Chapter one

New year, new powers

The sun began to rise, bringing about the last day of the year. Andy Trudeau entered the bedroom he and his wife shared and a gurgle sounded from the baby he held in his arms. He kissed the top of her head and carried her over to the bed. For a moment, he looked at his sleeping wife with admiration on his face. He loved her so deeply and the thought of having to live without her one day pained him. Being a white-lighter, he was immortal which often felt like a curse. For one day his wife would die as would his daughter who right now was less than a year old.

The moment had passed. He placed down his daughter on the warm brown blanket. Payton giggled at her dad and he pointed over at her mother. "Go wake mommy. Give mommy a big kiss." Payton turned and smiled widely when she noticed her mom tucked under the blanket. The near nine month old crawled to her mom and climbed up onto her back. Prue opened her blue eyes unsure what was happening but then smiled. She rolled onto her side and Payton fell off onto the exposed white bedsheet. She laughed as her mom sat up. Payton rolled towards her mom and snuggled up next to her. Her mom smiled as she stroked her cheek with just the tip of her finger. Andy stood at the foot of the bed watching them. Suddenly, Prue looked up at her husband. "We should have another," she said. "I agree, in a few years." His wife shook her head. "No, now." "I don't know, honey. Payton is still so young. I think we should wait...another year at least." "Andy, we are both 40. We were too old to have Payton. I don't have much time left to even be able to conceive." Andy nodded to say he understood. "I don't think it's time for another baby right now." Prue looked at her daughter, disappointment in her eyes. She loved her daughter very much but wished for a second and she didn't have as much time as her sisters. Piper was thirty-seven but already had three kids and was done. However, Phoebe was only thirty-five with two kids and Paige only thirty-three with three kids. They had lots more time to have more kids if they wished. Phoebe wanted one or two more and Paige wasn't a hundred percent sure she was done having kids though she did often say she was done...but that was mostly because of how ill-behaved the twins could be.

Piper Halliwell was in the kitchen, still in her nightgown and her brown hair in a messy high ponytail that was falling apart. Piper loved cooking and was normally the only adult residing in the Halliwell manor who prepared every meal. She placed the last batch of french toast down onto a plate on the counter next to the stove when her adorable little three-year-old ran in and wrapped small arms around her waist. Piper smiled as she scruffed her daughter's brown hair. "Good morning, sweetie," she said as her husband walked in. "Good morning, mommy," Melinda replied. The toddler's hair was a complete mess of tangles and she was wearing her favourite blue Cinderella nightgown and matching slippers. Leo approached them and planted a kiss on Piper's lips. "Did you check on the boys?" Asked Piper. "Asleep." "Really? Wyatt's still asleep?" Leo nodded. It wasn't normal for their seven-year-old son to still be asleep. It was nearly seven and Wyatt was always the first kid up after Payton. Six-year-old Chris, on the other hand, was always the last kid up. Leo looked down at his daughter. (Melinda was daddy's little girl and secretly his favourite child.) "Okay, little witchling, let's get you seated at the table." He lifted her into his arms. Her hands around his neck and her tiny legs around his waist. He carried her towards the table.

Coop pulled down his shirt as his wife slept tangled up in three different blankets. He hated having to leave so early in the mornings but on most days his cupid duties called in the early morning. He approached the right-side of the bed and gently shook his wife's shoulder. (She liked knowing he was leaving.) Phoebe opened her brown eyes and looked up at him without budging. "Love you," she mumbled. He chuckled softly and leaned down to kiss her. "Love you too." Coop beamed up to the room his daughters shared. Parker was already awake and standing in her crib. She reached out her arms when her dad beamed in. He lifted her out of her crib and cuddled her for a brief moment before putting her down. There was no point in putting her back in her crib when most of the time she beamed herself out. Coop walked over to the toddler bed with Parker tailing him. P.J. looked so peaceful and sweet, wrapped up in multiple blankets. He got down on his knees and leaned over her to kiss her forehead. He then looked at Parker. "Go see mommy." Parker squealed and beamed herself to her mom. Coop beamed himself out across town.

Piper was just starting to set the table with Wyatt's help when two squealing little girls came running in. Both of their parents behind them, Paige holding her two-year-old son in her arms as he fought to keep his little eyes open. The three-year-old redheaded twins (Tamora and Kat) found their seats at the table. Paige placed Henry Junior in his booster seat and seated herself down in the chair next to him. The tiny tot with brown hair squinted his small brown eyes and then started crying. He reached for his mom who pulled him onto her lap, and he rested his sleepy head on her chest. His mother, Paige Matthews, let out a yawn as her husband (Henry Mitchell) helped Piper finish setting the table.

Andy arrived into the kitchen and placed the baby in her high chair. (It had belonged to Henry Junior but he had outgrown it and now sat at the table with the rest of the toddlers and the two older children. There were so many high chairs and other old baby stuff in storage that it didn't make sense to buy a whole new high chair for Payton.) Andy sat down at the table as his wife entered the room, and she sat down in the chair next to him. Leo left the room to go drag his son out of bed as Phoebe entered the room with Parker in her arms and PJ holding onto her hand. PJ let go of her mom's hand and found her seat at the table while her mother placed her baby sister in the empty high chair next to Payton.

The family was to host their annual New years eve party that night, but first the manor needed a desperate cleaning. With nine children in the house, there were always multiple messes needing to be tidied up. Prue gathered the family in the living room. "We have a lot of work to do before our guests arrive," Prue stated. She paused to see if anyone had something to say and took the silence as a no. "Since I normally do all the housework I think we can all agree it's only fair that I just occupy the babies while the rest of you clean up." She paused again. No one had any objections. "Right. The kids can clean their own rooms and then work together on the basement." Chris had a complaint now. "Why do I have to clean my room? The guests won't come in it." Before an adult could respond, Wyatt chimed in. "Darryl might." Chris crossed his arms. "He's your friend not mine, so maybe you should clean it all by yourself." "That's not fair," whined Wyatt. The boy looked at his mom for backup. "Chris, you will help your brother clean your room. It is not up for discussion." Pouting, Chris orbed up to his bedroom. "You know, Chris makes most of the mess. So it's not really fair that I have to clean the room too," said Wyatt. "Don't start," his mother warned him. Wyatt nodded and orbed up to his room."

"Okay, let's just get this done," Wyatt stated. Chris was relaxing on his bed with his hands under his head. "Have fun." Wyatt folded his arms on his chest and shook his head. "You heard what mom said." His brother merely shrugged. "Maybe you would care if I tell mom." "Tattle tale," teased Chris. "At least I'm not lazy." Chris sat up and crossed his arms. "I am not lazy!" "Prove it." Remaining where he was, Chris blinked his eyes and orbed everything out of the room, including his bed. Chris hit the floor with a thump. "Chris! What did you do?" Chris shrugged and said, "I didn't mean to orb out everything." Chris shivered when his name was shouted from the hall in his mother's voice. "Now you've done it," said Wyatt. Piper burst into the room and glared at Chris. "YOU!" The child ran to the back wall, his face ghostly White. "You almost crushed me with a bed, dumbass!" "I'm sorry," squealed Chris. "You are grounded... until Christmas!"

later in the day, Piper was putting up new year's themed decorations in the living room with her husband. Suddenly, a commotion of noises filled the air as all three of their kids came running down the stairs and into the living room, knocking over some boxes of decorations in the process. "Whoa! Take it outside," Leo instructed. "Okay good citizen! You heard him partners, to the backyard!" Wyatt ordered. The kids ran out of the living room shouting weird threats to the air. Leo chuckled at them. "Kids." Piper nodded and then realized something. "I think this was the first time all the three of them played together." Leo thought about it and couldn't remember another time, so he shrugged.

Phoebe was in the bedroom her daughters shared, dealing with a common situation. PJ had beamed her sister out of the manor. "Okay, princess. Can you please bring your sister back?" PJ shook her head defiantly. "Well then can you at least tell me where she is?" Again, PJ stubbornly shook her head. It was time for a different approach. "Prue-Jonnah Halliwell! You bring your sister back here right now!" All this resulted in was PJ bursting into tears over getting yelled at, something she was not used too. Phoebe sighed, and her cell phone went off. She looked at the number on the screen and answered the call.

"Hi, Dad."

"Hi, sweetie. I'm calling because your baby is sitting on my couch."

"She's with you? Oh thank God! PJ beamed her out."

"Probably just sibling rivalry. Since she's here it would be nice to spend some time with her. Can I keep her until the party?"

"Sure, dad. That's not a problem."

Henry and Paige were in the basement with their son and the twins. "Tamora, what did I just say? Don't colour on the wall," Henry scolded. He saw Kat reach for an unstable tall lamp. "No!" He pulled her away. He had been meaning to replace that lamp. "Tamora, did you colour on your brother's arm?" Asked Paige. "No, Mommy. I would never do that." "Oh really? Honey, who coloured on your arm?" "Tammy." "Stop calling me Tammy!" Tamora snapped, dramatically waving her arms. Paige sighed and decided to let it go.

The annual party had the same guest list each year. Firstly, Grams (Penny Halliwell) and her daughter, Patty, were summoned from the great beyond. Patty Halliwell (a deceased witch) was the mother of Prue, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige. Speaking of parents, Victor Bennett and Sam Wilder were also on the guest list. Victor (a mortal) was the father of Prue, Piper, and Phoebe, and Sam was Paige's father. (He was a White-lighter and didn't come around often.) As for friends, there was Elise Rothman. Elise (a middle-aged mortal woman) was exclusively Phoebe's friend, and also happened to be her boss. The Morris family, on the other hand, was close friends with all four sisters and the husbands. (Andy in particular.) The Morris family (a mortal family) consisted of Darryl Morris, his wife Sheila Morris, and their two sons: Mikey and Darryl Junior. (Mikey had just turned eleven a few weeks back and was in Middle School. Darryl Junior was about to turn nine and was in the grade above Wyatt. He was Wyatt's best friend.) The last guest was Billie Jenkins. Billie was a witch in her early twenties and was a friend of Piper, Phoebe, and Paige. This year, Billie would be bringing her boyfriend Austin. They had been together for a few years already but it hadn't been serious enough to introduce him to her closest friends till the past summer.

Victor was the first living guest to arrive. He made his appearance shortly before eleven that night. It was Phoebe who answered the door. "Hey, dad. I believe you have something of mine," Phoebe said, her arms stretched out. "Right, here you go," said Victor, as he handed her a brown coat. "Very funny, but thanks." Phoebe took her coat and then her daughter from him and she stepped aside to let him into the house.

Sam made his appearance only minutes after Victor, arriving in a swirl of white lights. Paige got up from the couch. "Dad, you made it," she said as they greeted each other with a hug. "I'm sorry I missed Christmas. I was in Paris with an emergency," Sam explained his previous absence. Kat appeared behind her mom. "Mommy? Who's that?" She asked. She recognized him but couldn't remember who he was. "This is your grandpa, sweetie. My dad." Kat examined the man and smiled. "Oh, I remember you!" She giggled and ran to him for a hug. Tamora and little Henry joined in. "Hey, I got you something... from Paris." Sam reached into his pocket and pulled out four small sculptures of the Eiffel Tower. One for Paige and one for each of his grandkids. "Wow. What do you say?" Paige asked her children, reminding them of their manners. "Thanks, Grandpa." "You are welcome." "Yeah, thanks Dad." The kids examined the sculptures in admiration and curiousity. They seemed pleased with their gift.

Darryl, his family, and Billie were late. They didn't arrive until half-past eleven. "Sorry we're late. Had a problem down at the station," Daryl explained. "And my car broke down in the middle of the road on my way here. Darryl thankfully spotted me and offered me a ride. Thanks again," Billie explained. "Also, Austin fell ill so he couldn't make it," Billie informed.

Quarter to midnight. Piper had everyone gather in the living room. Most of the kids fighting to stay awake. It was time for Piper to make the toast before the countdown to the new year. "We are gathered here tonight with family and good friends to celebrate the New Year. Let us hope this year will be good for us all. Our children will continue to grow and learn and make mistakes...as will we. To 2011!" Piper stated as she raised her glass of wine. "To 2011!" Everyone else repeated. "Thank you, Piper. This year I challenge you to gather up everything you don't want or no longer need and give it to those who do," Phoebe declared. The time went by and 2011 had officially arrived.

Throughout the last couple of years, the family had gotten their annual pictures taken at the start of December. However, when December of 2010 had rolled around, they had decided they would have the pictures taken every January from then on instead. When the day came, they went to the same Studio as in previous years, and as usual, Wyatt went first.

The photographer had Wyatt lye down on his back with his hands folded under his head. A big smile and...picture taken. For Chris, the photographer decided to have him stand with his legs crossed and his arms folded at his chest. At first he didn't want to smile but a warning look from his mom quickly changed his mind. Melinda was told to sit down with her legs folded to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. She gave her best smile. Kat was told to stand. Her hands in her pockets. Tamora was told to sit down crisscrossed with her hands resting on her knees. It took some convincing to make her smile. PJ was belly down on the floor. One hand on the floor and the other under her chin propping up her head. Henry Junior was given a stuffed toy dog to hold which put a big smile on his face. Parker sat on the floor holding a rose and her dad made faces at her to get her to smile. Payton wasn't having it and Andy had to swoop in and stand behind her. He took her hands and lifted her onto her feet. Payton smiled at her mom and a great picture was taken seconds before the meltdown occurred.

it was time for the sibling pictures. Wyatt and Chris sat back-to-back while slightly leaning forward. The small gap this made was where Melinda put her face. Her arms wrapped around their shoulders. The twins and Henry Junior just stood in a straight line not wanting to be close together, Henry between his sisters. PJ and Parker sat on the floor together. PJ tried to hug her sister but Parker didn't want to be touched. Prue and her sisters leaned in for a picture together too.

After the pictures were done it was decided that since eight out of the nine kids were still in good moods it was a good time to run some errands. PJ and Parker's room was being upgraded and Melinda had outgrown her bed and therefore was in need of a new one. So, Phoebe was going to bring PJ and Melinda to the furniture store. Wyatt needed a haircut and so his mom was taking him to the barbershop. Chris, Parker, and Payton were in need of new clothes and so Prue and Andy were taking them to the kids clothing store in the mall. The other adults were heading home with little Henry and the the twins.

Phoebe entered the store holding two little hands. Melinda's eye was caught by a kitchen table and she began pulling her aunt's arm. "What is it, sweetie?" Melinda pointed over at the table. "I want to colour," she said, causing her aunt to giggle. "We're not at home, honey. Those tables are just to look at." "Why?" "Well, if you want to buy a table you come here and look at them. You find one you like and you buy it." Melinda let go of her aunt's hand and wondered off towards the tables. Phoebe and PJ followed her. The small child examined the tables and stopped at a round one. "I want this one." "We already have a nice table at home." "So?" "So, I'm not going to buy a new table when we don't need one. Plus this table is too small, we have a big family so we need a long table." "I'll buy it and it will be just for me," Melinda declared. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a dime. A woman nearby laughed as did Phoebe. "Honey, everything in this store costs a lot of money. I'm afraid ten cents won't get you anything here." Melinda frowned and put her dime back into her pocket. "Let's go look at the beds. You can even pick out which one you want." Melinda smiled in excitement and took her aunt's hand.

PJ and Melinda both let go of Phoebe's hands when they reached the kids' beds section and ran off towards one. Phoebe didn't feel as though they weren't behaving and let them be as they climbed onto the bed. However, another mother felt differently and took it upon herself to grab the girls by their waists and remove them from the bed. Not appreciating this, Phoebe walked over and confronted the woman, but was polite about it. "Excuse me, please leave the girls alone." The woman looked at her with a disgusted expression on her face. "Oh, so you're the one who these brats belong to." "They are not brats, and it is not your place to discipline them if they're misbehaving. So please put them down."

The woman put the girls down and they ran and hid behind Phoebe as they were bit shaken up from being snatched by a stranger. "Well someone has to discipline them." "They weren't doing anything wrong." "They were jumping on the bed." "They were not." "Yes, they were. That is what happens when you don't watch your kids." "I was watching them the whole time. Those girls were just rolling around on that bed." "Rotten children come from rotten mothers."

Melinda stepped forward. "You are very mean." A smile more like a smirk formed on her face. "Until you learn not to be mean you will be green." The woman's skin colour change from Olive to Green but she didn't notice and Phoebe did her best not to laugh not wanting to encourage Melinda... though was extremely proud of her for multiple reasons. "Change her back please," Phoebe whispered to the child. " But auntie..." "no, too noticeable. Change her back." "Okay. Even though you're still mean you're not green." The woman's colour changed back. "Listen I'm not one to cause a scene or start a fight. So please, just focus on your child. By the way he's wandering off." The women huffed. "My child would never-" she couldn't finish that sentence as she looked behind her because her son was in fact wandering off. She shot Phoebe a look before hurrying off to collect the young boy.

Phoebe got down on her knees so she was at Melinda's level. "Little tip, sweetie, when you cast a spell to teach someone a lesson make sure it doesn't expose your magic or bring too much attention from others. You don't want to get in trouble with the cleaners." Melinda nodded. "Okay then, go choose your bed. PJ, you can help me pick out your sister's bed."

On the first day back to school, Wyatt and Chris recieved their report cards from the first semester. Although Wyatt had good grades and always tried his best, he hated getting his report card because he was always scared it would say something bad. And even though he knew his parents would never be disappointed in him as long as he tried his best, he still feared that a bad report card would lead to his parents being mad at him. So, when Wyatt and Chris returned home from school that day and the adults were busy getting the toddlers settled, Wyatt decided to hide his report card.

Piper knew the report cards were due and asked the boys to hand them to her. She and Leo and the other adults gathered in the living room wanting to hear the report cards too. The little kids were running or crawling around. Chris handed his report card over to his mother while Wyatt sat on the couch without his.

Date issued: January third, 2011

Date of progress: September sixth, 2010 - December twenty-second, 2010

Semester: one

Grade: one

School: Westcott Elementary

Student name: Christopher Perry Halliwell

Teacher: Meredith Cannon

Reading: B

Written communication: C

Mathematics: B-

Science: C

Social studies: C

Art: B

Physical education: A

Teacher's comments: Chris is an intelligent student and would benefit from always trying his best even in subjects that don't particularly interest him. Chris can easily get off tasks and often creates conflicts with other students.

"Chris, is this true?" Asked Piper

"I can't like everyone," replied Chris.

"No, but you do have to treat everyone with respect," said Leo.

Piper looked over at her other son. "Wyatt? Where is your report card?" She asked. Wyatt shrugged, pretending he had no idea what it was. "Didn't your teacher give it to you?" Asked Leo. Wyatt shook his head untruthful. "Its in the freezer, mommy," Melinda chimed in. "No its not," Wyatt stated. "Why do you say that?" Leo asked his daughter. "I saw it there." "Oh, you saw Wyatt put it there?" Melinda shook her head. "No. Mommy asked where it was and Wyatt didn't know. So I looked for it my head and saw it in the freezer." All the adults looked at each other. "You sensed it? You don't have that power." "Let me go check the freezer," Piper said. Wyatt looked panicked and jumped up from the couch. He followed his mom saying, "Its not there. Stop! You don't nees to look there." Now in the kitchen, Piper opened the freezer and pulled out Wyatt's report card. She looked at her son. He orbed out.

Piper returned to the living room. "Melinda was right. Sweetie, are you sure you saw it in your head and not with your eyes?" Melinda nodded. "Well then, congratulations. You have a new power. You now have the power of sensing." Melinda clapped her hands as they adults cheered for her...but Chris was not happy. "Hey! That's my power!" "Honey, most of you are going to have some of the same powers. That's just how it is." Chris crossed his arms in anger and orbed up to his room. "Okay, Let's find out why Wyatt didn't want us to see this," Piper said.

Grade: Two

School: Westcott Elementary

Student name: Wyatt Matthew Halliwell

Teacher: Jonathan Andrews

Reading: A

Written communication: A

Mathematics: B-

Science: C

Social studies: B

Art: B

Physical education: A

Teacher's comments: Wyatt is a very smart student but tends to slack off in subjects he lacks interest. Wyatt also has a tendency to be chatty during class. Wyatt is also kind and often offers help to his classmates.

"Well that's not so bad. I don't understand why he hid it," Piper stated.

It was about a half an hour before the boys were to head to bed and the little children had already been asleep for a half hour. Wyatt and Chris were in the middle of a movie they were watching on the television with the adults and the power went out due to the storm that was occurring outside. The television shut off as a result. "Seriously!" Chris complained. "Sorry boys. It's getting late anyway, Leo said. "It's too dark," Complained Wyatt. Seconds after he said this, six balls of light floated into the air, lighting up the living room. A clap of thunder was heard. "Oh, thanks, aunt Paige." "That wasn't me," Paige corrected. " It wasn't me either. Andy?" Leo said. " Nope. Wasn't me." "It was me!" All eyes turned to Chris. "You? You have a new power too?" Paige stated. "Guess so. What is it called?" "Photokinesis, the ability to manipulate and create light," Leo explained. "It's more common among White-lighters than witches but not rare," Paige added. "Wow cool," Chris stated.

The next day after school hours were over, Coop had returned home early wanting to spend some quality time with PJ. He let his daughter choose the activity and she decided on a game of tic tac toe. Seated at the kitchen table with his daughter, Coop sorted the x's from the o's and placed the board in between him and PJ. "Okay, do you want to be the x or the o?" He asked his toddler. "O." Coop nodded and slide down the o's over to her. "You can go first, daddy." "Awe, thank you munchkin." The game started and nothing was out of the ordinary. Then all of the sudden, PJ's eyes turned white and her head tilted back as she gasped. Her father knew exactly what was happening...but it had never happened to be PJ before. A second later and she was back to normal.

"What did you see?" He asked her.

"I don't know, it was too fast."

"Oh. Do you know why you saw it?"

"No, daddy."

"You were having a premonition."

"A what?"

"A premonition. It means you saw the future."

"What's the future?"

"Things that will happen but not yet. Understand?"

"Yes. Is it a power?"

"Yes. You know who else has that power?"

"Who?"

"Mommy."

"I have the same power as mommy?"

"Yep."

"YAY!"