1A.N.: Well, another day, another chapter. Actually it's like another year another chapter. Sorry it took so long to post. My lappy was being all weird and funky like. And I'm just a really slow writer so bear with me. Thanks for the reviews. It makes me feel loved (Wow, that's really pathetic). And Lossien; What the crap are you talking about. You're making me really confuzzled. Oh well. Keep on keeping on with the reading, and I'll keep on writing as fast as I can. And so, without further ado, CHAPTER 2!

Chapter2

Night had fallen over the Halliwell manor, and mostly everyone as asleep. The only one still moving was Parker. She was up in her room, sitting up in bed, reading. (AN: Piper and Leo sleep in the master bedroom, Phoebe is in hers, Parker is in Paige/Prue's old room, and Paige is in the old Nursery.) It was a particularly large book. The Book of Shadows. She had never really looked at it before, because she had never really needed to, but with this "New Threat" in town, she felt she should brush up on her demonology. As she flipped through the book, she came upon a picture. A picture of a very familiar looking boy. Her eyes narrowed as she moved her face closer to the Book. In big, bold letters across the top of the page was the word, "Danowar." It was Hunter. Her mouth hung open, though she didn't notice. She read on. "A very powerful Warlock, who steals powers," 'Well, duh!' Parker though to herself. But then the rest of the sentence caught her eye. "But he doesn't steal them from witches. He steals them from Upper-level Demons, and other Warlocks." 'Wow.' she stared at the sentence in front of her in amazement. 'That's different.' She stared at the picture again. It looked like Hunter, but it couldn't be. It just couldn't. He was a good guy. He had saved her. A powerful Warlock wouldn't have saved her. Although the Book did say that he only stole the powers from Demons. Maybe he only saved her so he could get that Demon's power. But no, she was attacked by Warlocks, and this guy only steals demon's powers. Or maybe he just wants powers, where ever they come from. And that fire-throwing thing had looked demonic. Maybe this was him after all. 'If only there was a way I could hear his thoughts when he stops by later. Then maybe I could be sure...' Her thoughts brought her back to a story Piper had told her when she was a little girl, about something she and her would-be Aunt Prue had done. They thought their boyfriends were demons, so they cast a hearing-thoughts spell, to, well, hear their thoughts. Piper found out that her boyfriend, Dan, wasn't a demon, but Prue wasn't so sure about hers. His thoughts were all about burning dead body's and stuff. She later found out that that wasn't her real boyfriend, but his twin brother, who was a mortician. Parker had found it funny at the time, and it still brought a smile to her lips when she thought about it. But it had given her an idea. She stuck a piece of paper from her dresser between the pages, to bookmark it, then flipped through the Book, briefly skimming the titles at the tops of the pages as they flipped past, until she came to the page she was looking for. The young witch got up from her bed, and walked over to her dresser. After rummaging around in her drawers for a few minuets, she found what she was looking for. She pulled a table over to her bed and placed the candle on top. Using a random match she had found on her dresser, she lit them. She walked back over to the book, and slowly recited the spell.

As flame lights shadow

And truth ends fear,

open the locked box

to my mind's willing ear.

May the smoke from this candle

into everywhere creep,

bringing innermost voices

to my mind in speech.

'Did it work?' she thought to herself. 'Hey, I heard my own thoughts. Oh, wait, I could always do that.' Parker smiled at her own blonde moment, but a voice from the doorway quickly wiped the smile off her face.

'Lucy, you got some 'splainin to do,' It wasn't a voice, it was a thought. Parker whirled around to face the doorway, and saw her mother. She had a very accusatory look on her face. If the situation hadn't been so serious, Parker would've added a 'But Ricky!', but it didn't seem appropriate. All she could do was put on a half innocent, half guilty look, and fold her hands in her lap.

"So who's the guy?" Paige asked with a slight grin.

"What makes you think there's a guy?" Parker retorted indignantly. "I'm not you, mom. Not everything I do is about a guy." Paige was about to get mad, but she realized it was true, so she walked over to the bed, and sat down.

"So," she repeated. "Who's the guy?

"If you must know," Parker said with an exasperated sigh. "His name is Hunter. I met him today on my walk."

"And do you like him?"

"Yea. He's nice, sweet, good looking..."

"Ok," Paige replied, raising a quizzical eyebrow. "So, then why the spell?"

"Well," She began. She had hoped she wouldn't have to tell her mother about the Warlocks, but now it seemed as if she had no choice. "After I left the house, I got attacked by Warlocks. A whole group of them. But then–"

"You were attacked by Warlocks!" Paige interrupted her daughter before she could go on. "And you didn't tell me this why!"

"Because I knew you'd react like this!" the teenager shot back. "Now will you let me finish!"

"Alright fine," a perturbed Paige agreed. "Go on."

"Thank you," Parker said sarcastically. "So anyway, all these Warlocks appeared, did the whole, 'Ooh look at me! I'm evil! I'm gonna kill you,' bit, and I thought I was doomed, but then Hunter showed up. And he saved me."

"Saved you?" Paige cut in doubtfully. "How could a kid take down a Warlock?"

"Well that's kinda the reason for the spell," Parker continued cautiously, as if expecting punishment for what she was about to say. "See, the big, scary Warlock was about to attack me, but then... Hunter threw fire at him." she finished quickly. Paige sat in silence for a while, as if pondering over her daughter's last statement.

Finally she said, "So why would a demon save you?"

"My thoughts exactly," Parker answered, glad that her mother was still speaking calmly. "So I asked him about it, and he says he's not a demon."

"But if he's not a demon," Paige reasoned. "Then why can he throw fire?" Parker couldn't answer this, but the book had a suggestion.

"While I was flipping through the Book, I found this." She found the bookmark, slipped the tips of her fingers into the pages, and opened it. There was the picture of Hunter, looking back at her. "That's him, or at least his picture. But I can't believe what it says can really be him. He seems so nice."

"Yeah, well you know what they say about books and their covers." Paige retorted, in her usual witty manner. She pulled the Book closer to her, and began to read. After a minuet or two, she looked up. "So this is why you said the spell, to find out if he's a Warlock?" Parker nodded sheepishly. It seemed kinda silly now, to even question if he was evil. He was right here, in the Book. That was undeniable proof. But still, she held onto this one last shred of hope, that this was just some Warlock that looked like Hunter.

"Honey," Paige said, putting a comforting hand on Parker's knee. "I can understand wanting to believe he's good, but the Book has never led us astray before. Now he may be good, he may be evil, but all the same, I think it's best if you don't talk to him anymore, just until we can figure this out."

"That might be kind of hard," Parker said. "'Cause I invited him over to the house." She put on an innocent smile, and shrugged her shoulders. Paige got up, with an exasperated sigh, and walked over to the doorway.

'Good night, troublemaker,' Paige thought to her daughter.

"Night, worry wart," Parker answered aloud with a smile. Paige looked back at her, and returned her smile, before leaving the room. The young witch leaned forward towards the table, and blew out the candle. She closed the book, and put it on her bed stand, and turned out the light. As she got into bed, and pulled the covers up around her chin, she thought of all the things she could do with this spell. All the fun she could have.

'Tomorrow's gonna be fun,' she thought to herself, and drifted off to sleep.

"Did she take the bait?" a shadowy figure asked dramatically.

"Yea," Danowar answered proudly. "She took it alright. I was even invited into the Halliwell Manor."

"Excellent," the figure said flatly, rubbing his hands together maliciously. "My plan is coming along perfectly. I can only hope you don't screw it up." From the shadows, a pair of eyes gleamed red, their gaze directed at the Warlock.

"Relax," he replied confidently. "This is a piece of cake. I'll have no problem making her... 'see our views.'"

"You better, and soon," the shadow shot back, with an air of superiority in it's voice. "I am very looking forward to meeting her."

Parker awoke to the sound of voices. Loud voices. Yelling voices, from downstairs. She pulled back the covers, got out of bed, and walked to the door, the bed-covers trailing behind her. As she got to the stairs, the voices got louder, and she saw Piper cross the landing, and storm into the living room, Leo at her heels.

"We knew this would happen sooner or later!" Leo yelled to his wife's retreating back.

"Well yea!" Piper argued whirling around to face him. "But I was thinking of later. Like when we're eighty, and way too old to fight demons, not now!" A tear sprouted in the corner of her eye. "Leo we still need you."

"I know," he said, walking over to Piper and hugging her close. He put his lips to the top of her head. "And I don't like this anymore than you do, but this is what has to happen. I'll still be around, just not as much." Parker, who had been watching this scene from the top of the stairs, descended to the bottom.

"What's wrong?" she asked. Her answer came immediately.

'I'm not your Whitelighter anymore' No one had opened their mouth. Parker was confused, until she remembered the events of last night, and the spell. After she understood how she had heard it, it dawned on her just what she had heard. Leo opened his mouth to answer her question, but before he could say anything, she rushed over to the hugging couple, and threw her arms around them.

"But why?" she asked sadly.

"Parker, honey," Piper said, confused. She pulled away from the group hug to face her niece. "We didn't say anything." Uh-oh. Busted. Parker had hoped that no one would have to know, except her and her mother. Oh well. Might as well tell them.

"I kinda cast a truth spell," she explained quickly, hoping they would miss it. They didn't.

"You what!" Piper shouted.

"I cast a truth spell, okay!" Parker yelled back. "But that's not the issue here!" She turned a sad face to her uncle. "Why aren't you our Whitelighter anymore?"

"Because I'm becoming a full-fledged Elder," Leo said in his usual, passive manner. Parker was confused. Piper cut rudely in on their conversation.

"Hey, you don't get to tell me what the issue is here!"

"I thought you were already an Elder,"

"Well I am, but I'm still a Whitelighter. Now I'm just going to be an Elder."

"But you'll still be able to orb in all the time, right?" Parker asked hopefully.

"Real Elders can't orb. They don't really have any active powers." he explained.

"Well that sucks," Parker said flatly. "Why would you want to give up all you have as a Whitelighter, just so you can sit up in the clouds all day doing whatever it is you Elder-folk do?"

"Because part of being an elder is knowing everything that has happened, is happening, and will happen. And the other Elders have decided that it is time for me to know that, so I can help more in the battle against evil."

"Yea, but even if you see the bad things coming, you won't be able to do anything about it, because you won't have us." she reasoned.

"Parker, there's nothing to discuss," Leo said in a way that meant the conversation was over. "Your new Whitelighter will be here in a couple of days."

"But we don't want another Whitelighter," Parker protested in one final vain attempt. Leo looked at her with a look that said 'There's nothing I can do, it's out of my hands.', shrugged, kissed Piper, and orbed out. The stranded wife let out an exasperated sigh, and walked into the kitchen. Whenever there was something wrong, Piper always headed straight for the kitchen. The grandfather clock in the foyer struck twelve. 'Oh my god, I'm late!' She ran into the living room, and over to the corner. There she found her pride and joy, her bass guitar. It was beautiful. Five string P-special. It had been a birthday present from her mother. She put it in its case, slung the straps over her shoulders, and headed for the door.

"I'm leaving for band practice!" she called over her shoulder.

"Okay,' came Piper's voice from the kitchen. "Dinner's at seven."

"Okay!" And with that she walked out the door.

Getting there was a pain. It was hard to peddle a bike with a five pound, awkwardly shaped bass on your back. The garage where Parker's band practiced belong to her best friend Jack. They had known each other practically all their lives, and were together almost every day. There was something else that made them close. Jack knew Parker's secret. He was the only person she told, and at first it had wierded him out. But now he was okay with it. Though he only lived a few blocks away, the trip seemed forever on a bike. When she finally got there she was out of breath, and ran into the open garage panting.

"Where were you!" the other three people in the garage said in unison. Jack was standing in the middle, tuning his guitar. And Alex and Sam were sitting on the couch. Parker was the only girl in the band, but she didn't mind. She was used to it.

'God she's beautiful,' Parker heard from somebody's thoughts, but she couldn't tell who's. A frown grew across her forehead.

"I slept in," she answered defensively, and suspiciously. "Sorry."

"I was starting to get worried," Jack said with a wry smile. Parker shot him a 'whatever' look and walked over to the corner. She took her bass out of it's case, slung the rhinestone-encrusted strap over her shoulder, and began to tune.

"Let's just get started."

Alex and Sam got up and walked over to their instruments. Alex played drums, and Sam played piano. A real piano.

"I started writing a new song last night," Jack began. He waked over to a table and picked up some sheet music. "It's not done yet, but you'll get the idea." The music was passed out, and put on stands. Once everyone was ready, Jack struck an A minor cord. It sounded very depressing. Then he began to sing, and everyone chimed in with their respective parts.

"I can't believe these words you said to me that night alone."

He had a great voice. You couldn't tell how good a singer he was by looking at him. He was kind of tall and stickly looking. Some might even go as far to say 'nerd', but anyone who knew him knew better.

"Your words can hurt my feelings but your eyes turn me to stone."

Parker had had a crush on him in the fifth grade, back when he was a lot shorter, and she was still in regular school, not Magic School. She had even almost kissed him once, at their school Halloween party. He had been perfectly okay with it, but she had stopped short. Now he was just a friend to her. But everyone knew that he still liked her. Everyone, that is, except Parker.

"And now I stand here, alone and helpless. These feelings of discontent. I know exactly what you said, but I don't know what you meant."

The rest of practice went pretty well, with only a few minor arguments. Jack's mom popped in a few times, offering cookies. They were politely refused. Jack's mom was a terrible cook, but no one had the heart to tell her. At six o'clock Parker packed up and left, waving good bye to all her friends. Since the trip back to the Manor was mostly downhill, she coasted most of the way, and was back in a few minuets. As she walked in the double-doors, she saw something that made her heart skip a beat. Hunter was standing in the foyer, being interrogated by her mother and aunts.

'Oh great,' she thought to herself, as she propped her bass against a wall, and went to rescue the boy.

"Hi honey," Paige said sweetly. "We were just getting to know your friend here."

"I can see that," she snapped back, walking up beside Hunter. "I'm really sorry about this." she said to him. He seemed to perk up as she talked to him.

'She smells good,' came the thought from his mind. Parker raised her eyebrows at this. She was surprised, but not offended. He smelled nice too. And not at all demonic. That was good. She shot her mother an accusatory look.

"Will you three please join me in the kitchen," she said as nicely as possible while trying to control her anger at them. "We'll be right back," she smiled to hunter before walking over to the adults and half-guiding them, half-pushing them into the kitchen.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" she seethed at her three shocked guardians. Unnoticed, an apple in the fruit bowl on the counter dissolved.

"Honey, calm down," her mother pleaded, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Remember the broccoli," Parker almost laughed at this, but quickly remembered how mad she was, and regained her mad-face.

"I don't care about the frickin' broccoli!" she screamed back. She could feel the anger starting to take over. She tried to stop it, but it was too late. Her eyes turned red, and she was just about to go fully medieval on her mother, when Hunter walked in. She immediately changed back to normal, and whirled around to face him.

"Hunter," she said as sweetly as possible despite what had almost happened a few seconds ago.

"Just came to see if everything was alright in here," he explained, taking a look around the room.

"Oh yes, everything's fine," Parker lied to him. "Could you just go back in the living room and I'll be right in."

"Ok," he agreed somewhat reluctantly, and returned to the living room.

"Now," she continued briskly, turning back to the three women. "I am going back in there, alone. And when he leaves we are going to have a long talk about this," And with that, she exited the kitchen, and went to have what she hoped would be a very pleasant conversation with Hunter.