TEASER

INT. MANOR, ATTIC, NIGHT

Melinda Halliwell-Wyatt stood at the family's Book of Shadows, flipping the pages furiously. Every few seconds she glanced up at the doorway or used her Whitelighter ability to scan the area for anyone that might be coming upstairs, but luckily her mother, father, and aunts were all otherwise occupied.

After a few minutes of scanning the pages of the ancient tome, Melinda found what she was looking for. She quickly copied down the spell and set the paper down. Then she closed her eyes and concentrated, disappearing in a swirl of blue-ish sparkles. A few minutes later, she re-appeared, holding a few ingredients she needed for the potion she was about to make. Then she set about the task of making the potion quickly and quietly.

"Just a bit of powdered toadstool and… it's ready," she said quietly. Just as she was about to read the spell, she heard footsteps heading towards the attic, up the stairwell. Before she could get rid of the potion and the leftover ingredients, her mother and Aunt Phoebe came up the stairs and saw her.

"Melinda Jayne Halliwell-Wyatt, just what on Earth do you think you're doing?!" Piper asked angrily, storming over to her daughter and ripping the spell from Melinda's grasp. "A spell to increase your grades? Are you on drugs or something?"

"No…" Melinda said meekly, not really sure what else to add.

"You go to your room this instant! Ohh, boy, you don't even want to know what kind of trouble you're in!"

"But mom – "

"No, I'm so sick and tired of your shenanigans lately. Is this some kind of teenage stunt you're pulling?"

"It's late, mom, I have school in the morning," Melinda said, avoiding her mother's gaze as she stormed out of the attic.

"Freeze!" her mother said angrily, aiming her hands at her daughter to freeze her, but because her emotions were running so high, she blew up a nearby vase instead.

"Dammit, I just bought that! Melinda you come back here right this instant!" Piper shouted, following Melinda to her bedroom, but before she could get a word in, the bedroom door was slammed in her face.

INT. MANOR, KITCHEN, NEXT MORNING

Piper Halliwell-Wyatt set the last piece of French toast on a plate and glanced at a nearby clock, which read 7:05am. Sighing impatiently, she walked to the bottom of the stairs and shouted up to her 15-year old daughter.

"Melinda!" Piper called. "Your bus comes in five minutes, and you're not gonna be on it unless you hurry up!"

"I'm coming, Mom!" she heard Melinda shout. Piper turned and walked back towards the kitchen, but was bumped aside as Melinda raced past. Glaring at her daughter, she walked over to the sink and began washing the frying pan she'd used to make the French toast.

Melinda raced into the kitchen before her mother, her backpack on her shoulder.

"We're not done discussing what you did last night, Melinda, is that clear?" Piper asked sternly. Melinda just glared at her mother as she grabbed a piece of toast and gave Piper a quick peck on the cheek, then ran out the door. Piper glanced out the window just in time to see Melinda gesture with her hands, freezing the bus as it started to pull away from the bus stop. Piper sighed and took a deep breath to keep herself from blowing her daughter to smithereens.

"Melinda!" she yelled out the window. Melinda looked back at her mother and cringed. Piper gestured and unfroze the bus, a power she had as Melinda's biological mother, then looked on in amusement as Melinda watched it drive away, leaving her behind. Then she stormed back into the house, furious.

INT. MANOR, PARLOR (CONTINUOUS)

"Mom, I missed the bus! I have a major test in English today, and Mr. Lawrence hates me already!" she protested, but Piper just gave her a look of impatience.

"I just knew something was up when you rushed out day after day, always running behind, but you managed to make it on time each and every single day! How many times do I have to tell you about not using your magic for personal gain!" Piper scolded, pacing back and forth.

"But mom – " Melinda started to say.

"No buts! Go up to your room and wait until I tell your father what you did!" Piper said. Melinda ran upstairs and Piper heard a door slam. She sighed, then went and sat at the table, grabbing the news section of that morning's newspaper. The headline caught her eye immediately:

"TEENAGE GIRL REPORTED MISSING, AUTHORITIES PERPLEXED"

Piper took a sip of her coffee and sighed sadly, wishing that she could use her powers to eliminate all of the evils in the world, not just the demonic ones. Then she continued reading and drinking her coffee.

EXT. DEMONIC UNDERGROUND, ETERNAL NIGHT

Two kids, each about fifteen years old, sat in a dark basement, somewhere. One was whimpering quietly, while their kidnappers sat nearby, watching and laughing. After a few minutes, the kidnappers got up and walked over to the kids, smiling mischievous smiles. Each grabbed one of the kids by the throat and started to suck their life from them, much like one would suck juice from a straw. The kids' skin turned a putrid gray color, and their eyes sunk in as their skin wrinkled like a raisin. After the demons were finished, they dropped the lifeless bodies to the ground and walked out, laughing.