Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters, ideas and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter 9:
Rolling her eyes violently while staring upwards at the heavens in irritation, Pandora stomped her foot onto the pavement in resemblance to a petulant child, ignoring the highly amused expression on Prue's face as linked their arms together and nudged her shoulder lightly, "Pan, relax, our turn will be up in, oh about –"
"Twenty-seven people. Twenty-seven frickin' individuals! Do I look like a patient person? No, I am not a patient person and you know it!" Pandora rambled in a heated tirade. Massaging her temples, the youngest Halliwell couldn't help but mutter out, "The damn movie is so NOT worth waiting in this everlasting line!"
Turning around, Piper raised a simple eyebrow at an amused Prue, before gently addressing Pandora, "Sweetie, you're the only one that's cranky. Just be patient."
"Be patient," Pandora drawled, articulating each word slowly while staring at Piper incredulously, "I just said-, you know I'm not patient. And neither is Prue by the way, but at least she's getting her jollies by watching me suffer. You're the patient one here, sis, and Pheebs is messing around with that stupid Magic 8 Ball. I could be with Connor right now figuring out why he's been acting indifferent toward me!"
Once Pandora mentioned Connor, the sexy Dr. Black, Prue and Piper immediately flashed her a sympathetic look; two weeks ago, the good doctor began distancing himself from the famous celebrity out of the blue, and no matter how many times Pandora pushes, he pulls away like Newton's damn Third Law. He began immersing himself into his work and treated more patients than usual, and in the past two weeks, Pandora managed to spend quality time with him twice.
Suddenly, Phoebe, who hadn't been paying a sliver of attention to her sisters' squabbling, groaned out in despair, "'Ask again later.' Hello, vague. How am I supposed to plan my future without a little direction?" prompting Pandora's lips to quirk up in an amused smile. Prue fondly shook her head in disbelief and gaped at the middle sister, "You, who can see the future is now looking for a Magic 8 Ball."
"My visions don't help me, remember?" Phoebe despondently reminded her eldest sister, her face a mixture of defeat and irritation.
Piper shot Phoebe a covert grin, "I've got an idea. Why don't we ask if Prue and Andy will get back together." And completely ignoring Prue's spluttering in verbal disagreement, a grinning Phoebe enthusiastically shook the ball and hummed mysteriously, "Oh… interesting."
"Very," Piper winked at a chuckling Pandora; Prue, unable to control her curiosity, tried peeking at the ball, but Phoebe quickly hugged it to her side and out of reach. "You are cruel," Prue pouted, relinking her arm with Pandora, who addressed Phoebe, "I've a question for you little ball. How long is it going to take before I confront and then kick Connor's perfectly shaped ass to the curb!"
Prue and Phoebe smirked widely at that, but the loud beeping of Piper's pager disrupted the jesting atmosphere between the Halliwell sisters. Glaring at her pager with utter dislike, Piper threw her head backward and emitted a loud sigh of exasperation, "I forget what a day off feels like. That was my boss, Martin. I have to get back to the restaurant."
"You're kidding," Prue snapped; simultaneously, Pandora huffed, "Bull! Tell Martin to fuck off!"
Shooting the blonde a reproachful look in regards to her vulgar language, Piper whipped out her phone and dialed the restaurant before saying, "There's a convention in town and business is just crazy."
Frowning at her timid sister, Phoebe vehemently pointed out, "I thought you were gonna talk to Martin about this weeks ago!"
Pandora scoffed, "She chickened out… again!"
"I didn't, I didn't chicken ou-, hello, Martin," Piper interrupted herself as she began speaking into the phone, "No, I know what you want but… okay, no that's not a problem. I'll be right there," and she hung up with a sigh, ignoring Pandora's knowing look, "Okay! Fine, I chickened out. I'm not outspoken like you three!" she whined, throwing her phone aggressively into her purse.
Pandora smiled benignly at the docile Halliwell and embraced her in a hug, "I'm sure the wrath of Piper will make an appearance soon. But by the end of the week, if you hadn't told Martin where to stick it, then be assured that I will."
Phoebe grinned darkly, "Ditto. Come on, I'll walk you to the car, it's safer."
"We'll wait here," Prue called out after their retreating backs, looping an arm around the youngest Halliwell who groaned, "Yay, more waiting." As Prue burst out into laughter, the creepy man standing in front of them in the line with a woman who was obviously his wife, turned around and gave her a leering once over, "You're Pandora Halliwell. Terry Hammer, and let me tell you, I am an avid fan of yours."
"Uh, turn around, Sicko," Prue sneered, tightening her hold on Pandora while the man's wife smacked him on the face. Pandora rolled her eyes, "See what I have to deal with on-"but whatever she was about to say, was lost as the blaring siren of a police car reverberated from where Piper and Phoebe were headed. The two remaining Halliwell sisters ditched the line-up and stormed ahead, both equally worried for their sisters' safety.
"Oh my god!" Prue gasped, clutching Phoebe tightly while Pandora held a frantic Piper, all four of them staring in horror at the dead man lying on the ground in front of them with a deep and horrid-looking hole burnt in the middle of his forehead. In between shaky breaths, Piper spoke up, "Phoebe saw his murder before it even happened."
Phoebe shook her head, a hand covering her mouth in horror, "No, not this one. I think I saw the next one."
***P4***
Lucius Malfoy stared with distaste at the muggle newspaper one of their house-elves had delivered to him on the terrace during breakfast while Narcissa listened in on the Halliwells carrying out their breakfast routine. Ostracizing himself from the British Magical Community and stuck in a muggle neighborhood for his family's safety, Lucius tasked Sockey with collecting the Daily Prophet and San Francisco Chronicle every morning and evening so that he could continue to be in the loop with all major happenings.
Unsettled with the heading on the front page of San Francisco Chronicle, Lucius gently put down his teacup and addressed Narcissa, "Cissy, darling. It seems a Dr. Oliver Mitchell had been murdered last night near the Movie Theatre," he sneered at the muggle terminology.
His wife, true to her nature and astute mind, gasped aloud and clutched a hand to her chest, "The sisters were there last night. Thank Merlin they are unscathed."
"Yes," Lucius crisply replied, his silver eyes roaming the article, "I will not pretend to comprehend such jargons Muggles use, however, this healer specialized on cell degeneration and the Muggle Aurors believe the perpetrator confronted him in relation." Lucius was adamant in replacing Muggle terms for those of Wizardry due to his fear of 'losing his heritage' and becoming 'Muggle'.
Narcissa fixed her poised husband with a solemn stare, "Apparently, Phoebe had a premonition of a girl being murdered the same way as that Muggle healer, Luc."
"Then I say that there's a huge probability that the perpetrator is magical." Lucius sighed, looking the perfect picture of nonchalance as he sipped on his tea, but inwardly, he groaned, worried for his … her safety.
***P4***
Once Leo made himself scarce with Mama Piper lustfully shadowing him, Pandora took a seat beside a distressed Phoebe who was manically flipping through the Book of Shadows, searching for answers regarding her premonition. Never a normal day in the Halliwell Manor, she glumly thought.
"What did she look like?" Prue questioned helpfully.
Pondering over her vision, Phoebe slowly articulated, "Well, she was about 5'3", hair was lightish."
Pandora snorted out loud in an abrasive manner and fixed Phoebe with a look of incredulous disbelief, combined with a tiny hint of humor, "Oh well, lightish, that narrows it down!"
Phoebe shot her a disgruntled look in rebuttal, "It's not on video tape. I can't exactly rewind it," her chocolate orbs lit up all of a sudden in the direction of an instantly wary Prue, "Hey, you've got to talk to Andy."
"What?" Prue really hoped she misheard Phoebe's wonderful suggestion; unfortunately not. Phoebe shot her a look of sympathy, but nevertheless, plowed onwards, "Well, if I can't find her, then I have to find the killer before he gets to her."
Scrambling for a proposition that wouldn't end up with her confronting her ex-boyfriend, Prue blurted out, "Well, have you checked the Book of Shadows? From the way you described your vision that sounds like it could be demonic."
"Yeah, you make a great point, Prue," Pandora spoke up hesitantly, "But Andy's got more resources than we do right now. For all we know, he's already hot on his trail. I know you don't want to see him, but Phoebe got the premonition for a reason. We have to save this girl," she ended with conviction, her words managing to have made a great impact on Prue's stubbornness.
Prue grumbled to herself and without another word, grabbed the Book of Shadows and stormed up to the attic, away from her conniving younger sisters. Those two really are mischief and mayhem when placed together.
***P4***
"Ah, Severus, to what do we owe the pleasure?" Lucius smiled, offering his temperamental friend a short glass of Firewhiskey as he joined them on the terrace. Accepting the much needed pick-me-up, Severus dipped his head in silent gratitude, his stance immediately relaxed upon sipping the first gulp and after placing the glass on the table, interweaved his hands together, placing them under his chin.
"That-that amphibian is driving me up the wall, Lucius," he snarled in response, achieving the unwavering attention of both Malfoys, "I never thought I would yearn for your sway in the Ministry with that bumbling fool, Fudge, but by Salazar, I do! She is out of control with her trying to take over the school! She actually tried sucking up; abominably I might add, to Draco and a few purebloods, due to their parentage. Horrid hag!"
Lucius sneered, his handsomely aristocratic features twisting into utter revulsion, "I presume the hag you speak so poorly of is none other than our esteemed Dolores Umbridge, Undersecretary to Fudge. Yes, it requires plenty to stomach her and her grating high-pitched nuance, not to forget that annoying girlish laugh of hers. I do not envy you, my friend."
Narcissa shivered in repulsion recalling the ghastly woman donned from head to toe in lurid pink, matched with that outdated pink frilly cardigan, and her many futile attempts of garnering a close friendship with her throughout the plethora of Ministry Balls and events they were in attendance, "That witch is a pestilence, I tell you. What is she up to in Hogwarts, Severus?"
"For now, Potter managed to attain three weeks of detention with her as though he is merely collecting trophies," Severus grimaced; hate the boy he may, the abrasive wizard couldn't help but pity the foolish Gryffindor for being forced to be in close proximity of that intolerable hag. "She isn't allowing the usage of practical spells in class, and places all her energy in triumphing Dumbledore and ruling Hogwarts with an iron fist."
Silence engulfed his words as they all processed the hag's manipulative plan, and throughout the moment of pondering, the three youngest Halliwell sisters each arrived at the Manor separately and sequentially. Suddenly, Lucius's brow arched and his head cocked to the side, "I hear the sound of pages flipping from the attic…" The words barely permeated the air before Prue's voice boomed around them defiantly.
"For those who want the truth revealed, opened hearts and secrets unsealed, from now until it's now again, after which the memory ends."
Clearing her throat, Narcissa said, "To point out the obvious, I believe she has enacted a truth spell."
***P4***
The next day, when Pandora woke up and basked under the shower allowing the scolding water to soothe her qualms, the youngest Halliwell transformed from vibrant and cheerful witch, to a pissed off girlfriend on a mission. Today the famous celebratory had a free schedule and instead of taking advantage of her break from meeting her PR and agents, and appearing on set and in the recording room for her new album, by shopping and lounging about leisurely in the Manor, Pandora was dead set on visiting her boyfriend at the hospital and demanding answers once and for all.
Ambling into her gigantic walk-in closet, a thoughtful frown etched itself onto her face, her hand lingering on coral dress that would accentuate her golden tan. Donning it on, she appraised her reflection on the ornately golden engraved full-length mirror; the coral sleeveless dress was voluminous, rippling stretch silk drapes with a simple curved seam on the bodice that flowed down a few inches above her knee. Twirling around, she lifted her silky long silver-blonde hair in a high ponytail and admired the peep of her back in the shape of a keyhole. Finally, she paired the dress with matching coral ruffle-fringed heeled sandals and a beige Louis Vuitton medium-sized purse before descending down the staircase and into the kitchen were Prue was reading the newspaper and Piper was preparing breakfast.
"Wow! You look gorgeous. What's the occasion?" Piper's chocolate orbs roamed admiringly at the youngest Halliwell's ensemble.
With a triumphant smirk on her mien, Pandora sauntered toward the coffee maker and poured herself some before taking a seat beside Prue who was also inquisitively staring at her, "Today is THE day. I am finally going to get Connor to spill his freaking guts. If he doesn't want to continue onwards with our relationship, he should just come out and say it instead of stringing me along. Nobody trifles with Pandora Halliwell, star celebrity," she arrogantly stated before a deep frown of confusion appeared on her forehead.
"Uh, arrogant much, sis?" Piper slowly questioned, staring at her weirdly while Prue suddenly averted eye-contact.
"Yeah, uh, I-, I don't know why I said that," Pandora stammered. Prue instantly went for a change ins subject as Piper handed over Prue's morning coffee, "Thanks. Is this leaded?"
"Nope," Piper rebutted.
"It's not?" Prue uncertainly asked; both Prue and Pandora's eyebrows arched magnificently with Piper's harsh scoff in response, "Never has been. I just say it is because it's ridiculous to make two pots of coffee when you're the only one who drinks diesel," she huffed out aggressively, before, in the exact replica of Pandora, she frowned in confusion.
"Are you okay, Piper?" Pandora hesitantly asked, suspicion coloring her tone. Piper was unable to answer, as Phoebe ambled into the kitchen, blabbering quickly at Prue with a contrite expression on her face, "Prue, don't give me grief when you get the phone bill. I was up all night on the internet and I didn't find anything. That poor girl." When she took the offered coffee from Piper, her eyes lit up in guilt, "Oh, Piper, I'm sorry about the crack I made last night about your zit."
Piper smile gently and waved her hand in dismissal, her eyes flickering from a contrite Phoebe to a confused Pandora, "That's okay. So you guys really can't see it?"
Barely glancing at it, Phoebe stated in a matter-of-fact tone, "Like I said, it's huge." Simultaneously, Pandora blurted out, "Woah, that thing has taken up a life of its own!" and in unison, the two youngest Halliwells slapped a hand over their mouth, eyes wide. Prue tried making herself undetectable while Piper frowned for the third time that morning, "Something weird is going on."
"Morning ladies," the jovial voice of Leo broke into the three sisters' conundrum, immediately plastering flirtatious smiles out of Piper and Phoebe and an amused eye-roll from Pandora who began watching the three of them closely; seriously, the Piper-Phoebe-Leo triangle debacle was too amusing to miss out on. It was obvious Phoebe kept hitting on Leo only to rile Piper up, even though she adamantly wouldn't admit it. "I should be able to finish the stairs today," he continued with a bright smile, the tense atmosphere between Piper and Phoebe going unnoticed by him.
"Okay, um, I'll make some more coffee," Piper told him with a hopeful smile.
"And I'll bring it to you," Phoebe perkily grinned at him, her chocolate orbs admiring his firm ass as Leo left the room. Piper groaned audibly as she stared up at the heavens, "Oh, here we go again, right?"
Rolling her eyes, Phoebe bluntly blurted out, "Piper, we both know that the only reason I like Leo is because you do-"
"AHA! I knew it!" Pandora squealed, jumping out of her chair and pointing a finger at a gobsmacked and bewildered Phoebe who continued her interrupted speech, "Okay, I have no idea why I just said that." She whirled around to face a sheepish Prue, "What's going on?"
The eldest Halliwell avoided eye-contact with her three suspicious sisters and jumped onto her feet, "Uh… okay, I'm late for work, busy, gotta go," she rushed out, heading directly toward the front door.
"Prue!" Piper yelled out.
"FREEZE!" Pandora growled, and just as Prue halted in her tracks, she barked out, "Turn. Good. Now spill, Prue!"
Struggling with herself due to the workings of the Truth Spell, Prue blurted out, "I cast a Truth Spell," she winced at the three shrieks of, "WHAT!"
"Why?" Piper demanded.
"Because I wanted to know what Andy would think of me if he knew I was a witch."
A look of disbelief introduced itself onto Phoebe's visage, "I can't believe it."
Prue huffed and glared accusingly at her, "Look who's talking, Little Miss Spell-of-the-week." But Phoebe merely waved her hand away and beamed, "No, no, I mean, I can't believe you actually took my advice. The biggest pooper at the Wicca party has finally used her power for personal gain. About time."
"Yeah," Pandora nodded in agreement, a triumphant smirk, despite the situation, appearing on her face, "This moment needs to be framed, Prue."
Piper however, wasn't amused the least bit and she made her feelings quite clear when she smacked each of the two youngest Halliwells on the arm, "This isn't funny! It's affecting us! Prue, what have you done?"
Staring at the docile Halliwell contritely, Prue said, "The spell was only supposed to work on me, okay? It said, 'those in this house'. I thought I was alone."
"Well, you obviously thought wrong," Pandora scoffed before stiffening in a heartbeat, her silver-grey eyes depicting a stormy cloud as she glared at Prue, "Wait a sec… what does it mean for us exactly? What are the machinations of the spell?"
"Machination?" Phoebe raised an eyebrow.
"My new word of the day," Pandora airily replied, not once diverting eye-contact with Prue's guilty jade green orbs. Piper huffed out and began formulating her next words in a tizzy, "Word of the day, shmord of the day, who cares! Prue, we have to, we have to undo the spell right now. Fast!"
Wincing, Prue blurted out, "Can't. Twenty four hour time limit. Which means until eight o'clock tonight, everybody that comes in contact with us, will have no choice but to tell us the truth."
"What do you mean no choice?" Piper shouted frantically.
Shrugging nonchalantly, Prue said, "Exactly that. Ask me a question."
Phoebe, true to her careless nature, squared her shoulder with an excited grin, "I'm game. Prue, what do you think of me?" Pandora groaned and covered her eyes with one hand, out of all possible questions in the entire rainbow, she had to ask that one!
Involuntarily, Prue bluntly responded, "While I admire your confidence and your fearlessness your utter lack of responsibility frustrates me to no end." She winced violently, and shot Phoebe an apologetic look, "Oh, God, that is so enough."
Piper opened and closed her mouth like a fish, in a state of palpable shock, "Oh my God, this could be dangerous!"
An evil grin, however, spread on Pandora's face that didn't bode well for anyone, "Actually, this kinda rocks. Piper, what do you really think of your boss?"
"I think he's a self-serving jerk who must have a very small penis," Piper frankly rushed out before her face morphed into utmost horror, "Oh my God, I'm gonna be so fired."
Prue was quick to ease their worries, "No, no, no. It's okay because once the spell ends, no one will remember what they've heard." Growling with fire in her eyes, Piper snapped at Prue, "Don't even think about asking me what I think of you right now."
"I just got an epiphany," Phoebe gasped, ignoring the two eldest Halliwell's current conflict, "So are you telling me that everyone I ask a question to has to answer with the truth?"
Prue nodded instantly, "I think so, yes. But that also means if we get asked a question, we have to answer the truth."
"Huh, I can work around that," Pandora muttered aloud, thinking about how she was going to garner truthful answers out of Connor. Both youngest Halliwells approached the front door, ignoring Piper's incessantly frantic argument about locking themselves in the Manor until eight o'clock. Phoebe turned to Pandora, "You want to come with me to visit Andy?"
"Nah, I've got a boyfriend to interrogate."
***P4***
While the Halliwell sisters were awake, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, arguing about the rational sister's huge faux pas in casting the truth spell, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy were in the midst of a serene breakfast in a French restaurant in Union Square.
"Luc, I was curious to discover that spell Prue cast," Narcissa whined for the umpteenth time ever since Lucius practically dragged his usually composed wife out the door. Sighing into the drink those Muggles called Café Latté, Lucius pinched the bridge of his nose and fixed his gorgeous groomed wife with a solemn mien, "Cissy, darling, we must acclimatize in this city with these Muggles. We cannot constantly isolate ourselves on the terrace all day long or we would seem suspicious. We must stroll into Muggle San Francisco, accustom ourselves with our surroundings and procure a vehicle."
Narcissa sighed in comprehension; they had moved to the Manor in front of the Halliwells for four months now and had dallied in the Muggle World once when they ran into Pandora midst shopping. Lucius was a strategic and astute man, and they would warrant unwanted attention if they harbored themselves in the manor like a couple of hermits.
"I understand, Lucius. Do forgive me for my obsession, it's just…"she trailed off, prompting Lucius to clasp her hands in between his, "I care about those sisters. Merlin forbid, but I fret about them like a mother hen, which is ludicrous, I know-"
"It's not, my love," Lucius shot her a genuine smile. "You have always been desperate for more children. And now, discovering Pandora's relation to me, you basically adopted the four girls. You have nothing to be ashamed of."
No, in all actuality, Lucius was ashamed of himself. What kind of a father alienates himself from his daughter's life for twenty-one years and chooses to ignore her existence?
Guilt and shame crept itself into Lucius Malfoy's veins.
***P4***
Like a woman on a mission, Pandora confidently strode toward the reception and kindly asked for Dr. Connor Black's location, breathing a sigh of relief when she was informed that he was on his lunch break in the cafeteria. Thanking Lucy profusely with a benign smile, Pandora stalked toward the cafeteria, only to halt in her steps at the scene that awaited her.
Connor sat in a secluded corner, in all his gorgeous glory, sitting opposite a pretty scrub nurse with strawberry blonde hair and cerulean eyes. Most people would write them off as close friends due to the fact that the surgeon and the scrub nurse worked alongside each other in a plethora of surgeries, but Pandora was a shrewd woman who had studied many courses in body language and she didn't like the reading of the scene in the least bit. A pair of silver-grey orbs burnt a hole at them as Connor's hand suddenly lifted itself in level with her face and gently tucked a loose strand behind her ear, a red blush coloring her cheeks and her eyelashes batting shyly at the motion.
"Well, well, well," Pandora sneered, taking deep pleasure in the stiffening of her boyfriend's body and the guilt that flashed on the harlot's face, "Isn't this cozy. Ya know, usually I would never dare to interrupt such a romantic setting between lovebirds, but in this case, I am really curious as to why my boyfriend is cozying up with a bitch!"
Connor's utterly handsome face was filled with regret and guilt as he stood up to face Pandora, "Pan, I'm, I'm so-"
"Don't!" she growled, abruptly placing a hand up in a silencing motion, "Don't bother giving me excuses. So, she is the reason why you have been distant with me lately. No lies, Connor, no excuses. Tell me. Why?"
Dragging a hand over his face, Connor's stance morphed into one of resolution and he brutally stated – not like he had a chance of lying due to the Truth Spell anyways, Pandora thought grimly -,"We have absolutely nothing in common, Pandora. You're a rising celebrity, a model, a singer, an actress and a hairbreadth away from being a world icon, with many adoring fans and lustful men running after you. I'm a surgeon; I save lives for a living. Amy and I, we just clicked, it just, it just happened. I really am sorry, I never meant to hurt you and I was planning on breaking the news to you gently."
She let out a derisive scoff and willed the tears to stay at bay, "There is no 'breaking the news gently' Connor. Cheating is and will always be cheating, no excuse. You know, the only thing I cannot tolerate is cheating, and congrats you two-faced bastard, you did one of the most contemptible act in my book. You may be a surgeon that saves life, but at the end of the day, you are a deplorable and despicable human being, and I hope you get your comeuppance one day. Goodbye, Dr. Black!"
Knowing that Connor would forget the entire confrontation once the spell ended, Pandora composed a well-written and brutal note, explicitly stating that she is breaking up with him due to her discovery of his unfaithfulness with Amy the Tramp. She left the note with Lucy and walked out of the hospital. She sped over to Bucklands in desperate need of Prue and upon walking into the office, found her and Phoebe in the middle of a heated conversation.
"Pan! Hey- oh my god, sweetie, what's wrong?" Phoebe's face went from cheerful to concern in less than a second at the sight of tears cascading down the youngest Halliwell's stunning face and wasted no time in pulling her into a tight hug, one that she hurriedly reciprocated.
Her voice permeated the air, and it came out muffled due to her mouth's close proximity with Phoebe's shoulder, "I went to the hospital, ready to give Connor a piece of my mind, and ended up walking in on a romantic lunch between him and his skanky scrub nurse, Amy."
"What," Prue hissed, enraged beyond belief as she helped her into an armchair by her desk and offered her a tissue. "I'll kill him," Phoebe snapped, her kind chocolate orbs resembling the fiery pits of hell.
"Apparently, I'm a shallow celebrity while he's a hotshot surgeon playing god and saves life. Unlike perfect Amy, we have nothing in common," Pandora hiccupped, her beautiful eyes red-rimmed, "Like, how stupid is that? He knew about my celebrity status before he asked me out! Two months dating and now he gets an epiphany? Fuck him!"
"You're way out of his league anyways," Prue firmly spoke up with conviction, her jade orbs fixated on her despondent sister; Pandora was the confident, bubbly, energetic Halliwell that was always s cheerful and strong and vibrant, and to see her reduced to a pitiful mess due to Connor Black, enraged both Prue and Phoebe. "You're a hardcore, kickass witch who saves lives on a weekly basis in ways Connor never could. One day, you'll find your match, an amazing guy who accepts you for who you are, and our secret. I promise."
"I love you," Pandora blubbered, wiping away her tears before shaking her head, "Okay, take my mind off that bastard. Tell me Pheebs, how did it go with Andy at the station?"
Though uncertain over the rapid change in topic, Phoebe gently acquiesced, "Well, I was just about to tell Prue when you walked in. He gave me a list of all the victims. They all died in the same way too. The only problem is, they don't have a suspect."
"That's not surprising if it's a warlock or demon like we believe it to be," Pandora pointed out with a snort.
Phoebe sighed, acknowledging the truth of her statement, "Exactly. Which means I have no way of finding…" she suddenly trailed off, her chocolate orbs focused entirely on a point behind Pandora, "her!"
"Who, her?" Prue inquired, trading a bewildered look with an equally baffled Pandora.
Standing up immediately, Phoebe extended an arm and pointed at the sandwich lady who was currently waiting for the elevator, "That's the girl from my premonition!"
"Tanya?" Prue gasped. At that moment, despite Phoebe's yells as the three sisters ran toward her, Tanya entered the elevator which snapped closed on their faces. Prue whipped around to face a frantic Phoebe, "Are you sure?"
"Yes, and that's the truth," Phoebe stated candidly.
The sisters split up after Phoebe's admission; Prue darted over to gather security, while Phoebe and Pandora – who had long ago perfected running in heels due to her many movies and modeling, descended the stairway and rushed toward the parking lot where they found a screaming Tanya against a car, held up by a tall, pale-faced man with straw colored hair in a suit. Thankful that her car was beside the demon, Pandora ran towards it while Phoebe grabbed a glass bottle from the ground and smashed it against his head, hard enough to shatter the bottle completely.
"Holy mother of God!" Pandora breathed out, her eyes widening immensely as the demon turned around to face Phoebe, and she saw a single eye etched into the middle of his forehead. "Pheebs, grab Tanya, I'll meet you at the Manor."
Slamming the broken glass bottle once again on the demon's back, hard enough for him to collapse onto the ground, Pandora slammed on the engine, just as Phoebe clambered into Tanya's car, both of them departing the crime scene.
"Phoebe! Pandora!" Prue hysterically yelled out as she appeared before the demon with two security guards behind her. Her jade orbs noted the two cars speeding away and with a sigh of defeat, she stormed back into Bucklands, not knowing that she had now painted a target on her back.
***P4***
The Malfoys obtained a black Rolls-Royce, and since the Ministry would occasionally use cars, Lucius already knew how to work the Muggle vehicle, much to his dislike. Unfortunately, the neighbors would find them odd if they managed to leave the house without the use of Muggle transportation, and if they were to fit in, it was imperative that they portray themselves as idyllic Muggles.
Upon their arrival, Narcissa sheepishly made a beeline toward the terrace and immediately began fretting as she witnessed Pandora, Phoebe and a stranger who resembled the woman from the premonition, rush inside and bellow to Piper about their run-in with a warlock.
"Why must they constantly find themselves in dangerous situations," Narcissa groaned, clutching her teacup as though it were a lifeline.
"Come now, Cissy. The sisters will prevail like they always do. Don't be so concerned," Lucius spoke aloofly, adamantly ignoring the way his stomach churned with worry.
Suddenly, Piper's voice rang out, "Wait, how did it go with Connor?" There was a long beat of silence before Pandora's despondent voice permeated the air, "Uh, not too good. Turns out, he was cheating on me. Apparently, I attract cheating, unfaithful sons of bitches."
Lucius ignored the feedback from the concerned elder sister as turmoil filled the recess of his mind; thoughts of pulverizing and cursing the blasted Muggle rotating endlessly and his imagination went astray. How dare that-that Muggle harm his daug-… Pandora. Lucius cursed as the paternal feelings began to consume his every being, and he adamantly averted eye-contact with his astute and knowing wife.
Thankfully, the sisters began quizzing the Muggle girl, Tanya, with a plethora of questions over why the warlock was after her to begin with, allowing him to push back all overprotective feelings for the moment.
***P4***
"So, Andy said the third victim was a professor at Stanford? What's the link?" Piper asked.
"He may think it has something to do with what they're working on. Biogenetics," Phoebe revealed.
Scratching her chin in thought, Pandora spoke up, "Huh. So we have a professor, a geneticist, a lab technician, and a-"
"And a sandwich girl," Tanya interjected cynically, staring at the three sisters with unadulterated skepticism, "Do you really think he's after me?"
Phoebe grimaced, "Uh-oh, Truth Spell," with a sigh, she clasped Tanya's hands in hers in a comforting gesture, resulting in her to stiffen, her eyes clenched shut as she was sucked into a premonition. Both Piper and Pandora stared at her knowingly, and just as Phoebe's eyes snapped open, she tilted her head toward the kitchen for much needed privacy.
"She's carrying!"
Frowning in puzzlement, Piper asked, "Carrying what?" Pandora rolled her eyes and lightly smacked her atop the head, "A baby, Piper! What else!?"
"Ohh!" Piper's eyes lit up with joy, but just as she was about to return to Tanya, Phoebe held her back, shaking her head rapidly, "No, no, she doesn't know yet."
"Absolutely wonderful!" Pandora sarcastically drawled out. Piper grimaced at the conundrum, "What do we do? Do we tell her? I mean, we protect. We don't do prenatal."
Pandora snorted, "I am so not touching that. I mean, we just told her some freaky abomination that shouldn't exist with three freaky eyes is after her, we are not about to blurt out her pregnancy status. I didn't sign up to be a shrink!"
Phoebe nodded in agreement, "While I agree with Pan, I would have worded that in a more colloquial way. This is not the kind of information she needs from people she just met who are telling her, like Pan eloquently put it, 'some three-eyed demon' wants to suck the life out of her," she ceased her rambling all of a sudden, a frown appearing on her visage, "Wait a minute, is it possible that it's not Tanya he wants? That it's her baby."
"But, but Tanya doesn't even know that she's pregnant… no effing way. Fuck no! That-that cannot be possible," Pandora swore again beneath her breath. Glaring at her cussing sister in disapproval, Piper huffed out, "Would you like to share with the class, Pandora?"
"Either this demon sees the future, or he's from it. Personally, I'm gonna go with him being from the future," Pandora responded.
"Excuse me?" Piper gaped in disbelief, "That's preposterous-"
"No, no, think about it Piper. I think Pan is on to something!" Phoebe looked to be deep in thought, ignoring Piper's stare of incredulous disbelief as she began pacing in dizzying circles, "There was a button. The police found a button by one of the last victims made out of some kind of funky metal they'd never seen before."
Completely lost and out of depth, unlike the two youngest Halliwells, Piper shouted out, "Rewind!"
Taking over for Phoebe, Pandora fixed Piper with a serious gaze, "There's a button that's not supposed to exist, a demon that the Book of Shadow says doesn't exist, and a baby no one knows exist. You got a better explanation for this Freaky Friday shit?"
"No need to be so crass, Pan," Piper muttered, though it was obvious she was only focusing on the youngest Halliwell's large repertoire of expletives as a tactic of avoiding the inevitable. "Okay, okay you two are right, what do we do?"
"Well," Phoebe looked taken aback at being put on the spot, "He found Tanya at Bucklands, he saw us…" her eyes widened perceptibly and Pandora continued her sentence for her in a hushed voice, "With Prue! God Damnit!"
***P4***
"And just when I thought we have seen it all, now there are portals from the future!" Lucius stated incredulously. Narcissa was still frozen with shock at the conversation they overheard. Demons, warlocks, ghosts that desires to move on, warlocks that steal Muggle women's youth, Dream Sorcerers, but traveling from the future really managed to shock them to the core.
"If the Dark Lord or his supporters discover such an anomaly then we are doomed, Lucius," Narcissa breathed out in fear.
Lucius let out a sigh of utter frustration, unwilling to convey how terrified he actually was. Running a weary hand down his face, he nodded and his face morphed into one of determination, "We need to inform Dumbledore at once. When Severus visits tomorrow, we'll have him pass on the missive."
Despite the mind-boggling phenomenon, Narcissa began fretting over Prue being in danger from that future-demon, and listened closely as the three sisters argued over departing to Bucklands.
"Piper," Phoebe's voice rang out, "You have to go to Prue alone. If we bring Tanya with us, and he's there, it's like bringing the feast to the lion and she can't stay here by herself."
Piper frantically retorted, her voice obviously shaking due to terror, "But I need you, we need you!"
"We can't always be the Power of Four, sweetie," Pandora spoke up rationally, "I have an active power, which means I can defend Phoebe and Tanya if he shows up."
"If it makes you feel any better, the three of us will stay in the attic with the Book," Phoebe suggested; the Malfoys heard the rustling of clothes, and they knew that the three sisters were embracing each other. Not even a minute later, the front door opened and a frazzled Piper ran out, making haste towards her car and speeding down the lane.
Knowing what his beloved wife was thinking, Lucius placed a comforting hand over one of hers, "I'm sure they will be fine, Cissy."
***P4***
Pandora gazed intently at her reflection from the mirror in the foyer pondering over the night's events. Prue managed to delay the demon until Piper's timely arrival and discovered that the three-eyed demon did indeed, come from the future with the mission of eliminating all the puzzle pieces of the vaccine which was meant to protect people from all warlocks like him in the future. Tanya's unborn child would be the one to bring together all the elements to create the vaccine which will end with the warlock and his ilk's elimination. In record time, Piper arrived and they both managed to kill the demon, sucking his corpse back into a portal that appeared out of thin air and to the future.
The fact that evil beings could create a portal from the future deeply disturbed her, but she avoided the topic by thinking of her sisters. Piper and Phoebe took Tanya over to Quake, where Piper told Martin to shove it before finally quitting. Prue called a few minutes ago, informing her that she was on her way to Andy's apartment in order to get the answer she needed since she managed to tell him of her witch status before the demon interruptus.
Her silver-grey orbs flickered toward the grandfather clock and saw that there was still five minutes until the Spell ended and Lucy, as per Pandora's instruction, would hand over her hostile letter to Connor, effectively dumping him for the second time that day. Sucking in a sharp intake of breath, she squared her shoulders and adopted a determined stance before grabbing her black cardigan from the coat rack and departing the house.
She needed to do this. She needed to know. She could no longer remain blissfully in the dark. The Truth needed to be heard.
Ringing the doorbell, Pandora tapped her foot impatiently as she was engulfed in a nerve-wracking silence. Patience just wasn't her forte.
The door whipped open, and she came face-to-face with the aristocratic handsome neighbor, wincing as a pair of identical orbs to hers stared intently back. "Mr. Malfoy? Uh, I don't know if you remember me, but –"
"Pandora Halliwell, I remember," Mr. Malfoy smoothly interjected with a brusque nod, an indiscernible emotion ablaze in his orbs and she vehemently tried to ignore the fact that up-close they were visibly the exact shade and color as hers. "What can I do for you, Ms. Halliwell?" he continued, unaware of her inner ramblings.
Knowing that she barely had two minutes before the Truth Spell came to fruition, she parted her lips, "This may sound odd, I know it may seem completely out of the blue, and I'm sorry, but-"
"Ms. Halliwell, spit it out," Mr. Malfoy sighed and Pandora could have sworn a flash of amusement graced his face, but it was gone before she could discern it.
"Right, yeah. Are you-,"inhaling a deep breath, Pandora blurted out, "Are you my father?"
A strained silence ensued; Lucius Malfoy gazed at her for what felt like years, and just as Pandora was about to turn away and flee into the safety of her Manor thinking of how stupid she was to ask a complete stranger such an incredulous question, his silky baritone voice whispered out, "Yes."
Her eyes widened extravagantly, unable to process what the handsome man just told her, and she eloquently blurted out, "W-What?!"
"Yes, I am your father, Pandora."
Her phone blared with an alarm, informing her that the spell had ended, and Pandora was too lost in the shocking discovery, she didn't notice that Lucius Malfoy was unaffected by the Truth Spell. Looking up, she strained a smile, "I'm sorry to disturb you, Mr. Malfoy. Have a good evening." And leaving a dumbfounded Malfoy Lord behind, Pandora barricaded herself in her room, clutched her pillow in her arms and cried her heart out for what felt like hours before sleep finally consumed her.
In Malfoy Manor, a distressed Lucius sat alone in the terrace, listening in agony as the daughter he abandoned let out heartfelt and pained sobs for an hour until she finally succumbed into the arms of Morpheus.
A/N: Whew! Done! Did you all enjoy this chapter? XD
So, Connor ended up being an ass (but don't worry, we haven't seen the end of him, he'll pop up randomly) & Pandora finally received proof that Lucius is her father… I already have the scene planned out for when Prue, Piper and Phoebe will find out, so be patient with me! ;)
Now, about the Poll for who Pandora would end up with (and when I say end up with, I mean forever, grow old with and the like):
Pandora/Cole Turner: 29.
Pandora/Sirius Black: 13.
Pandora/Bill Weasley: 8
Pandora/Kyle Brody: 8.
Pandora/Andy Trudeau: 2.
Pandora/Gideon (The Elder): 2.
This Poll will be in effect until Season 3. Now, Dear Readers, if the person you want didn't gain much votes, don't worry there is still time; with your votes, it can change. And you never know maybe they will still have an active part since I am changing a lot of things. I already have a plot laid out for EACH of the names I posted up in the Poll.
R&R.