The demon was practically pelting them with fireballs. Henry Jr. was dodging as many as he could, while Melinda continued to freeze any fireball, or demon for that matter, that got too close to any of her cousins. Jessica would follow by sending the immobile fireball back at the demon, but usually her aim was a bit off and she'd miss him almost every time.

Prue and Madeline were fighting off a couple demons using hand-to-hand combat and using their quick reflexes to dodge the occasional attack. Because neither of them had active powers, they'd relied on their mother to teach them how to use their bodies to fight back, rather than their magic.

Henry had just landed a punch of his own on the demon in front of him, but he was startled when that same demon suddenly levitated in the air, his normal eyes glowing red. The glow grew outward, becoming lasers that pierced directly through Henry's heart.

The demons all vanished at once and the dark, cavernous backdrop fizzled into the safe, comforting walls of Magic School. Leo and a female professor were standing near Leo's desk.

Henry sighed. "Let me guess, I failed that test."

"Thank God it wasn't real," Jessica said. "I could have become an only child."

"What about Allison?" Melinda asked.

"Oh right. Her." Jessica rolled her eyes, and Leo chose this moment to interrupt the banter.

"What was the lesson this time?" he asked.

Henry shrugged. "I don't know."

"Be prepared for anything," Madeline put in.

"Exactly," Leo said. "Just because a demon consistently fights with the same power, it doesn't mean that he doesn't have a few tricks up his sleeve. Some demons wait until you least expect it to reveal that they have other powers. In this case, Henry would have been killed."

Henry looked aggravated at being called out and crossed his long arms over his chest. His eyes moved down to the floor, not in shame, but in an attitude that said "I am so over this."

On behalf of her brother, Jessica asked, "But wouldn't the Book of Shadows have told us what the demon's powers were?"

Leo raised his eyebrows and looked at Phoebe's two eldest daughters and his own child Melinda. "Anyone have any ideas?"

Madeline shrugged, offering her best guess, "We might be facing the demon before we've had a chance to check the book. Or the demon could be unknown or unidentifiable."

Leo nodded. "More importantly, you can't rely on the book to solve all your problems. You should never go into a battle thinking you know exactly how it'll turn out. You have to, as Madeline put it, be prepared for anything."

"Are we ready for another simulation?" the female professor asked, raising her hands as if she were preparing to create one.

"I think now's a good time for a break," Leo said, shaking his head. The group dispersed, Leo and the professor wandering off to talk amongst themselves and the five teenagers ambled over to the chairs and couches on the other side of the room.

"Well, you guys were awesome," Jessica said, in a tone that showed her frustration that was she was still struggling. "That's the price we pay for being half mortal I guess."

"That's got nothing to do with it," Prue said. "Telekinesis is a tough power to master. Whitney's been having trouble with it too."

"But Whitney hasn't had it her whole life," Jessica said. "Allison is amazing at TK. I have about a five percent accuracy rate."

"Because Allison's been practicing every day since she was born. You need to give it time," Melinda said.

"We've been at this for almost two months," Jessica said.

"But your potions have gotten better," Madeline pointed out. "You're great at everything else."

"Yeah, at least you have that," Henry Jr. said, no lack of attitude in his tone. "And at least you have telekinesis. All I can do is orb, which isn't exactly helpful in battle."

"You can heal, which is very helpful," Prue said.

"Both white lighter powers. I'm not a witch. I shouldn't even be here," Henry said.

"You're only saying that because you don't want to be here," Madeline said. "Besides, you are a witch. Otherwise, you couldn't cast spells, or scry, or make potions. You hardly try."

"I try, but I don't get the point. It's not like you need me."

"Henry, don't say that," Jessica said.

"It's true. Without me, there's still eight of you to carry the load."

"Seven," Prue corrected. "Whitney's still too young."

"Fine, seven. That's still enough, considering our moms only had each other. Hell, Wyatt, Chris, and Allison are doing just fine without any of us. So why does it matter?" Henry asked.

"You know, even if we don't need you," Melinda said, "We still want you, and you should want this too. It's part of who you are."

"But it doesn't have to be," Henry said. "Not according to my dad."

"Dad's just scared," Jessica said.

"As well he should be," Henry said. "Almost half of our family could have died last time, including our sister. And it's crap that Mom thinks she has more say than Dad in this. They're both our parents, not just her."

"Mom knows how this works," Jessica argued. "If we pretend that this doesn't exist, it's not gonna matter. Demons will still come after us because we're the Charmed Ones now. Dad knows this just as well, but he pretends not to."

"Guys, stop fighting," Prue said.

"Well, we learn from the best," Henry said cynically. Melinda frowned. She'd only been over to their house a few times in the last few months, mainly because every time she went her Aunt Paige and Uncle Henry wound up arguing about this very issue.

"You know what I think you need Henry?" Madeline said.

"What?" he asked, almost dreading the answer.

"You need a connection to the magical world."

"Oh brother," he said, rolling his eyes. "And what exactly does that mean?"

Madeline rested her arms on her knees and leaned forward. "I think you're rejecting this because you feel like you don't belong here. Maybe because you left Magic School earlier than the rest of us, or maybe because you only have white lighter powers. So I think you need something that connects you to this world, outside of your family."

"Like what?" Jessica asked. Henry gave her a look that said, "Why are you encouraging this?"

"Friends," Madeline said.

"I have friends," Henry said adamantly, hating the accusation that he was a friendless loser.

It was Madeline's turn to roll her eyes. "No. Witch friends. People that you can talk to about this stuff. People to confide in. That's what I think you need."

"I really don't," he said.

Madeline shook her head. "I'm an empath, remember? I know these things."

"You can't sense anything from me," Henry argued. All of them, with the exception of Whitney because she was still too young to care, had taken the empath blocking potion once Madeline's powers had started to expand.

"Just because I can't directly feel what you feel doesn't mean I've lost my natural intuitiveness. I can read people really well."

"Well, good for you," he said sarcastically. "Now stop trying to analyze me."

Leo approached them and asked, "Are you guys ready to try another one?"

Henry opened his mouth to object, but Jessica elbowed him, and he shut up, clearly not in the mood for an argument right now. Prue, who during Madeline's psychoanalysis had pulled her PDA out of her pocket, was busy pressing buttons furiously as she sent a message.

"Just one more minute," she said, not looking up.

"I thought I asked you to leave that home, Prue," Leo said. "It always distracts you."

"This is the first time today," she said. "I just need to answer this one email. It's about my project for school."

"School?" Henry asked. "It's summer."

"Boy are you behind," Madeline said.

"Well, I don't live with her like you do. How the hell should I know she's taking summer school?"

"I'm not taking summer school," Prue said, annoyed. "I'm trying out for the school paper next semester and we have to write a bunch of sample articles before they'll let us in." She rolled her eyes and finished typing her message. "Okay, I'm ready."

The girls all stood up and Henry slowly got to his feet. Right now this was the last place he wanted to be.


The potion that Allison was working on let out a small explosion and she waved her hand to clear the smoke. "Was that supposed to happen?" she asked.

Wyatt shrugged. "Depends what's in it." He walked across the attic of the manor towards her and looked down at the table at the page she had the book open to. He read through the ingredients and nodded. "Looks good so far."

"Well, it should. I'm an ace at making vanquishing potions."

"Then why did you ask?" Wyatt asked with a smile. "You know, just because you've made them before doesn't mean you've always done it correctly."

"Ouch," she said. "You're being brutally honest today."

"You can't learn by being coddled. If I'm tough on you, it's because I care. Now finish the potion so we can get the demon," Wyatt said.

Allison nodded, checking the book for her next ingredient. As she started preparing it, she said, "So I have a question."

"Shoot." He settled back on the couch, watching her carefully.

"At what point am I no longer your charge?" When there was no response, she looked up and saw his face almost blank, like he wasn't sure how to answer. "I mean, eventually I'll get this good enough to be responsible for myself, right? You won't always be standing over my shoulder."

"If it were up to me, I would always be standing over your shoulder," he said. "But I guess I should turn you loose at some point."

"You don't have to worry," Allison said. "I can take care of myself."

"I'm the oldest. I'll always worry."

"You don't worry about Chris," she pointed out.

"I worry," he said.

"But you're not protective of him like you are with us."

"Because Chris isn't really my little brother. I mean, yes, technically he is, but we're so close in age, I forget sometimes. We got into demon hunting at the same time so we've always looked out for each other. I never felt like I needed to protect him."

"Well, you're going to have to let go of me eventually," she said, not even bothering to look at him as she finished the potion. "I think I've proven that I'm capable."

"It's not that you're not capable," he said. "But this job is always easier, and safer, when you have someone with you. Ask your mom. She'll tell you that it didn't matter how much experience they had. Going off by themselves was never a smart thing."

She shrugged. "You guys do it all the time."

"No, we don't."

Wyatt cursed his luck when Chris chose that opportune moment to orb into the attic, announcing, "So I was just in the Underworld…"

Allison gave Wyatt a knowing look, which Wyatt avoided as he responded, "Well, we don't do it all the time."

"What'd I miss?" Chris asked, a confused look on his face.

"Nothing," Wyatt said. "What'd you find in the Underworld?"

"A possible lead on Traya," he said.

"Traya?" Wyatt asked. "She's dead."

"But her plans aren't," Chris argued. "With how many demons she had working under her, you gotta think that there's someone out there that wants to finish what she started. Namely her son."

"Oh please," Wyatt said. "He's only twelve. What's he gonna do?"

"You don't have to be old to command demons. And if he's her flesh and blood, I'm willing to bet that these demons would listen to him. Not to mention, he's half witch, half demon. That's a lot of power for a twelve-year-old."

"Maybe." Wyatt shrugged. "That's all I'll say."

"I thought we weren't supposed to underestimate our enemies," Allison said. "That we should always assume the worst."

"I didn't say always," Wyatt said. "If we always did that, we'd never sleep. Sometimes you gotta just go on good faith. And I don't think Dylan's up to anything. I think he got scared and ran off."

"Well, I think otherwise," Chris said.

"Well….good for you," Wyatt replied, struggling for a retort. "Look, it doesn't matter. We have this other demon to take care of first."

"Fine, then you guys go after your demon and I'll go after mine."

"By yourself?" Allison asked with the smallest of smiles, anxious to see how Wyatt would field this one.

"Divide and conquer, that's my motto," Chris said. He started to move across the attic, stuffing a few necessary supplies in a tattered bag he grabbed from a shelf. "I just need a few things before I go."

"Now hold it," Wyatt said. "You're not doing this by yourself."

"Why not?" Chris asked, genuinely curious.

"Because it's dangerous."

"It's always dangerous, but that's never stopped us. We always split up; that's how we work."

"Oh is it?" Allison asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Wyatt sighed, ignoring Allison for the moment and focusing on his brother. "Things are different now."

"Why?"

"Because we're not kids anymore, Chris. We have to set a good example, and going off recklessly isn't doing that."

"Who says I'm being reckless?" Chris asked.

Wyatt sighed, growing frustrated. He honestly had no argument he could use to convince Chris since he was right – they'd been going off on their own for several months now. It was nothing new for them to split up when they had two different problems to take care of.

He was more than relieved when his mother decided to walk in. "Mom, great. I need your help here."

"What's going on?" she asked warily.

"Wyatt is choosing now to be overprotective," Chris said. "I've been killing demons on my own since I was seventeen-"

"You're only eighteen now," Wyatt said, trying to show how stupid that argument was. "It's not like you have years of experience on you."

"Neither do you," Chris said.

"I'm not saying I do. You're being a baby about this."

"'Cause you're treating me like one."

Piper glanced at Allison, who was hiding a smirk. The argument seemed to be amusing her. Piper put her hands up, "All right, break it up you two." She looked each of her son's in the eyes. "Explain from the beginning."

Wyatt spoke before Chris could, "We were in the middle of going after this demon, and Chris went off looking for something else."

"I wasn't looking for anything," Chris said. "I just happened to stumble on-"

"Oh give me a break."

Chris looked at his brother wide-eyed, his arms outstretched in confusion. "What's with the hostility?"

Allison uncrossed her arms. "Don't mind him. He's just upset that you came in and disproved his point."

"What point is that?" Piper asked, trying to redirect the conversation, since she still had no idea what was going on.

"You know what, it doesn't matter," Chris said. "If I don't leave now, I'm gonna lose this demon's trail. So if you'll excuse me…"

"No, you are not excused," Wyatt said, spitefully. "You can't just bail in the middle of something."

"I'm not bailing. It's a low level demon. You and Allison can handle it."

"Actually," Piper stepped in, "Wyatt, you were supposed to be at the restaurant twenty minutes ago."

Wyatt winced. "Ohhh…" he said slowly.

"Oh is right," Piper said. "I know the business belongs to our family, but that doesn't mean you can blow it off. If you don't have time for it-"

"No, I do." Wyatt ran a hand through his short blond hair. "Not a problem. Chris, you and Allison go vanquish the demon." The frustrated look on Chris's face was palpable, but Wyatt had built up an immunity to that look over the years. He simply said in response, "Hey, the sooner you vanquish the demon, the sooner you can go after your lead."

"My lead could be gone by then."

"You've had time to stand around here," Wyatt said.

"Not by choice," Chris muttered.

"I gotta get changed," Wyatt said. He started to leave the attic, calling over his shoulder, "Don't let me down, Chris!"

Chris looked at his mother, shaking his head slowly. "I could kill him."

Piper laughed. "Don't be that way, hon. He's doing what he thinks is best."

"I've got the potion ready," Allison said, hoping to alleviate her cousin's stress. "We'll make it quick."

Chris took a breath and let it out through his nose, his jaw tense. He stepped towards Allison and reached his hand out, a glint suddenly in his eye.

"I know where I'm going," Allison said in response to the outstretched hand.

"I want to stick together," he said. Piper smiled at his seemingly cautious nature and left the attic as soon as they'd orbed away.

When Chris and Allison orbed into the Underworld, Chris readjusted his grip on the old bag he'd still been holding with the supplies he needed. He glanced at Allison, who had several vials of vanquishing potion in her hands.

"You won't be needing those," he said.


Whitney had been lying on her bed in almost darkness for nearly twenty minutes before she sat up and leaned over the end of her bed to pull the curtain back. She squinted from the sudden rush of sunlight and then sat back. There was a glass of pink lemonade on the windowsill and she reached for it, taking a long drink.

Summer had been quite boring so far for Whitney. Her mom worked all day, her sisters had been spending a lot of time at Magic School training with Leo, not to mention the evenings they went out to movies or late night shopping excursions, or on dates. Her dad was usually the only one home during the day, but even then he was in and out, dealing with his own charges as a cupid.

The front door opened and the voices of her sister met her ears. The sound moved closer as they approached her bedroom. Madeline popped her head in. "Hey Hooey, we got something for you."

Whitney ignored the nickname she used to love but was now beginning to hate as she got older. "What?"

Prue came in behind Madeline with a long, almost flat package and then Madeline came inside the room completely. Both girls sat up near the head of Whitney's bed, putting the package in the middle of all three of them.

"Who's it from?" Whitney asked, frowning at it.

"We don't know," Madeline said. "There's no return address and it was just sitting on the porch when we got home."

"Open it," Prue urged her little sister.

Whitney shrugged and pulled one end of the box towards her. She ripped the end open and reached in, pulling out the contents. It was an old, fairly antique spirit board.

"Wow," Madeline said, almost in awe, running her fingers over the dents and scratches in the wood. "This looks ancient. I wonder who sent it to you."

Prue grabbed the end of the box and turned it upside down, shaking it. A folded piece of paper fell out, and Prue took it, unfolding it. "It's blank. That's weird."

"Maybe they just forgot to write it," Madeline said. "We should totally try it out later."

"Mom wouldn't approve," Prue argued. "Besides, spirit boards aren't toys. We can't just play with it."

"Oh c'mon, it'd be so much fun," Madeline said.

"Maddy," Prue said, her tone showing her frustration. "No. I think we should call Mom at work and tell her about this. It seems fishy to me."

Madeline sighed. "All right fine."

Prue got up off the bed and headed for the door, Madeline going too. Whitney figured she might as well follow to see what her mom said about the gift, but when she got to the door, she stopped. The pointer was slowly moving towards a letter.

Whitney peered out into the hall, which had a clear visual path to the living room. Her sisters were on the couch, Prue on the phone. Whitney bit her lip and went back to the spirit board, grabbing a sticky note and a pen from her desk.

She watched the planchette move over the letters rather quickly, scribbling each one down and urging it to go faster before Prue and Madeline came back. When it finally stopped, it had left her a message that sounded remarkably like a spell:

CHANGE THE INK SO I MIGHT SEE

WHAT MY FRIEND HAS WRITTEN TO ME

Whitney frowned in confusion, straightening from the bent position she'd taken on her bed over the spirit board. But then her eyes fell on the blank sheet of paper that Prue had found. She picked it up, glancing at the spell in her hand.

Footsteps down the hall snapped her out of her momentary revelation and she shoved the blank note and the spell under the throw at the end of her bed.

"Mom says to put it in the basement until she gets home," Prue said. "She agrees that something's not right about it."

Whitney nodded. "Okay."

Prue stepped forward and grabbed the spirit board, giving her sister a smile as she left. Whitney could hear Prue and Madeline's voices again, but it faded as they walked down to the basement. When she was sure they were gone, Whitney flicked her wrist, closing her bedroom door with her telekinesis.

Pulling out both sheets of paper, she took a deep breath. "Change the ink so I might see, what my friend has written to me."

Small black markings began to etch their way onto the blank sheet of paper. When all the letters had solidified, Whitney brought the letter closer to her eyes and read, her heart pounding with every word.

A.N.: Well, here's the first chapter of the next story of my series. Let me know what you think! Reviews are always appreciated :)