A/N: The last chapter of Teacher's Pet.
Chapter 22
"Ah," Paige stretched, taking in the warm glow of the fireplace in the living room of the Manor. "Dorothy's right. There's no place like home." Pushing back into the sofa, she stretched her legs lazily, not bothering to stifle a yawn.
"You said it," Phoebe said from her place on the floor, hugging a throw pillow. "We missed you, Paige," she added, looking at the youngest Charmed One.
"Really, really missed," Piper chimed in, nursing a cup of tea. She was sitting on the futon, smiling at both Phoebe and Piper, grateful for the rare moment of peace. "Really," she repeated, which made the three sisters burst out laughing.
"But I still can't believe it, Paige. You quit your job as the Assistant Headmistress of Magic School!" Phoebe said, still refusing to believe Paige's decision.
"Well, technically speaking, I am still the Assistant Headmistress. I still have those icky paper to prepare, reports to file. What I'm doing now is just taking a vacation," Paige said matter-of-factly, and yawned again. "She's more of a substitute."
"And what a fine substitute she makes," Piper commented, still incredulous at Paige's choice of the substitute. "A warlock. For crying out loud!"
"Well, Regina won't be posing any problems to us anymore, if you know what I mean," Paige raised her eyebrows and wiggled her nose conspiratorially. A grin spread across her face.
Piper laughed. "You, missy," she said, pointing at Paige, "are a genius." And Piper meant it; Paige was truly brilliant, and she was strongly coming into her full Halliwell heritage.
"Why, thank you," Paige said, laughing along with Phoebe.
Piper took a sip of her tea, and shook her head- the entire memory of what had happened to Regina was still fresh in her mind. Paige's plan had been perfect- it had made sure that Regina got what she deserved, but also followed the Wiccan Rede and the Wiccan Three-fold Rule. Following Paige's plan, the Charmed Ones had set about and had bound Regina's powers, rendering her incapable of casting even the simplest of spells. And then, to everyone's surprise, including Regina's, Paige had assigned the powerless former history professor-slash-warlock as the interim Assistant Head- of the high school department. That meant that, from the moment that her powers had been bound, Regina had to handle all teenaged witch, both male and female, in Magic School. And to make sure that Regina couldn't gain access to dark magic or sway a student to the dark side, Miss Winterbourne and Miss Watkinson, two of the most trusted teachers in Magic School, had been assigned to watch over her twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
A loud round of laughter interrupted Piper's thoughts and she turned to see her two sisters, laughing uncontrollably. Piper saw that Paige had almost rolled off the couch, which caused Phoebe to laugh even harder.
"Oh yeah," Paige said, in between giggles, "It's a shame I wouldn't be able to see that bitch handle a class of twenty rowdy and noisy teenagers. Boy, is she in for a treat." She giggled, her body shaking in another bout of laughter.
Phoebe laughed, too, and tried to picture Regina handling a handful of hormonally-challenged teenagers, and saw her icy blue eyes bulging in anger, her veins throbbing in rage. "I would pay good money to see her handle your class, Paige."
The Charmed Ones shared another round of laughter, when Paige interrupted, wheezing and trying to catch her breath. She took in a deep breath of air, attempting to stifle another incoming giggle. "Okay, guys, stop. There's something giggle I need to ask."
Piper held her breath, trying hard not to laugh. "What is it, honey?"
"Well," Paige said, scratching her chin, "While I was in Magic School, Regina kept on babbling about a 'them' helping her. A certain 'they' promising her power. I thought that she was just talking about warlocks or a group of lower level demons, but," she paused, thinking, "those artifacts that she had were pretty powerful. No lower level demon could have gotten those amulets… alive. Any ideas on who these 'they' could be? A group of upper level demons maybe?" Her eyes widened in alarm.
Piper considered her answers, debating with herself whether she should worry Paige with news about the new threat coming. She's stressed out as it is, she thought, seeing the disappointment and frustration in Paige's face beneath the mask of laughter over what Regina did; not only to her, but to Magic School as well. She looked at Phoebe, and as their eyes met, she saw that Phoebe was weighing the pros and cons of telling, too. They nodded at each other, and smiled.
"Let's worry about that in the morning, sweetie," Piper said.
"Yeah, we've had enough enjoyment to last two days," Phoebe agreed. "Besides, we're the Charmed Ones. We can handle whatever it is that Hell sends our way."
With that, the Charmed Ones shared a smile, taking in the warmth coming not only from the fireplace, but from one another as well.
Up in the attic, the Book of Shadows glowed, a gold light flashing through the triquetra in the center of the Book's cover. And, as if a gust of wind had blown inside, the yellowed pages began flipping by themselves, the weathered paper turning, until they finally stopped on a page. In bold letters and in an intricate calligraphy, one word was written- TRIUMVIRATE.