Piper Halliwell walked through the front door with bags in her hands and an umbrella, she hung the umbrella up and put one of bags down
"Prue?" She asked.
"In here, working on the chandelier," Prue said from the other room. Piper took off her jacket and hung it up. Picking up one of the bags.
"Sorry I'm late." She said walking into the living room.
"What else is new?" Prue got off the ladder and tuned to her sister "Piper, I would have been here to meet the electrician myself but you know I can't leave the museum until six and Dean's picking up Sam from Stanford. I didn't even have time to change."
"I just didn't realize how long I was in China town. Did Jeremy call?" Piper put her bags on the table.
"No, but he had some roses and a package delivered. What were you doing in China town? I thought that you had an interview in North Beach?" Questioned Prue.
"I did but I went to Young Lee market after my interview to get the ingredients for my audition recipe tomorrow." Piper explained.
"So, that wolfgang-puck knock-off didn't hire you then?"
"No, but this just may get me the job."
"Jeremy sent you port?" Prue asked staring at what Piper held.
"The ultimate ingredient for my recipe. Oh my God, I don't believe it. Tell me that's not our old spirit board?" Piper said noticing something on the kitchen table.
"Yeah, I found it in the basement when I was looking for the circuit tester." Prue explained.
Piper took in her hands and read the description "To my five wonderful children. May this give you the light to find the shadows. The power of five will Help you survive. Love, Mom." We never did figure out what this inscription meant." Piper noted.
"Well, maybe we should send it to Phoebe. That girl is so in the dark, maybe a little light will help." Prue said referring to their youngest sister.
"You're always so hard on her."
"Piper, the girl has no vision, no sense of the future." Prue replied.
"I really think Phoebe's coming around." Piper defended.
"Well, as long as she doesn't come around here I guess that's good news."
Prue began fiddling with the circuit tester.
"I don't get it. I have checked everything, there's no reason why the chandelier should not be working." Prue said aggravated.
"You know how we've been talking about what to do with the spare rooms? I think you're right, we do need roommates."
"You mean room, Sam's coming home remember and we can rent the other room at a reduce rate in exchange for some help around the house."
"Phoebe's good with a wrench."
"Phoebe lives in New York."
"Not anymore…" Prue looked at Piper with surprise.
"What?" Prue asked in shock.
"She left New York. She's moving back in with us." Piper finished anxiously awaiting her sister's reply.
"You have got to be kidding." Prue said aggravated.
"Well, I could hardly say no. It's her house too. Grams left it to all five of us." Piper reasoned.
"Yeah, months ago and we haven't seen or spoken to her since." Prue retorted.
"Well, you haven't spoken to her."
"No, I haven't. Look, maybe you've forgotten why I'm still mad at her." Prue argued.
"No, of course not but she had nowhere else to go. She lost her job, she's in debt." Piper begged.
"And this is news? How long have you known about this anyway, do Dean and Sam know too?"
"Dean and I have known couple of days, maybe a week-or two and Dean will probably tell Sam on there way here." Piper explained.
"Thanks for sharing. When does she arrive?" The moment after Prue said that the door opened and Phoebe walked in.
"Surprise! I found the hide-a-key." Phoebe said showing them the key.
"Phoebe, welcome home."
"Hello, Piper." Phoebe said as the two hugged.
"It's so good to see you. Isn't Prue?" Piper said with a little force.
"I'm speechless." Prue said flatly. Then the door was opened again and in came Sam and Dean.
"Phoebe!" Dean said as she ran over and hugged her older brother.
"Hey Sam," Phoebe said as she and Dean broke. "How's Jess?" Then they heard a beep from a car outside.
"Oops. I forgot about the cab."
"I'll get it." Piper said as she grabbed Prue's purse.
"Piper, that's my purse." Prue said but Piper was already out the door.
"Thanks. I'll pay you back," Phoebe said then turned back to Sam.
"So?"
"Jess died. T-There was a fire, I almost didn't make it. I decided to take a break and come home for a while," Sam explained with sorrow thick in his voice.
"I'm sorry Sam, I didn't mean-"
"I'll be upstairs," Sam interrupted running up the stairs.
"Sam!" Dean called after him, he turned to Phoebe.
"He's just more in touch with his feminine emotions than other guys, I'll go get his stuff" Dean said using that last part as an excuse to get out of the tense atmosphere.
"Is that all that you brought?" Prue said as Dean left, referring to Phoebe's bags.
"That's all that I own and a bike. Look, I know that you don't want me here ..."
"We're not selling Grams' house."
"Is that why you think I came back?"
"Look, the only reason Piper and I gave up our apartment and moved back here with Dean is because this house has been in our family for generations."
"No history lesson needed. I grew up here too. So can we talk about what's really bothering you?"
"No, I'm still furious with you."
"So, you'd rather have a tense reunion filled with boring chitchat and unimportant small talk?"
"No, but otherwise we won't have anything to talk about." Prue said about to leave.
"I never touched Roger." Phoebe said with seriousness in her voice.
"Whoa."
"I know you think otherwise because that's what that Armani-wearing, Chardonnay-slugging, trust-funder told you ..." It was then Piper came back into the house with Dean carrying some of Sam's bags.
"Hey, I have a great idea. Why don't I make a fabulous reunion dinner?" Piper suggested putting one of the bags down.
"I'm not hungry." Prue said stomping out.
"I ate on the bus." Phoebe said going up the stairs. Piper looked extremely disappointed.
"Hey, they don't know what they're missing. I'm sure Sam would like to help you make it," Dean suggested.
"Naw, I'm not in the mood anymore but I hope we could try the group hug later." Piper said which made Dean laugh.
"Good luck with that lil sis,"
"We're twins Dean," Piper replied. Dean shook his head and walked away.
Piper, Phoebe and Dean sat at the table with all of there hands on the spirit board.
"When did you meet Jeremy?" Phoebe asked. Dean rolled his eyes.
"About six months ago - right before Grams died. We met in the hospital cafeteria the day Grams was admitted. He was covering a story and I was bawling over a bagel. So, he handed me a napkin."
"How romantic." Phoebe said with a smile.
"Yeah, right?" Dean asked sarcastically.
"As a matter of fact it was," Piper said directly looking at Dean with an "I win you lose" look. "The napkin had his phone number on it". Phoebe laughed at Piper's win. "Stop pushing the pointer." Piper said to Phoebe.
"I'm not touching it."
"Ya right," Dean said "You used to always push the pointer,"
"More popcorn?" Piper asked. She got up and headed for the kitchen.
"Hey, I forgot your question." Phoebe said to Dean.
"I asked if Prue would have sex other than with herself this year."
"That's disgusting." Phoebe said and turned to the spirit board "Please say yes." The pointer moved to the letter 'A' by itself. Both Dean and Phoebe's eyes widened.
"How'd you do that Phoebes" Dean asked, and then the pointer moved to T.
"Piper, get in here!" Phoebe yelled.
Piper ran in "What?
Then Prue came in after her probably also hearing Phoebes yell.
"What did you guys do now?"
"Me? I didn't do anything." Piper retorted.
"The pointer on the spirit board. It moved on its own." Phoebe said Prue and Phoebe stared at her .
"I'm serious. Dean saw too. It spelled 'A' 'T'." They turned to Dean.
"I'm not sure what I saw," He answered in truth. "But it was real"
"Well, did you push it?
"No."
"You used to always push the pointer." Prue pointed out making Phoebe frown.
"My fingers were barely touching it. Look." Phoebe put her fingers on the pointer. Nothing happens. Prue and Piper both turned in annoyance and began to leave. The pointer then moved to the bottom of the board, then back to the letter 'T'.
"Ah, it did it again! It moved!" Phoebe cried and Dean nodded seeing it a second time made him sure. Prue and Piper turned back around and look at the board.
"It's still on the letter 'T'." Prue pointed out.
"We both saw it move," Dean said but it made no difference, Prue left the room. The pointer moved again. But this time Piper saw it too.
"There." Phoebe stood up.
"You saw that right?" Dean asked triumphantly.
"I think so, yeah." Piper said warily .
"I told you I wasn't touching it." Phoebe said .The pointer moved again.
"Prue, can you come in here for a sec?" Piper yelled .When the oldest Halliwell didn't come Dean got up and began to yell.
"Prue! Get your-"Prue walked in with an irritable expression. Dean felt himself back away a little out of fear the oldest sister.
"Now what?"
Phoebe grabbed a pen and wrote the letters down on an envelope.
"I think it's trying to tell us something." She held up the envelope. It said 'Attic'. Then there was a loud clap of thunder and the power went out.
In the foyer, Piper was walking towards the door. Prue was following her.
"Don't you think you're overreacting? We're perfectly safe here." Prue said.
"Don't say that. In horror movies, the person who says that is always the next to die." Piper said in a worried tone.
"It is pouring rain. There's a psycho on the lose. Jeremy's not even home." Prue defended.
"Well I'll-I'll-I'll wait in the cab until he gets home."
"That'll be cheap." It was then Sam came down the stairs from his bedroom.
"Prue, I saw that pointer move." Piper said, Sam overhearing looked confused.
"What pointer?" He asked.
"It was nothing Sam," Prue said to same and then faced Piper "look, what you saw was Phoebe's fingers pushing the pointer. There's nothing in the attic, she's playing a joke on us." Prue said putting her hands on her hips.
"We don't know that. We've lived in this house for months and we've never been able to get that attic door open." Piper said. She crossed the foyer and picked up the phone.
"Great, now the phone doesn't work."
"Wait, you still can't get the attic open?" Sam asked, well Gram was still alive she wouldn't let them in there and after she died he went to Stanford, he really just expected that they had opened the attic.
"Yeah, the power's out. Look, go with me to the basement."
"What?" Piper asked skeptically.
"I need you to hold the flashlight while I check out the main circuit box." Prue explained.
"I'll do it," Offered Sam.
"No that's okay Sammy," Piper reassured but Sam frowned, ever since he got home his siblings have been very soft around him because of Jess but he didn't like them treating him as if he had a disability.
"Dean or Phoebe will go with you to the basement won't you guys." Piper said.
"Nope, we're going to the attic." Phoebe explained as Dean grabbed a flash light.
"No, you're not. We already agreed." Prue said.
"No, you and Piper agreed, we never did," Dean said with a smirk heading up the stairs.
"Dean!" Prue called after her younger brother.
Phoebe was about to follow but Sam took hold of her arm.
"Phoebe this is stupid, I'll just get Dean and-"
"No Sam, I am not waiting for some handyman to check out the attic and I'm certainly not waiting until tomorrow. I'm going now." Phoebe said breaking Sam's hold and heading up the stairs.
Sam turned to his other sisters. But Prue was already heading for another room.
"Prue, wait." Piper called. Sam grudgingly decided to follow her.
Phoebe and Dean reached the door to the attic, Dean pulled at it but it was locked tight. Phoebe turned back, giving up, knowing if her brother didn't get it open no one could.
"Phoebe wait," Dean said turned to his sister. Then they heard a creak and both turned to see the attic door opened. They shared a glance but then both walked inside with Dean in front of Phoebe. A light shined on a trunk and Phoebe, noticing it before Dean, walked past Dean and over to it. She opened it and there was a book inside. Dean walked behind her looking over her shoulder at it. Phoebe picked up the book and blew the dust off and finally opened it.
"The Book of Shadows," Dean read from the cover .Phoebe turned the page and began reading out loud for Dean to hear.
"Hear now the words of the witches, the secrets we hid in the night, the oldest of Gods are invoked here, the great work of magic is sought." Dean looked at Phoebe, he was beginning to regret coming up here
"In this night and in this hour, I'll call upon the ancient power, bring your powers to we siblings five, we want the power," Phoebe glanced back at Dean's uneasy face. "Give us the power."
Sam, Piper, and Prue entered the attic.
"What are you two doing?" Prue asked suspiciously.
"Uh ... reading an incantation," Phoebe said nervously.
"It was in this Book of Shadows, We found it in that trunk." Dean as if it would make a difference.
"How'd you get in here?" Dam asked looking around the attic for the first time.
"The door opened." Phoebe said as if it was obvious.
"Wait a minute," Piper said skeptically "an incantation? What kind of incantation?"
"It said something about magic," Dean didn't get a good look at it but he did know it was about magic.
Then Phoebe added "If we were ever gonna do this, now - midnight on a full moon - is the most powerful time."
"This? Do what?" Piper asked.
"Receive our powers."
"I'm going to bed," Sam said, he was too tired to deal with his sister's having it out. Sam left the attic .
"What powers? Wait, our powers? You guys included me in this?" Piper asked.
"No, they included all of us." Prue looked at the book "Bring your powers to we siblings five; It's a book of witchcraft." Prue said in cynical tone. Dean rolled his eyes, he hated how Prue refused to belive in anything.
"Let me see that." Piper said reaching forward, Unnoticeable to them though a man was standing outside their house.
Inside the house the four eldest siblings were walking down the stairs.
"Spirit boards, books of witchcraft. It figures all this freaky stuff started when you arrived." Prue accused.
"Hey, Sam just came home too and I wasn't the one who found the spirit board."
"But it wasn't my fingers sliding around on the pointer." Prue indicated.
"It doesn't matter. Because nothing happened, right Dean, when you guys did that incantation?" Piper hoped.
"Phoebe's actually the one who said the incantation," Dean said with a teasing smirk towards his younger sister.
"Thanks big brother," Phoebe said with sarcasm dripping from her tongue. "Well," She said answering Piper's question "My head spun around and I vomited split-pea soup. How should I know?"
"Well, everything looks the same." Piper noted.
"Yeah," Dean agreed "Just like how after a car crash everything seems okay but then the car explodes," Piper hit him on the arm.
"Dean, stop trying to scare us, that's only in the movies,"
"You're right." Phoebe agreed.
"See-"Dean said but was cut off.
"I mean about the house!"
"But the house still needs work." Prue said.
"Everything feels the same, so nothing's changed." Piper reassured herself. Dean rolled his eyes, he didn't think anything was the same not by a long shot.
Still unknown to the siblings the man that was standing outside slowly walked off.