Chapter 1
"His letters have stopped, Piper," Phoebe said one morning a few months later. She was at the breakfast table looking through the mail while Piper made breakfast. "Do you think something's happened to him?"
"Sirius' letters?" Piper asked, already knowing the answer. "Well he is a fugitive, maybe he just can't get to a pen and paper," she shrugged, turning back to the skillet. "I'm sure he's fine. Do you think Pepper's noticed?"
Phoebe shrugged. Knowing Pepper, she would have made her feelings loud and clear if she was missing Sirius's letters.
"What have I noticed?" Pepper yawned, coming into the kitchen in her terry cloth robe, her usually orderly straight hair screaming bedhead.
"Uh, that it's your birthday tomorrow," Phoebe said, thinking quickly before realising that this was the first year Pepper hadn't been making a big deal out of it.
"Is it?" Pepper said, genuinely racking her brain. Since her mom died, she hadn't noticed much of anything. It was finally her 16th birthday tomorrow, the one she'd been waiting for all her life, and she wasn't excited at all. Her mom had promised her a car: a light pink convertible VW bug with a cream colored top. That might be the only thing to cheer her up. She'd been trying to go on with her life, doing what her mother requested, but it was too hard. She hoped it would be easier when she went to a real school in the fall, with other things to worry about. She hoped it would at least wake her up from the half-reality she was living in, surrounded by memories.
"What do you want to do to celebrate?" Phoebe could read the lack of enthusiasm in her niece's face. The thing she found most difficult since Prue's death was hiding her grief in her own house to appear strong for Pepper. As it was, she tried to keep her voice bright instead of thinking of 16 years ago today, when Prue first went into labor and their house was full of pained screams and panic.
"Nothing," Pepper answered dejectedly, sitting down across from Phoebe at the table.
"Not even go to P3?" Piper asked, bringing over two plates of scrambled eggs and toast and placing them in front of her sister and her niece. "There's a band you'll love playing tomorrow night..."
"Thanks but no," Pepper said. She hadn't felt like dancing in months. Every time she did, it reminded her of swinging around the living room with her mom, laughing and drinking mocktails out of fancy glasses.
"Pepper," Phoebe sighed, reaching her hands across the table to take Pepper's in hers, "you haven't left the house in at least a month. You need to get out. I order you to get out of the house. We could go get your hair done or something, it is getting too long. Have a girly day."
"Fine!" Pepper moaned, giving in. "You guys can plan a day for me for my wonderful 16th birthday." She didn't try to hide the sarcasm. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to reading some of the books my dad gave me for school." The only thing that brought her joy these days was focusing on catching up on six years of Hogwarts knowledge.
"Alright honey, have fun," Piper said, sitting down to eat the breakfast meant for Pepper. Once her niece left the room she said, troubled, "She hasn't been eating."
"I know," Paige said, walking into the kitchen and sitting down with her sisters. "I'm getting worried. I don't want her to do anything to herself."
"Me neither," Phoebe agreed. "She just took Prue's death so hard. I hope nothing's happened to Sirius, that might kill her."
"She loves him so much, it just might..." Piper said with a sigh, putting her face in her hands.
"Especially because she's so strong," Paige added. "But, you know, we could lose her, in this big battle she's supposed to take part in."
"Yes, but Leo did say she was the most powerful witch around, even if she doesn't know. Do you think we should tell her? Or at least tell her the part she's supposed to play in this damn war?" Piper fumed.
"I think she deserves to know but I'm not sure if it's our place to tell her," Phoebe said. "Didn't that Dumbledore man say we shouldn't worry her any more right now, just let her figure it out on her own. Although, who is he to tell us how to deal with our niece?" There was a pause; none of them could think of anything to say to that. "Well, anyway, I've got to run, see you guys later." She stood, picked up her bag from the living room, and left.
Piper sighed. "I've got to go too, I have a meeting this afternoon at the club and I want to clean up there a bit. Pepper's letting us plan a day for her tomorrow, so if you want to get working on that?"
"Sure," Paige said. When Piper left she went rifling through the kitchen drawers for a pad and paper to make a list of things to do for her niece's birthday.
PHPHPHPHPHPHPH
Pepper awoke to the sound of a blaring horn. "What the hell," she mumbled, pulling the covers over her head and trying to go back to sleep. Sleep was so broken by nightmares that it felt extra precious. The horn stopped screaming for a few minutes, then started up again.
"Come on!" a voice from outside yelled. The horn blared again. "Pepper! Get your lazy ass out of that bed and down here!" The person laid on the horn again.
Pepper got drunkenly out of bed and threw on her robe, making her way down the stairs. She nearly fell but caught her balance as she heard the horn again. She stumbled outside and said, "Who just called my ass-MY CAR!" She ran up to the light pink VW running her hands over its smooth exterior. "Thank you thank you thank you thank you!" she cried, hugging each of her aunts in turn. They all laughed.
"Your welcome, honey," Phoebe said, hugging her niece again. "We were going to take you for your driving test, if you'd like to go."
"Definitely!" Pepper exclaimed, running back into the house to get dressed. As she dashed back out of her room, she ran head on into Leo. "Uncle Leo!"
Leo chuckled and guessed she'd already seen the car. "Hey birthday girl," he said. He pulled her into an embrace, kissing the top of her head.
"Are youf stayfink wiff uf all day?" she asked into his shirt. He let go of her so she could speak properly. "Are you staying with us all day?"
"As long as I can," he told her. Piper had told him about her concerns for Pepper's health, emotionally and physically, so he had told the Elders it was important for his niece to have a day where she could forget about her mother and have fun. They'd agreed to not call him unless the situation was dire.
"Well come on then! I'm going for my driver's test." She grabbed his arm and pulled him out the door like a six year old instead of a sixteen year old. "Um..." she began when they arrived at the beetle. "How exactly are we all going to fit in this car?"
"Leo and I can take my car," Piper offered, getting her keys from her purse.
"Yea, so they can have an excuse to make out," Phoebe muttered.
"What was that?" Piper asked.
"Uh, I said 'Can I drive, Pepper?'" Phoebe answered, smiling.
"Sure, Aunt Pheeb." Pepper, Phoebe and Paige climbed into the VW and Phoebe started the engine. Pepper breathed in the scent of new leather and sighed. "I can't believe I actually have my car," she said. "It's wonderful. I really hope I get my permit so I can actually drive it."
PHPHPHPHPHPHPH
"So now that I can drive, where are we headed?" asked a beaming Pepper, holding her permit triumphantly.
"Beauty salon?" Paige suggested.
"Alright," Pepper said, jumping into the car and sticking the key in the ignition. "Let's hit the road, I'm ready to be beautified."
After the salon, the five went clothes shopping and then headed on to P3, Pepper looking better and feeling more confident. She was glad her aunts talked her into leaving the house; she'd had a great birthday and hadn't thought about her mother all day. At the club, Piper got them a table and went to talk to the cook. When she returned, she was smiling. "Food's coming up." She slid into the booth next to Leo. "It's time for presents."
"What! The car was enough!"
But Piper shoved a package at her. Pepper studied the package before opening it, guessing at what it could be. The box was small and rectangular. Jewelry. When she lifted the lid, her eyes grew wide. "Aunt Piper," she said, "it's beautiful." It was a gold heart pendant with tiny rubies along the outline with a small star shaped diamond in the center.
"It was my mother's," Piper explained. "I thought you should have it."
"Thank you." Pepper leaned over and gave her aunt a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"My turn," Leo said, handing over a thin box. It was a designer handbag.
"Wow, cool. Thanks, Uncle Leo."
"Me next," Phoebe said, handing over a large box. When she opened the box's flaps she found a multitude of beauty supplies inside. There were bubble baths, creams, lip-glosses, eye shadows, lipsticks, blushes, bath gels, body sprays, and nail polishes. Her Aunt Phoebe gave her another, smaller box and Pepper opened that right away, wanting to know what it was. She found that the box had a numerous amount of brushes for the blushes, eye shadows and a few of the lip-glosses.
"Dang," Pepper said. "Thanks a lot Aunt Phoebe." She hugged and kissed Phoebe before taking Paige's gift.
"It makes up for all of your stuff I've ever used," Phoebe said, smiling a bit.
The box containing Paige's gift was shaped like the boxes clothes come in, so Pepper opened it eagerly, always ready for more clothes. She ripped the tape off of one side of the box and lifted the lid halfway, stopping when she saw what was inside. "Aunt Paige!" she exclaimed, blushing. Pepper was looking at two black, lacy bras and matching underwear.
"What?" Paige said innocently. "Come on, Pep, there's no need to get worked up over a harmless book."
"What book?"
Paige reached inside the box, under the lacy underwear, and pulled out a book on writing poetry. "This book," she told the younger woman.
"Paige, what the hell did you get her?" Piper demanded.
"A book," Paige answered, holding it up to show her accusing sister. "See, look, it's a harmless book on poetry."
"What else is in that box?" Piper pressed.
"I'd rather not show it in public," Pepper answered, stowing it under the table as their food appeared.
"It's not a vibrator, is it?" Phoebe asked after their food had been served and the waiter had left.
Pepper began choking on her water, Paige had to pat her on the back, and Piper yelled "Phoebe!"
"What?" Phoebe asked through a mouthful of ravioli, "I was just wondering."
After everyone had gone to bed that night Pepper went downstairs, grabbed her keys off of the key rack and went to sit in her car. She hadn't gotten to explore every nook and cranny of it yet, so she began going through everything. Under the driver's seat she found a heavy scrapbook with a note taped to the front.
Pepper –
This is a scrapbook your mother kept of you as you grew up, and we know she'd want you to have it. It's full of things we're sure will amuse you and remind you of your mother very much, so don't look at it unless you're prepared. You might even like to continue it with the rest of your life. We love you very much, sweetie, and we're very proud of you.
Love,
Aunt Piper, Aunt Phoebe and Aunt Paige
Pepper smiled and opened the scrapbook to the first page. There was a picture of her mother and father holding her as a baby and a picture of her baby self poking her father in the eye. As she flipped the pages, she saw that it documented her life up to her 15th birthday, before her mother had gone off to fight the war with her father. She took the scrapbook back up to her room. Placing the book under her pillow, she fell into a mercifully dreamless sleep.
"Do you think she found the scrapbook?" Phoebe asked her two sisters as she came away from the window and sat back down on the bed.
"Probably," Paige answered.
"I had a premonition earlier," Phoebe told her sisters. "It-it wasn't very good."
"Was it about Pepper?"
Phoebe nodded. "And about Sirius. He...he's dead, I think. Pepper had a letter in her hand that told her he was dead."
The Halliwells' faces fell. "Are you sure that's what the letter said?" Piper asked, wanting to make sure her niece really was going to have to go through all that she'd had to a few months ago. Phoebe nodded. "Dammit," Piper swore. "Poor girl. This just might kill her."
"That's what I'm afraid of," Phoebe said solemnly.
Rap. Rap. Rap. Rap. It took Pepper a minute to realize the sound was not in a dream. She awoke from her half conscious state and sat up in her bed to figure out where the sound was coming from. She saw something at her window and cautiously got up to see what it was. An owl. It continued to rap its beak on the window. Pepper remembered something her dad had told her about people communicating with owls where he was from. She saw that the owl had a letter tied to its foot so she opened the window to let it in.
It was a beautiful snowy white owl and it landed on her desk, taking a drink from the three-day-old glass of water there. She approached it slowly and carefully reached for its leg to get the letter. The owl held out its leg so she could get the parchment and she untied it. 'Pepper,' it said on the front. Finding that it was, in fact, for her, she unfolded it to see what it said, hoping it was from her father.
Dear Pepper,
I'm Harry Potter, your god brother. I'm afraid I have some bad news. I'm sure you're aware your dad's helping with the fight against Voldemort. Well, he was captured a while ago, so we went to save him, and I'll spare you the details, but basically there was a huge battle and...your, I think it would be second cousin...she killed him...he's dead.
There was more of the letter but Pepper didn't care to read it. She just shrieked at the top of her lungs. A few seconds later her aunts burst through the door, startled and concerned looks on their faces. Phoebe, after seeing the letter, stared at Pepper, seeing what she would do. Piper picked up the letter and scanned it quickly.
"Two parents in five months!" Pepper suddenly howled. "That must be some kind of record! I might as well just kill myself now!"
"P-Pepper, honey, you don't mean that," Phoebe told her, hoping Pepper was just hysterical.
"Yes!" Pepper exclaimed, nodding her head furiously. "Yes I do!" She then fainted, landing on the hard floor. Paige swiftly walked over to her, picked her up and placed her on the bed.
The three sisters stood there, not knowing what to do. The owl ruffled its wings. "Did you finish reading that letter, Piper?"
"Yea," Piper answered. "It says that Pepper's god brother, Harry, is coming here two days before school starts to take her to... Diagon Alley in London to get some school things and fill her in on things at school...and then he'd like to spend two nights so he can escort her to the train station the morning school begins."
"How's he getting here?" Paige wondered.
"Something called Floo Powder. Apparently it's through the fireplace?" Piper said, grimacing. "Whatever. For now, I think we should worry about our niece; make sure she won't carry out that threat she made. I'm going to write something back, to get this owl out of here and tell him that's fine..."
Dear Harry,
I'm Pepper's Aunt Piper. I'm writing because Pepper seems to be unable to. She didn't take the news too well; now both her parents are dead, as you might be aware. It must be hard for you too, to lose your godfather, I'm terribly sorry for your loss. We're fine with the arrangements you mentioned, and we're looking forward to your visit.
Sincerely,
Piper
She tied the letter to the owl's leg and opened the window so it could leave. Then she and her sisters returned to bed, none of them able to get much sleep.
"Is she still sleeping?" Phoebe asked Paige as her sister entered the room the next afternoon. Paige nodded. "I don't think I blame her. She was in such a state of shock last night. Do you think we should take her to a doctor? Maybe get her a therapist to help her deal with this? Should we not let her go to school in the fall? The war's too dangerous for her, especially now, with her so mentally and physically broken down," Phoebe said quickly, worry apparent on her face.
"Pheebs, don't worry, it'll be ok, we'll work it out," Paige assured her sister. "Is Piper out?"
"Yea," Phoebe answered. "I told her to go do what she needed to; we could hold down the fort here."
Pepper woke up from her long slumber not sure why she had a headache for a minute, before the events of last night came flooding back to her. She grabbed her car keys from her nightstand and walked quietly down the stairs and out the front door.
When Phoebe went upstairs to check on her niece, she found an empty bed. The panic set in and she practically flew back downstairs, yelling, "Paige, she's not in bed!" At that moment the front door opened and Pepper strolled in twirling her car keys around on one finger. "Where have you been?!" Phoebe cried.
"For a drive," Pepper responded coolly.
"But you don't have your license!" Paige said, now as mad as Phoebe. "Are you trying to get yourself killed!"
"So what if I am?" Pepper said, walking up the stairs. They heard her door slam and winced as it shook the house.
"Shit," Phoebe said. "This is bad."
"Shit's right," Paige agreed. "Should I call Piper?"
"Not yet, I'm going to go try to talk to her," Phoebe answered, marching up the stairs. When she reached Pepper's door, she knocked lightly. "Pepper, could you open the door, please? I'd like to talk to you." She got no response, so she knocked again and repeated her statement. When she got no answer the second time she tried the doorknob – it was locked. "Pepper!" she said, turning the doorknob rapidly. Phoebe ran into her room and grabbed a bobby pin from her dresser and quickly picked the lock. She kicked the door open and almost screamed at the sight before her.
Pepper, looking at her innocently, tears running in rivers down her cheeks, was sitting on her bed, blood covering her pale arms, a razor blade in one hand. Phoebe grabbed the nearest shirt and rushed to her niece, prying the razor from Pepper's hand and flinging it across the room. She then wrapped the shirt tightly around both of Pepper's arms, causing the girl to wince slightly. "Paige!" she shouted. She kneeled on the heavily blood stained carpet in front of Pepper, holding the shirt on her arms as tightly as she could: to stop the bleeding. "Paige!"
Paige ran up the stairs, dashing to the two Halliwell's in Pepper's room when she spotted the blood-soaked shirt. "Get some help," Phoebe croaked at Paige, now crying herself. "Hurry!"
"LEO!" Paige screamed deafeningly. "LEO!"
Leo appeared almost instantly and after spotting the problem, he pushed Phoebe aside and yanked the shirt from Pepper's arms. A minute later she was healed, though everything was bloody and there were still scars present on her arms. Phoebe pulled Pepper to her, sitting on the bed and crying into her hair. Leo sat down in the desk chair and stared at her, shocked. Paige went into the other room to call Piper and Pepper sat there, stiff as a board and staring straight ahead.
When Paige hung up with Pepper she returned to the room and sat on the bed. No one said anything for ten minutes until Piper burst in the room, sighing, "Oh, baby," she kneeled down in front of Pepper, gently taking her arms and tracing the scars with her fingers.
"Aunt Phoebe," Pepper's voice came out in a harsh whisper. "Can I talk to you?"
"Sure, honey," Phoebe said. The rest of the adults left the room. Phoebe closed the door and tried to gather herself, wiping the tears from her face. "You sure scared me. You scared all of us. She sat back down next to Pepper on the bed. "D-do you really want to die, sweetie?"
Pepper shrugged. "It just seems like the easiest thing to do at this point. I don't see any reason in living. What I just did...that made me focus on a different pain. A manageable, tangible pain." She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Her voice was thick when she spoke again. "I can't describe the feeling inside of me, Aunt Phoebe. It's a void. It's emptiness but somehow filling me with an impossible mass of emotion."
Phoebe took hold of Pepper's shoulders and looked directly into her eyes. "You have me, Aunt Piper, Uncle Leo and Aunt Paige. We all love you so much. We're here to support you through everything. And if you'd rather stay here instead of going to Hogwarts this year you can. It's up to you."
Pepper smiled half-heartedly. "Dad wanted me to go."
"With your beauty and your sweet, friendly disposition I'm sure you'll make tons of friends," Phoebe answered cheerily, fingering Pepper's dark hair. "The thing is, Pep, you've got so much to live for. Grief is a powerful thing. It's hard to get through, but we will help you through it. Your parents would want you to keep going. They're still watching over you, sweetie, you know that."
"I guess you're right, Aunt Phoebe. Thanks."
Phoebe pulled Pepper towards her and they sat there, embracing on the bed, for a long while. "Why don't you go take a shower and we'll go out for some ice cream."
PHPHPHPHPHPHPH
"You haven't been eating a lot, you know," Phoebe told Pepper as they waited in line to get their ice cream.
"I haven't been hungry," Pepper answered.
"Well you'll starve yourself to death if you don't eat soon. How much do you weigh?"
"Um...hundred three," Pepper said softly.
"Pepper!" Phoebe exclaimed. "You've got to eat!" Their turn came in line and Phoebe ordered a banana split with all the toppings and a small vanilla cup.
"You must be hungry, Aunt Phoebe," Pepper said as their ice cream was placed on the counter. She took the vanilla cup and Phoebe shook her head at her. Phoebe then handed her the banana split and took the cup for herself.
"You're the one that needs to eat," Phoebe pointed out.
"But I'll never be able to eat all of this," Pepper complained as they sat down at a picnic table.
"Too bad," Phoebe said, taking a scoop of her ice cream.
"Why do I have four powers instead of two, Aunt Phoebe?" Pepper asked suddenly, digging into her banana split.
"Four?" Phoebe said, surprised. "I thought you only had three."
"No, it's like Mom passed her power on to me when she died or something, 'cos now I can move things. But why do I have so many?"
"Maybe it's because you're destined for powerful things," Phoebe hinted.
"Do you think?" Pepper asked, smiling at the thought of being a powerful witch. "Then could I go out of the house to fight demons instead of just fighting the ones that come in?"
"Oh, Pep, you're probably already a good enough witch to fight demons with us, especially now that you have four powers. I mean, you've studied both branches of magic and you have four natural abilities...it's just that we're too overprotective of you."
"Owh, Ah hee," Pepper said through a mouthful of banana and ice cream. She swallowed. "Do you think I'll be able to freeze the people at school then?"
"I think that because they're different types of witches...and wizards, that you will be able to."
"What do you mean, different types?" Pepper asked, curious. She hadn't heard much about the school she was to be attending.
"Well, they don't have single natural powers. They're naturally a witch or wizard and then they go to a Wizarding school where they learn different witchcraft/wizardry skills like..."
"I know what skills, that's what's in most of the books D-I have," Pepper said, not wanting to say anything about her dad. "So do you think those things will make me even more powerful?"
"No doubt about it," Phoebe answered, finishing up her ice cream.
"Cool..." Pepper smirked. "I'm seein' most powerful witch in the world..."
She just didn't know how right she was.