Times were rough, and pain was hard. Life was difficult. At times, it was almost unbearable. I often wondered why I didn't just lie down and let the forces of destiny, the ones that had allowed mom to die, do what they wanted with me. Those were the worst days. Other days, I was still sad, but I could lose myself in life. It was a tossup most of the time. I was either possessed by life, or I possessed it.
To be controlled, to be a puppet—that, I was ashamed to admit, was where I found the most comfort. There was comfort in the certainty of pain. This was something that I kept from my sisters. I had revealed much to them, but this was something that I couldn't admit. I bottled it up, stored it away, and I knew that it would always be there for me. That was assured. Happiness was not.
I found that I was afraid of happiness. Every time I smiled, a panic would grip me. It was so easy for someone to take my happiness, so I clung to the grief. But I did not show the grief. I put on a mask, I hid my tears, and I turned myself into my sisters' strength. They needed me to be their foundation. I had to guide them and protect them. No one else was there to do that. Not anymore.
Today, though, was one of better days. I did not speak to anyone as I sat at breakfast. Instead, I observed the other students. I looked at their carefree approach to life, and I wondered if I had ever been like that. I couldn't seem to reach back to a time before the pain. I was confined to a cage of time, and I could only remember that I had once been happy. I didn't feel it, but I knew that I had once possessed happiness.
"Mail's here!"
The owls swooped down into the hall, dropping packages onto the tables.
As I was not expecting anything, I was quite surprised when a large package landed in my arms. I stared down at it, puzzled, for while. Then I tore off the brown paper and found it was a leather-bound book. It had an odd symbol on the cover. It was awfully old. Halfheartedly, I opened it and read the first page.
An incredible force erupted from the book. I passed through me, knocking me out cold.
"Prue. Look at me, Prue."
My heart jumped. I knew that voice, but I didn't dare to hope. Yet when I opened my eyes, I saw that I had not been mistaken, for there stood my mother.
"Mom!" I hugged her. For the first time in a very long time, I felt happiness and did not panic. Perhaps this was not assured, but my mother was here with me. Her presence blocked out any foreboding. "I thought you were dead."
"I am."
I looked at her, but I did not let go for fear that she would disappear. "So am I dead?"
"No. Prue, you have been chosen to receive a wonderful gift."
"Like you said in the letter?"
"Yes. You are a Charmed One. I pass your gifts onto you now. Use them well. Goodbye, Prue. I love you."
She was fading away. Now the forgotten panic grasped me and I screamed, "Mom! Don't go! Don't leave me! Mom!" I sat up and found I was in the infirmary.
"Lay down, dear," Madam Pomfrey said and forced me down.
In the jumble of thoughts racing through my head, I was only able to come up with one question: "Why am I here?"
"You and your sisters passed out at breakfast."
"Can I leave?" I asked.
"You really should stay the night," Madam Pomfrey said. "You've been out for some time."
"But—"
"You're staying," she said firmly.
It was no use arguing with her. "Fine."
Satisfied with that, she went over to a bed that had the curtains drawn around it. It was three beds from me. Next to me was Phoebe. To her left was Piper, then the bed with the curtains drawn. My sisters woke at the same moment.
"Mom."
"I saw her."
They looked at each other, then at me. "Did you see her?"
I sat up. "Yes. She said she passed a gift onto me, whatever that meant."
"She said the same thing to me."
"So what does it mean?"
"I have no idea. Grams always did have some weird abilities. Plus they fought demons." I fell back, letting my arms fall with me. The curtains that had been pulled back were suddenly ripped down by an invisible force. "What happened?" I asked shakily.
"Wait. Move your hand up and concentrate on the curtain," Piper instructed.
I did so, feeling rather silly. The curtain moved in sync with my hand. I moved my hand in a circular motion. The curtain imitated the movement. "Um, what the hell is going on?"
"You can move things using your mind. I think it's called telekinesis," Piper said.
"This is what mom meant?"
"I guess so. That means Phoebe and I have powers too."
"Like—" Suddenly, Phoebe leaned too far and fell out of bed. But instead of falling, she levitated a few inches above the ground. "Wow." She carefully stood.
"Levitation," Piper said.
"What about you, Piper?"
"I don't know. It could be anything."
It was then that I remembered the book that had gotten me in here in the first place. "What about the book that came today?"
"What book?"
"Someone mailed me a book. Ah, here it is." I picked it up and opened it. A note fell out. "It's from Grams." I unfolded it. "Dear girls, you should have discovered your powers by now. I preformed a spell and discovered your powers. They will evolve over time, but you will begin with these abilities. Prue, you have the ability to move things with your mind. Piper, you can stop time. Phoebe, you are able to levitate. I expect you will receive more powers soon. This book will guide you on your path as the Charmed Ones."
"Is that really my power?" Piper pondered.
"Try it."
"But how?"
"Try a hand motion."
Piper waved her hand. Madam Pomfrey froze. "How do I undo it?"
I shrugged. "Maybe you use the same movement."
She did and time resumed.
"You three shouldn't be up," Madam Promfrey admonished.
I nodded at Piper, who stopped time. Phoebe grabbed the book and we walked out. Madam Pomfrey would likely never figure out how we had disappeared.
"Look out below!" Phoebe yelled and jumped off the staircase. She levitated easily. "Ta-da!"
"Oh yeah? Well watch this." I made my books fly around and then land in an orderly fashion in my backpack. "We should get to classes."
"No need to hurry," Piper said with a wave of her hand. "Time is on our side."
We leisurely walked to our separate classes and arrived in plenty of time. I had Charms. I preformed the spells the Professor instructed us to do easily. Feeling bored, I decided to have some fun with McNair, a dolt Slytherin. I concentrated on the materials before him. They rose up and flew to the back of the room. He stupidly looked around. I briefly considered raising him up into the air... And I did, but only a few inches. The horror in his eyes was well worth the effort. Being telekinetic was definitely not without benefits.
Later, I found that Piper had also had fun with her enemies.
"I stopped time and moved around Snape's stuff," she told Phoebe and me. "It was hilarious."
"I didn't get to do anything. If I had, the teachers would have assumed that I had done magic. I couldn't risk it," Phoebe complained.
"You'll get a chance eventually," I assured her.
"I looked at the book a little last night. There are some pretty powerful potions and spells. There's also this 'demon guide'. It lists a whole bunch of them and tons of magical creatures. We should really look through it together," Piper said.
"How about tonight?"
"Sounds good to me."
And so, early that night, we gathered in the Gryffindor common room. We flipped through the book, which turned out to be called the Book of Shadows.
"This is the one that killed mom," I said quietly as we landed on a certain page. We were silent for a while.
"Let's look at the spells," Phoebe said.
We unenthusiastically flipped to the spells. A warning was written at the top. "Magic must not be used for personal gain. Major consequences may result. Bummer," Phoebe said. "I can't use any of these to curse James."
"Not that you would, of course."
"Of course," Phoebe said with a devious smirk.
"Oh!" Piper gasped as joy lit up her eyes. "There's a spell here that can summon spirits. We could call mom."
"Really?" I looked at the necessary things and summoned them. Piper stopped time so that we could be alone. Hope in our hearts, we called upon mom.
She appeared slowly. "Girls?"
"Mom."
"I shouldn't be here."
"But we miss you."
"You have to learn to live without me. It's too soon. I have to see your si—"
But before she could finish, she disappeared. The dull ache that had been weakened by the discovery of our powers came back, and we again broke down. We cried for a while, and then retired to bed.
Paige
"Hello?" My voice echoed through the vast emptiness. What had happened? A few moments ago I had been in the Great Hall. Now I was in a place filled with nothing but fog. I felt very vulnerable.
"Her condition is getting worse. We really should transfer her to St. Mungo's," a woman's voice said from somewhere far away.
"They would not be able to do anything for her. This coma can only be broken by the bonds of sisterhood," a man's voice responded.
"But she is an only child."
"That is what she was led to believe. The truth was revealed to me by her birth mother, Patricia Halliwell."
"You mean…"
"Yes. Prue, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige are all sisters."
"But why was she given up?"
"Her father is a whitelighter."
The woman gasped. "She must be very powerful."
"No more than her sisters. They are the Charmed Ones. You do remember that tale, don't you?"
"Yes, but I thought it was just a story."
"The Power of Four certainly is real. However, if Paige does not awaken, the power will fail."
"The Power of Three must be adequate."
"True, but the Power of Four is far more powerful."
"What will we do?"
"We will tell her sisters."
All at once, the voices were gone. I was left alone again. "Wait! What do you mean?" They couldn't hear me. I was cut off.
"Paige, give up your powers."
"Who's there?"
My parents emerged from the mist. "You must give up your power. It will destroy us."
"What are you talking about?"
"If you keep your powers, we will die," my father said.
"I don't have any powers," I said.
"You do," mom said and reached out her hand. "Give them to us."
"No, Paige. Do not listen to them," a voice said quietly.
"Who said that?" I called.
"They are not who they appear to be," the same voice said.
"Who are they then?"
"Voldemort. He wants you to give up your powers to him."
"But I don't—"
A woman appeared. "You must trust me."
The rest of my family began to gather around my parents. They all urged me to give up my powers.
"Please, Paige," my mother begged. "Please, you can save us if you just come closer…"
"Give me your hand, Paige," my father said.
There was something off in their eyes. It chilled me to look at them. Trusting my instincts, I backed away from them.
"Leave her alone, Voldemort. You will not pass!" the woman cried and created a shield. It held back my family.
No, this was wrong. "Stop!" I cried. "They're my family."
"Look again."
I looked and screamed. In place of my family was a horrible man. His eyes were terrifying. I could practically see the evil radiating from him.
"Leave!" the woman commanded.
"Only her sisters can get rid of me," the man hissed.
From somewhere far away, I heard chanting.
"Bring back this one to me, bring her back to her sisters three, bring her here, bring her near. Bring back this one to me, bring her back to her sisters three…"
The man disappeared. "I will win!"
"Go," the woman said.
I jerked up.
"She's awake!" Prue called to Dumbledore.
"Miss Matthews, are you all right?"
"I'm fine, I think." I couldn't get rid of the image of that man. Who was he? Who was that woman? "Could someone tell me what happened?"
"This will take a while," Dumbledore said. "Poppy, if you could get some tea."
"Wow... I… wow," was all I managed to say nearly two hours later.
"I know. We were rather surprised when we found out too," Phoebe said.
I looked over Prue, Piper, and Phoebe. "You three… you're really my sisters?"
"Yes, we are," Prue confirmed.
"What about this orbing thing? May I try it?" I asked anxiously.
"Absolutely not! You were in a coma!" Madam Pomfrey interjected.
"I don't see how it could do any harm," Dumbledore said.
Madam Pomfrey eyed him.
I concentrated and felt myself moving, but not in any ordinary way.
"That's so awesome," Phoebe said.
"Did I orb?"
"Yes."
"You three should work on getting her caught up. I know you've been practicing," Dumbledore said. The standard twinkle was lighting up his eyes.
Piper blushed. "Are we even allowed to use our powers? What about that decree?"
"In this case, you are above the decree. Your powers are strictly used for good, and you will need them in order to fight darker powers."
The four of us shuddered a little.
"However, that will be later on in your lives."
"Let's go and look at this book," I said eagerly.
"Not so fast! I let you bother my patient for long enough. She needs her rest. OUT!" Madam Pomfrey roared and shooed them out. "And don't even think about orbing out."
I sighed. "Fine, fine."
The next day, I was finally released. I was at last able to practice my new ability and have a peek at the mysterious Book of Shadows. I didn't quite know where all this was going, and that was a little frightening. However, I was able to take comfort in the fact that I had sisters to support me. Our relationship was undeniably awkward, but I hoped that it would progress beyond the uneasiness.
Phoebe, I found, was the most accepting sister. She welcomed me with ease. Prue was somewhat hostile at first, but she eventually cooled down. Piper was the one that I wasn't sure about. I didn't know if she liked me or not, or if she was willing to accept me. She was almost indifferent to the fact that we were sisters. Phoebe told me not to take it personally. I had a feeling that it wasn't personal. How could it be if she didn't even seem to care?
That's what I thought at first. Then, I overheard Piper talking to Prue.
"I just can't accept it, Prue," Piper said, frustration in her voice. "I can't accept this. After all our struggles, we have to deal with this now. Why did it have to happen now?"
"This isn't Paige's fault," Prue said.
"It is!" Piper burst out. "It is because she's the only part left. Mom and mom's whitelighter… they're both gone. But Paige is still here."
"Piper—"
"This one piece of ugliness… and we had to find it." Now Piper sounded bitter.
"Piper, you're not being fair to her. You're acting like her existence is the cause of all our problems," Prue argued.
"We could have just went on," Piper ranted. "We could have worked through the pain, and we could gone on. But now—now there are too many unanswered questions. What if—what if this caused dad to leave? Maybe mom was having an affair and dad found out."
"No. This didn't happen until after dad left."
"How can we be sure, Prue? How can we know when it started?"
"Even if that happened," Prue said, "those were mom's choices."
"But Paige is the proof. We might never have known if…"
I didn't find out what she said after that. I had heard enough.