A/N: I'm finally back from my trip & now I'm gonna try & update more. For some reason my Internet is down while I'm writing this, so I won't be able to answer to all the feedback. So sorry! Also, I was planning on writing more for this chapter, but no time. So it's a little short. Anyway here's the next bit:::
Reviews: Like I said, I unfortunately can't answer to all-only two.
Janarose: Thanks for helping me out with that "checking the box for letting in unsigned reviews thing". As my greatest fan you have performed well. :) Yes, the plot will definitely thicken & become more intense, since Gwen will get a taste of the dark side....
Stranded Stargazer: Glad you like the fic, and encouragement is good for the HP part!
Chapter 7:
After the previous evening's encounter with Piper, Gwen was even more anxious than ever to quickly follow through with her plans. The next day she convinced Phoebe to let her roam Chinatown on her own for a school "project". In reality however, she needed some key supplies. The Wiccan Equinox was fast approaching, which was the perfect day to perform the ritual.
Hopefully with the extra magic boost, I'll be able to summon, curse, and vanquish the bastard all in one.
Thankfully her cousins were planning on spending some quality party time at P3, so she'd definitely have the house all to herself.
Piper was not having a good day.
She hadn't slept at all the night before due to her constant worry over Leo and Gwen. She wasn't sure if she should tell her sisters anything until she had substantial proof that their younger cousin was planning something dangerous.
This was what she continued to tell herself as she made her way up to the young witch's room that afternoon. I'm making sure she's all right and that she's going to remain all right by stopping her before she does anything stupid.
Opening the door, Piper found nothing unusual for a girl/witch. Knickknacks and pictures of her family and friends aligned the shelves and top of the dresser. The closet was filled with all new clothes the Halliwell's had purchased for her. Everything seemed relatively normal.
Might as well start snooping.
Piper found nothing suspicious in the drawers or around the bed so she decided to take a peek in the antique chest in the corner. Old items from Gwen's past occupied the top, but she knew that anything dangerous and worth being hidden would be kept in the secret compartments.
She lifted the first shelf and placed it aside. Bingo.
Many different jars came into view, each with specific herbs and potion ingredients. Candles, a mortar and pestle, and a medium sized basin took up the rest of the space. Hmmm, yeah I think it's safe to say she's up to something.
By cross-referencing with the Book of Shadows, she realized Gwen was going to try and take on Cronon. She checked the clock on the wall and figured her and Phoebe would be returning home soon, and resolved to clear out of her room before she was caught. Piper desperately needed to talk to her sisters so they could figure out what should be done.
"But we don't even know if it's gonna be tonight," argued Phoebe. Piper had just finished explaining to Prue and herself her suspicions of Gwendy, and Phoebe was trying her best to give the girl the benefit of the doubt.
"Of course it's going to be tonight. What better night than the Equinox to perform a vanquishing?," Prue answered right back while pacing around the attic.
"Plus she did insist we go out tonight. That explains why she'd want to be alone," added Piper.
The three women sat in silence for a few minutes contemplating the best way to go about the situation. Finally Piper stood up and announced her thoughts and ideas. "I can understand why she would want to go after Cronon, but he must be pretty strong to be able to break the curse and kill her parents. So it's probably a REALLY bad idea for Gwen to try and take him on herself. The question is however, do we intervene to help her or stop her?"
Neither Prue nor Phoebe knew how to answer. Finally the former spoke up. "The part that stumps me is how she's going to do it. There's no vanquishing potion for Cronon in the Book, and I seriously doubt she'd settle on just cursing him. We have to make sure the spells she's planning on using are safe. You said you saw some axle weed (A/N: I have no idea if this ingredient actually exists; I just made it up. So if there really is an axle weed, it has no connection to this story.) in the chest Piper? That's rarely ever used in good magic, so I think it's fair to assume she'll be venturing into the black arts."
"And we all know how well that turns out," said Phoebe wryly. "So what's our strategy? We can't let her know we're onto her because she'll just reschedule the ritual some other night, regardless of the Equinox. I say we pretend we're going to the club and then double back to stop her. That way, she can get a taste of the bad shit she'd messing with and will learn a valuable lesson in the process."
"That's...strangely a practical and good idea Phoebe. All right, we just have to wait till midnight then," said Prue grimly.
