The year was 1973 and Phoebe Halliwell was 1 month old. Her Grandmother, Penny Halliwell, poured a mysterious liquid onto two glasses filled with juice and then poured some into a bottle filled with the same type of juice.
"Mother are you sure?" Patty asked. "Patty, I don't like it any more than you do. But we promised the girls that we'd bind their powers to protect them from Nicolas" the older woman answered. The Mother of the Charmed Ones nodded. Penny put the cap on the bottle and then Patty grabbed hold of it. "I'll give Phoebe her bottle." "Patty" Penny said. "It won't be forever. We're close to finding a way to vanquish Nicolas." Patricia Halliwell nodded her head and walked out of the kitchen, to give her baby daughter her bottle which was filled with apple juice and a power binding potion.
Penny sighed. "Piper, Prue, snack time girls." A young Prue and Piper came running into the kitchen and sat down at the table. Their Grandmother brought over to the table the two juice and potion filled glasses and a plate of cookies. The older woman smiled and then sat down at the table and grabbed up a cookie. "You two mind if your old Grandma joins you?" The two young witches shook their head.
4 years later, Patty Halliwell is in her bedroom, holding a newborn baby in her arms. She and her lover and Whitelighter Sam Wilder, had just welcomed their daughter into the world. But due to the rule forbidding Whitelighters and witches to have a romantic relationship, Patty and Sam knew they had to give their baby up for adoption. Sam took the baby from Patty, who gingerly climbed out of bed and began slipping on a dress Sam had gotten out of the closet for her.
They had decided that they were going to go together to drop their baby off at a church, where they prayed she would be adopted by a loving family. The couple was ready to Orb to the church when Penny rushed into the room holding a bottle filled with an odd colored milk. "Mother" Patty asked seeing the bottle. "She has to drink this bottle before you take her" the older woman insisted, handing the bottle to her daughter.
"What is it" Sam asked. Penny and Patty hadn't told him about having had to bind Piper, Prue and Phoebe's powers due to the threat of a warlock named Nicholas. "Mother if that's what I think it is, it isn't necessary" Patty said. Penny gave her daughter a stern look. "She's a sister to the Charmed Ones. It is necessary Patty." A questioning look appeared on Patty's face. "Mother, do you really think he'd try and come after her?" Penny put the bottle in her daughter's hand. "Do you want to take the chance?" Penny asked.
Patty sighed and then sat down in a near by chair. "I'm sorry darling" she whispered and then she began to feed her newborn baby the potion filled bottle of milk. "What is going on?" Sam demanded. "Patty we don't have time for you to feed her. Take the bottle we'll ask the Nun to feed. If they catch us…" Penny put her hand on Sam's shoulder. "You feed the baby. I'll explain" Penny told her daughter.
While Patty fed her newest daughter the power binding potion, Penny explained to Sam about how the adult Charmed Ones had returned from the future to try and save themselves from a warlock named Nicolas. And how in order to protect them, their powers had been bound. And how it was necessary to bind the baby's powers too. "We've got the vanquishing spell complete. All we have to do is work on the potion" Penny explained. "And besides. Since there's no guarantee that she'll be adopted by witches; binding her powers is for the best anyway. No risk of exposure." "Except for her Whitelighter powers….if she has any. Your potion won't bind those" Sam said.
The year is now 1998. Penny Halliwell knew in her heart that her time on this earth was running out. And she also knew that sadly her beloved granddaughters were not getting closer, as she'd hoped. In fact they were drifting further apart; which would never work if they became the Charmed Ones. Penny was up in the attic of her home, white candles were lit and sitting on the floor in the shape of a circle. In the center of that circle, floated the ghostly image of Patty Halliwell, Penny's daughter.
"Mother" Patty protested. "Why now?" Penny sighed. "You know why Patty. My time is running out. And I've done everything I possible could to bring those girls closer together. If I don't strip their powers now, while I have the chance….." Penny paused and grimaced in pain. "Mother" Patty said, with panic in her voice. "I'm alright dear. Just a little pain. Patty I don't want to do this….to take away their destiny. But I have no choice. You know as well as I do that they aren't close enough as sisters to be the Charmed Ones…."
"What about Paige Mother?" Patty asked, referring to her youngest daughter that she had to put up for adoption. To answer her daughter's question, Penny picked up small potion bottle. "I have a power stripping potion for her, right here. And luckily, I was able to years ago, become friends with her Mother….er I mean her adoptive Mother…." Penny felt guilty at having said that. "It's alright Mother. I knew what you meant." Penny sighed with relief. "I'll go over there tonight, for some tea. And I'll slip this into Paige's tea."
"Mother" Patty protested. "I realize the girls aren't as close as either one of us would like them to be. But do we really have a right to take away their destiny like this?" Penny looked at her daughter with sadness in her eyes. "I don't feel like I have any other choice Patty. I'm sorry my darling." Penny walked over to one of the candles and picked it up. "Goodnight my dear. I love you." She smiled softly and then gently blew out the candle. Once the flame was extinguished, the ghostly image of Patty Halliwell disappeared from view.
Penny walked over to a table and picked up a bigger bottle that was filled with the same color liquid as the smaller bottle that she intended on pouring into her youngest granddaughter's drink. Penny walked out of the attic, shut the door and muttered a spell, which locked the door. Then she began walking down the stairs. She reached the first landing when pain gripped her and she fell the rest of the way down. The two potion bottles fell out of her hands, and Penny Halliwell laid dead at the bottom of the stairs. Her granddaughter's Prue, Piper and Phoebe heard the thud of her falling and came running towards her, calling out "Grams!"
Penny died before being able to strip her granddaughters of their powers. And because of that, as they say the rest is history….Charmed history.