't explain what happened next. It felt as though the rage bubbled out of him and a burst of red light filled the room. Once the light died down, Brac noticed the man crumpled on the ground, seemingly knocked out.

Brac didn't feel like waiting to find out how long it would take for the man to wake up and opted instead to take the woman somewhere safer, for her at least.

Quietly Brac walked over to the whimpering woman. She flinched behind her curtain of long blond hair as he squatted down next to her. "Shh, it's okay, he's out cold."

Brac had hardly any experiences with the opposite sex when it came to feelings, it was not something that the females of his family liked showing, so it was a shock to him when the woman suddenly launched herself at him.

Brac had to stop himself from reacting when the women grabbed onto him and began crying hysterically on his shoulder. Brac had no idea how long they stayed like that but eventually the tears stopped and, to his shock, the woman fell asleep against him.

Knowing he couldn't leave her behind, Brac picked up the woman, once again thanking his strong build for a twelve-year-old. Looking around Brac quickly noticed a duffel bag on the bed. Brac soon came to the conclusion that the woman had been trying to leave and the man wouldn't allow it.

Grabbing the duffel bag with a bit of difficulty, Brac closed his eyes and willed himself, the woman, and the duffel bag to his motel room. He knew it worked when the painful squeezing feeling came. Staggering once the trip was over, Brac barely managed to keep from dropping the woman in his arms. Having only done the teleporting thing a few times by will, he was still unused to it.

Setting the woman on the bed, Brac decided to sleep in the chair. It was bound to be a long night.

-End of Flashback-

"Uncle, I got my bowk," Sarah tugged on Brac's jeans, a book clutched to her chest.

Smiling, Brac picked up Sarah and walked over to the chair. Sitting down, Sarah in his lap, Brac began reading to his beloved goddaughter.

At only fifteen many would find the fact that him acting like an adult not normal, but since his family's deaths Brac had grown up. He felt that in the streets there was no place for children. Of course the fact that he was no longer on the streets didn't make Brac feel any different about it.

By the time Brac was done reading Jack and the Bean Stock, Sarah was fast asleep. Silently walking into Heather's bedroom, Brac didn't want to wake anyone; he put Sarah in her bed tucking her in.

He made his way out into the living room and decided it was time to call it a night. He was still a thief after all and had to be ready for another day. It was only thanks to Heather's constant paycheck that they had the apartment. Brac simply provided for the extras and half the food.

Overall Brac was happy. Even if Heather had been hinting about a new boyfriend, and he would soon have to play the protective brother act.

The cloaked figure watched as his target walked into the apartment building. Tomorrow he would make his presence known, after all there was still time before the new school year. He had been following this Brac Griffith for nearly five years now and felt that it was time Griffith was introduced to the wizardry world. The young wizard had bloomed finely alone and would be remarkable once trained.

Brac stood still, someone was watching him, yet he knew no one was home. That was why he'd chosen the house to rob. It was easy to get into and no one was supposed to be there. At least that was what he'd thought.

Looking around the master bedroom, Brac saw no human-like shapes or shadows yet the warning alarms were blaring in his head. Brac stepped away from the vanity; the jewelry momentarily forgotten. There, by the wall to his left, Brac sensed the second presence. Brac slowly walked towards the closet door even though the presence he felt was to the right of it.

Brac briefly wondered if there was a peek hole in the wall before he let his instincts take over. Kicking at the wall, Brac was surprised when his foot hit something solid and invisible two feet away from the wall. He was even more surprised when said object gave a manly grunt.

"Damn kid, that was my gut. A little lower and you might have caused some damage." Brac watched as a man appeared before him. The man was near six feet with a residing black hairline. His face, marred with scars, looked out of place with his black suit.

"Who are you?" Brac slipped a knife from his left arm sheath, careful to keep the blade hidden from the stranger's view. He didn't need the man seeing anything that might be needed to get out of the house.

"I suppose you could say I am your temporary guardian angel," The stranger seemed to think his comment was funny but Brac simply raised an eyebrow, he now had to deal with a crazy person in a house that was not his and would not be empty for much longer. His day was not off to a good start.

"I do not lie young Griffith; I was assigned to watch you after the first time you sprouted accidental magic until the time for you to join us came." The stranger said, seemingly plucking the thoughts from Brac's mind and answering them.

"There is no such thing as magic." Brac stated. Everyone knew magic didn't exist but then, Brac stopped his train of thought, he wouldn't think of such it seemed his luck had defiantly left him.

"Tell me then, how is it that you apparate from place to place, how did you send a stunner at the man beating Heather. Oh yes I know all about you're little tendencies of using magic. You burned that man's face and hands when he attacked you did you not."

"How did…," Brac remembered that time but he was sure he had been alone. Some man with a turban on his head had been at one of Brac's favorite bars four years ago. The bar had the most wonderful drink called Butterbeer. It wasn't alcoholic but Brac found that he enjoyed the drink greatly. Not to mention there were others like him that could teleport and loved talking about crazy things that didn't exist, like dragons.

Brac forced his mind back on track, thinking about the Butterbeers just made his mouth water. He remembered how the man bothered him and made his head hurt so much that it hurt being in the same room as the man. Of course that didn't stop Brac from following the man; it was one of the few times he had ever been so foolishly. He had followed the man to an empty building. Even now years after Brac still beat himself up over not seeing the trap. He still had nightmares of when the turban fell off and he saw a head sticking out of the man's head.

Brac was still somewhat convinced that the second head was a fantasy his mind came up with as the stranger spoke to him about becoming a death something and the trying to choke him when Brac replied no. After all who would believe him if he said that the man crumbled into ash when trying to choke the life out of him. He would be sent to an insane cilium.

"Look I'm not here to talk about your life accomplishments, though they are impressive, I'm here to inform you that you have been excepted into Gwydion the number one academy of magic," The stranger stood up straighter in obvious pride when he spoke of the academy.

Brac was silent, he had never heard of Gwydion or magical schools before and had no idea what he was supposed to say to his stalker. He had decided that the man was defiantly a stalker.

"Hmm, this is not going well but alas I knew that would be the case after all you are a thief. How about we go somewhere else. I have found myself having a desire for something to drink. Something strong and I doubt I'll find anything like that here."

Brac weighed his options. The man knew too much and would need to be disposed of if he was going to talk but if what the man said was true about watching him for years then maybe the man wasn't interested in ratting him out. Brac made a split second decision; he would hear the man out, if only to find out how much the man knew. Though he would definitely be on full alert.

"Sure, I know a place," Brac looked around the room knowing that he had just lost a profitable day. Brac started for the door, he was not going to teleport in front of the stranger.

The man walked up beside him, "Perhaps I know the place. What's the name?"

"Boils Pot," Brac was sure the man had never heard of it.

"Ah good, I know it. Perhaps we should teleport it'll be faster."

Brac gave the man a sideways glance and shrugged. He disappeared with a pop, eager to see if the man could follow. If not then he had just escaped. Appearing straight in the dark bar, others did it all the time, Brac was disappointed to see the man appear by his side. So the guy could teleport, Brac still thought the man was crazy.

The man led the way to a booth in the back. Brac slid into the seat opposite of the man and ordered a butterbeer when a waitress approached to take their orders.

"You know my name yet I don't know yours," Brac was determined to get some answers.

"You may call me Baedda," the man, Baedda said.

"That's not your real name."

"Brac isn't your real name," Baedda retorted.

"Fair enough," Brac nodded to the waitress as she set his and Baedda'a drinks on the table. Taking a sip of his butterbeer, Brac was hard pressed not to release a sigh. He really did love butterbeers and this was the only place that carried them.

"Now down to business," Brac sat up straighter ready to listen. "As I said before, you have been accepted to Gwydion Academy. This is a high honor only twenty new students are allowed each year. These students come from all over the world making chances to get into it extremely hard."

"No offence but I've never been to school a day in my life and don't plan on starting anytime soon. Besides if what you say is true then there are plenty of others who would leap at the chance to take my place," Brac stood up, ready to leave.

"You don't want revenge on the Mafia in Britain. You have no desire to find out where you really came from, who your birth parents are?" Brac sat back down with a thump, as Baedda continued, "This is your chance. At Gwydion you can learn things you never dreamed possible. Make your own place in the world as a graduate from the number one school of magic anywhere. We are the top and you have the chance to join us."

Brac wondered how the man knew some of his deepest dreams and the prospect of having them come true was a daunting one. "How do you know I won't go evil and on a killing rampage? After all, everyone says that revenge is wrong."

"True, but you forget, I've watched you for years deciding whether or not you deserve a spot in the school. I know that you aren't evil or plan on going evil. If that had been the case I never would have approached you."

Brac nodded but then shook his head, " I can't leave Heather and Sarah."

"You'll be able to see them, you can leave whenever you want on the weekends as long as you're at your classes on Monday," Baedda smiled and Brac assumed that the man was revisiting some old school memories.

"How long is this school?" Brac did not want to spend time in some magic school for ten years. Heck he still had a hard time accepting the fact that there was magic and he'd done some unexplainable things over the years.

"Everyone starts at fifteen but you'll graduate at different years depending on what major you go into. You must graduate after five years." Baedda seemed eager to answer the questions now that it looked like Brac was seriously considering attending.

"What about breaks," Brac didn't want to go to school three hundred and sixty-five days a year even if he could leave on the weekends.

"No classes on Saturdays and Sundays, obviously. You get two weeks off for Christmas and New Year and two weeks of during July." Brac briefly thought about what was said.

" Can I give you my answer tomorrow?" Brac asked. At dinner he would have time to talk to Heather about it. After all she was like family and he wouldn't leave unless she agreed.

"Of course, I'll be bye to get your answer sometime in the morning. Until then, adios," Brac watched as Baedda disappeared with a pop.

Brac stayed in the bar sipping his butterbeer thinking things over for another ten minutes. Did he want to go to school or not, Brac couldn't decide. At first he thought Baedda was joking with him but after seeing how the man talked about his school with pride, convinced Brac otherwise.

Brac put some cash on the table, loving how the place accepted any currency as long as it equaled what the cost was. Deciding to walk home, Brac made his way past the other tables and into the street, thoughts of the school still in his mind. Brac made sure to snatch a few wallets as he walked, after all his day of profit had been interrupted and he still needed money.

Checking his watch, Brac noticed that it was almost five. Heather would be getting off from work soon and would be picking up Sarah from the babysitters. Brac decided to teleport home and make dinner for the girls. Normally he wouldn't cook on Thursdays but it would silently tell Heather that he needed to talk.

Brac was in the kitchen when Heather and Sarah entered the apartment. He smiled as Sarah squealed and ran to hug him, something she did every day after daycare. "Uncle, wuess what, Wenna bwought her toad to dwaycware and it escaped. Miss Em was mad."

Brac picked up Sarah, "Really, did you catch the toad?"

"I didn't bwut Ben did hes weally bwave," Sarah said.

Brac had to stop himself from laughing at the awe he heard in Sarah's voice and opted instead to take the spaghetti to the table. Heather grabbed the rolls, giving him a 'what's going on look' and set them on the table as well before sitting down.

Putting Sarah in her high chair, Brac shook his head. He didn't want to say anything in front of Sarah.

Diner seemed to drag by in Brac's opinion and he couldn't help eating faster than normal. Heather too sped up her eating but in the end they both had to wait on Sarah.

The talk with Heather that Brac wanted so badly didn't come until two hours later, once the over active toddler was asleep in her bed.

"Alright what's going on?" Heather asked as she laid down on the couch, leaving the chair for Brac.

"I met a man today." Brac got a raised eyebrow in response.

"He offered me a place in a private school."

Heather sat up, "You in school, really. Did you say yes?"

"I told him I'd think about it."

"You mean you didn't accept, why not?"

Brac sighed, now came the hard part, "It's not a normal school, it's a school for magic."

Heather's eyes went round, "You mean there's a school for magic? Magic with like witches and wizards and other odd creatures."

"I'm not to sure about creatures but yah magic." Brac decided that Heather was taking it overly well, too well. "You don't seem surprised."

"Oh I am, but, Brac think about it, you've done so many strange things that magic could really explain it all. I think you should at least check the place out."

"I won't always be here, only on weekends." Brac pointed out.

"If it means you find out what it is you do and how you can control it then that is the price to pay. Besides it's only five days. Sarah and I will manage during the week and the weekends will defiantly become more entertaining."

"You sure?" Brac still didn't feel right; it felt like he would be abandoning them.

"Yes, I'll admit it will be a little more lonely but Brac you deserve this. Life has been so hard on you, this is a chance to live again."

Brac simply nodded.

"When do you give the man your answer?"

"Tomorrow."

"Well then," Heather stood up. "I'm going to bed. This is good Brac accept it." Heather kissed him goodnight and walked to her room.

Brac knew deep down that nothing would ever be the same again. His life was about to change once again. As he drifted off to sleep, Brac wondered if he should change his name again. After all, any other time his life changed dramatically, he did.

I have a feeling that sometime in the future I may redo this chapter but until then, hope you enjoyed it. There is a poll on my page about how Brac's family will be like. I have notes to go different ways but can't decide.