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Chapter 13:
The radiant smile on Pandora's face had yet to wane ever since Aaron picked her up from the Manor. The platinum-blonde celebrity had an ethereal glow which became even more vibrant whenever silver-greys met sparkling blues, and Pandora felt like she was floating on a cloud. Aaron had returned from Spain the previous night, and upon his arrival at San Francisco, he immediately made reservations at the Italian seafood restaurant, Sotto Mare. Aaron had been quite the suave gentleman; he held her hand, politely opened doors for her, treated her like a fellow intellect instead of a mere object that looked good hanging off his arm, and was very attentive to her.
"Chocolate soufflé, Aaron?" Pandora's eyes sparkled at the rich delicacy that sat between the couple. Aaron grinned wickedly at her in return and brushed a few stray raven locks from his eyes to better observe Pandora's adorable reactions, "What good of a boyfriend would I be, if I didn't bother spoiling my girl every once in a while?" he winked, cutting a small piece and elevating it toward her mouth, patiently waiting for her deliciously sultry lips to part.
Obediently, Pandora allowed Aaron to feed her the mouthwatering desert and after properly swallowing it, she fixed her heartthrob boyfriend with a mock-glare, "I'm the lead actress in Cassandra. If I gain weight, I'm tattling on you to your brother," she smirked, silver-grey orbs dancing with delight.
Aaron blinked before letting out a few hearty chuckles, "Oh, babe, why don't you let me deal with Chris. From what I've heard, you've got him wrapped around your finger," he leaned in closer, his full lips a hairsbreadth away from hers, and Pandora's breath hitched in her throat, eyes traveling from his mesmerizing eyes to his seductive lips, "Besides, it's no secret that Chris favors you the most. Live a little…" and without further ado, he captured her lower lip in a gentle kiss, their surroundings and half-eaten desert all but forgotten. Just as Aaron began to dominate the kiss and plunge his tongue into her slowly parting lips, they were abruptly interrupted by the loud blaring of Pandora's phone.
Her eyes snapped closed, and as Aaron forced himself to release her delectable lips, an irritable groan escaped her. "I'm so sorry, Aaron. It's my sister, it might be important," Pandora sorrowfully informed him. Due to the whole Power of Four gig, warlocks and demons attacking at random moments, the four sisters made a mutual pact to never screen each other's calls in the case of a Wiccan emergency. Hoping that it was only Prue being Prue, which in other words meant taking the role of the big sister seriously with a large dose of paranoia where she'd constantly check up on them for absolutely no reason whatsoever, Pandora grudgingly answered her phone.
Unfortunately, her wish went ignored upon hearing her eldest sister's frantic voice on the other end, borderline hysterical as she relayed the urgent news. Aaron quickly straightened his posture as he recognized the palpable shift in his laidback girlfriend's stance, and his eyes widened marginally in concern as the beginning of tears swam in her unique eyes. Pandora's hands started trembling and her form turned skittish as she reached out for her clutch, frantically nodding her head, "I'll, I'll be right there, Prue! I'm on- I'm on my way," she sniffled and when she turned to instigate eye-contact with Aaron, he was vehemently taken aback by the despondent look he was on the receiving end of, "Aaron, I'm so sorry, but I gotta go. My, my sister, Piper, she's been admitted into Bay General. I promise I'll," she sniffled again, "I'll make it up to you."
"Hey, hey, hey," Aaron gently, yet firmly grabbed her hand as she stood to leave, "You think I care about some date? Your sister is more important, sweetheart. We can go out for dinner any other time. Come on," he stood up, donned his suit jacket and tossed a couple hundred bucks onto the table before snaking an arm around her waist, "You're not taking a cab. I'll drop you off." And despite the grave situation, Pandora was filled with warmth in response to her attentive and caring boyfriend. The ride to Bay General Hospital was filled with silence, and the entire time, Aaron held Pandora's hand in a supportive grip, his thumb forming soothing circles on the inside of her wrist. Parking the car by the entrance, he cupped her face in his hands and pecked her lips lightly, "Update me when you get a chance. I'll call you first thing tomorrow morning."
Pandora ignored the many ogling stares she received due to her revealing silver evening gown and rushed to the reception, smiling weakly at Lucy, "Lucy, hi! I got a call regarding my sister. Can you tell me what room she's in?" Lucy opened her mouth to respond, when all of a sudden, two pairs of arms enveloped her from both sides. "Prue? Phoebe? How is she?"
"I don't know, we just arrived," Phoebe tremulously told her. Just then, Andy materialized in front of them, and Prue immediately addressed him, "Andy, thanks for calling us." Shaking his head, Andy tightly embraced Pandora, and after releasing her from his hold, he waved a hand away, he too had a worried expression on his visage, "Hey, she's like my sister too. She's in here." He had them follow him into the closest room and the three Halliwells simultaneously let out loud sighs of relief at the scene that awaited them.
Other than a wounded arm, Piper looked to be relatively unharmed, and seemed to be nattering the doctor's ear off as he bandaged up her arm, "Oh my God, that's a lot of blood!"
Pandora let out a hysterical bubble of laughter as Prue inquired over Piper's wellbeing. Her heartbeat returned to normal and all tenseness melted away; the last time they were summoned to General Bay, Prue had been in a car accident and a hairsbreadth away from death. She had honestly been expecting worse, and she was finally at ease. After placing a kiss on the crown of Piper's head, Pandora addressed the doctor, "Will she be needing stitches?"
"No, it's not deep," the doctor smiled, and Pandora's eyes flickered in recognition; he was one of Connor's fellow surgeon and close friend, and she hoped that she wouldn't run into her cheating ex-boyfriend. Turning his attention back to Piper, who had a grimace of pain plastered on her sweaty face, he benignly smiled at her and said, "Follow up with me in the morning though. Keep it dry, a little aspirin for the pain, you'll be fine."
Piper grumbled, "Easy for you to say." Pandora, Phoebe and Prue shared a fond smile at Piper's attitude; she had always had a low threshold for pain in comparison to the other three. While Prue went to sign Piper's discharge forms, both Phoebe and Pandora linked arms with Piper and started interrogating her in hushed tones as they escorted her down the hall.
"I don't understand. Why didn't you just freeze him?" Phoebe frowned in perplexity. Piper's shoulders slumped, recalling her moment of outright terror, the moment she truly believed that she would be taking her last breathe and never see her sisters again. "I was trapped in a phone booth. My power doesn't work outside the room I'm in, remember?"
Pandora grinned sheepishly, "Oh, right. No need to be snippy, it was a fair question, Pipes."
Piper however, ignored the youngest Halliwell's retort, her full, undivided attention fixated on an average-looking man who looked to be in his mid-to-late twenties, with sandy blonde hair and hazel eyes, standing not too far from them; he too, completely focused on Piper's approaching form. Dragging Pandora and Phoebe toward the mediocre man, Piper's expression shone with gratitude and relief, her voice raising a notch as she addressed him, "Billy. This is Billy. He saved my life."
Billy modestly smiled back at her as he nervously fiddled with something in his pocket, "Yeah, I'm just glad I got there in time." Before Pandora, Phoebe, and Prue could convey their profuse gratitude, Andy tackled Billy with what looked to be, the beginning of a police inquisition, "Yeah, I'd like to talk to you about that. Along with the flare gun you just happened to show up with." Pandora definitely wasn't mistaking the hint of suspicion perceptible in Andy's tone, and neither did Billy, who pulled out a cigarette and lighter from his pocket.
"Oh! Oh!" Prue's eyes widened and she wasted no time in blowing out the flames from the lighter before rebuking him, "I don't think you can smoke in here." Pandora snorted loudly, drawing everyone's attention, "Dude! Have you been living under a rock? Some patients here might be allergic to the smell of smoke, even if you aren't around those patients. Smoke can easily cling on clothes, and a catastrophe would occur! Plus, not to forget the obvious, secondhand smoke could aggravate someone's medical condition. There are many, many reasons why there is ban on smoking in hospitals, and-, mmpphh-"silver-grey orbs glared daggers at Phoebe, who had promptly smacked a hand over Pandora's mouth to muffle her heated ranter, much to Prue and Piper's amusement.
Pandora dug her elbow into Phoebe's ribs, causing her to extricate her hand. Pandora, however, didn't release the middle sister from her death glare until an awkward Billy recovered from his stupefied state and finally gave an answer to Andy's previous inquiry, "Look, it's no coincidence I was there inspector. I heard about the murder last night. The creature-"
"The creature," Andy echoed in alarm, brilliant blue orbs flashing in skepticism. Piper was only too quick to vehemently agree with Billy's claim that, yes, a creature had in fact attacked her, but before Andy could inquire over their lost marbles, a stern looking woman with boy-cut bronze hair, her lithe and skinny form cloaked in a beige trench coat, made a beeline towards them, her intense brown eyes boring into Piper's face, "Describe it!" she had a daunting, no-nonsense manner of speech, however, she did a double take upon noticing Billy, and her eyes subtly flickered with shock, "Billy? What are you doing here?"
"Same thing you are. Hunting that thing," Billy promptly retorted, and Pandora didn't fail to recognize the worshiping gaze he was giving the female intruder. Sensing the Halliwells confusion, Andy cleared his throat and inclined his head in the woman's direction. "Piper, Pandora, Prue, Phoebe Halliwell, Special Agent Fallon of the FBI," was his brusque introduction.
Prue seemed impressed, "FBI. Cool."
Agent Fallon gave each sister a curt nod before focusing her unblinking stare on Piper, awaiting a response to her previous inquiry. Suddenly nervous with the spotlight on her, Piper searched for the correct description of the creature that nearly robbed her of her life, "Big, scary, strong. Kind of like a cross between a werewolf and Charles Manson."
"How off-putting," Pandora grimaced, mumbling beneath her breath. It was definitely a supernatural case, meaning, it was one the Charmed Ones would have to solve, and Pandora wasn't the least bit inspired to investigate such a revolting and unnerving creature.
Agent Fallon's preferred style of interrogation, comprised of a totality of one or two words. She looked to be playing twenty questions with Piper as she ticked off her many questions from her mental list. "Yellow eyes?" she received an affirmative from Piper. "Talon-like hands?" another affirmative. Agent Fallon pursed her lips and switched her attention onto Andy, requesting to speak privately.
"Hmm, they look real cozy, don't ya think?" Pandora's comment had Prue narrowing her eyes in mild jealousy, and she deliberately changed the subject, "Billy, how did you know to use a flare gun?"
"It's afraid of fire," Billy uttered as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. Pandora rolled her eyes; it wasn't as if they had regular dalliances with grotesque creatures. Demons? Yes. Warlocks? Unfortunately. Dream Sorcerers who couldn't take rejections from the opposite gender like a champ, and a creepy half human, half-thing that feeds off woman's beauty to preserve its own? Who saw that coming. But creatures? That was a new one for the Charmed Ones.
Phoebe's voice unwittingly cut into Pandora's mental blathering, "How'd you figure that out?"
In an instant, Billy's entire demeanor morphed into one of grave sorrow and he tried averting eye-contact with the four curious sisters, "Because when it attacked us, me and my fiancée, Laura, we were camping at Lake Michigan and I grabbed a log from the fire, it freaked, took off. But, um, not before it ripped Laura's heart out," in sync, four sharp intakes of breath reverberated around them and Billy finally looked each one of them in the eye, his hazel eyes dull and lacking life as he uttered his next words, "It might as well taken mine, too. I came here to kill it!" he determinedly informed them.
***P4***
Narcissa was ecstatic. The previous night, Lucius took her out for a romantic dinner followed by a wonderful stroll through the wizarding district of San Francisco. Better yet, in less than a month, the spacious Manor would be filled with the joyful sounds of children as Draco and Theo would be returning for the Yule break.
While she primly poured jasmine tea into her teacup, she fondly smiled at Lucius and Severus as they approached the terrace for breakfast. Currently, it was a weekend, and Severus had been given permission from Albus to spend the next two nights with the Malfoys to formulate many plans in regards to the various scenarios of the backlash that would inevitably occur once the discovery that Theodore Nott hadn't disembarked the train to Platform nine and three-quarters, became known. Naturally, consequences shall no doubt, arise. The Dark Lord and Nott Sr. would be incensed Theodore's betrayal, and the loss of a young Death Eater meant to be given the task of a spy at Hogwarts; therefore, the Headmaster, Severus and Lucius were working together to keep the Malfoys and Severus free from scrutiny.
Unfortunately, Narcissa's good mood was short-lived upon listening in to the Halliwell sisters via her ingenious Listening Charm, as she discovered the events that took place the previous night.
"If that thing last night wasn't demonic, I don't know what is," Piper's exasperated voice boomed in the terrace, prompting Narcissa to nearly drop her teacup in alarm. Lucius' brows knit together in concern; too enraptured in his conversation with Severus, he failed to take notice of his wife's unhealthy obsession, "Cissa? Are you alright?"
Severus rolled his eyes once Narcissa dismissed his concerns and focused in on the voices of the Halliwell sisters, eyes widening in panic. "It's not your fight, Piper. Just let Andy and that FBI agent handle it, okay," Prue sounded stern, a warning mixed with concern seeping into her tone. Piper quickly retorted, "Can't. That thing tried to kill me! Besides, I was meant to be involved in this, I know that. It's no coincidence I got that flat tire."
"Piper nearly died last night? What? How?" Narcissa wringed her wrists in dismay, cornflower blue eyes beseeching Lucius or Severus for the correct response. Lucius clenched and unclenched his fists in irritation, and his face remained impassively smooth, portraying absolute apathetic over the distressing discovery. Severus, on the other hand, betrayed his friend by displaying interest, "I am more curious in learning the identity of 'the thing' the second sister mentioned."
Two sets of footsteps resounded in the terrace, signifying the entrance of the remaining two sisters and before Severus and Narcissa could trade theories regarding 'the thing', Pandora's melodious voice echoed around them, "Hey, Piper, how's the arm?"
"Itches," was Piper's short response.
"Piper, you have to go to the doctor. It could be infected," Prue scolded. Lucius felt his rigid posture annoyingly relax every time he heard Pandora's sweet voice. "Don't worry about it, Prue. I'm staying in today, so while you and Pheebs are at work, I'll make sure to keep an eye on Piper." There was a sound of irritation from Piper followed by a loud gasp that purely belonged to Phoebe, "Whoa… head rush! While we're at work."
Pandora snorted, "Yeah, I never imagined that one day, I'd be constructing a sentence with 'Phoebe' and 'work' put together- OW! That hurt, Phoebe," she whined, and despite the Narcissa's concern regarding Piper's near-death experience the other day, she couldn't help but smile fondly at the sisters' antics. Recovering from the blow struck by Phoebe, Pandora cleared her throat, "Anywhoo! I'm gonna make sure that Piper here, doesn't play the lone ranger and go after that thing without us."
"Wait, there's no reason to go after it at all!" Prue adamantly stated, "The only innocent to protect here, is Piper!"
"You don't think she would, do you?" Narcissa fretted. Severus sneered, "One thing those girls have in common with Potter, are there heroic tendencies. They are the epitome of Gryffindor foolishness," he caustically concluded. Lucius flinched at that, but remained stoic and silent, not once detaching his cold silver-gray orbs from the breakfast spread.
Before Narcissa could spit out some retort in her never wavering, staunch defense of the Halliwells, Piper emitted heartfelt words that succeeded in tugging on the wand-wielders conscious. "I thought I was gonna die last night. I was totally helpless and all I could think about is I was never gonna see you guys again. And then, suddenly out of nowhere comes Billy. He saved me! Protected me! That thing took away the person he loved and… he's out there all alone trying to kill it. I can't just do nothing."
A moment of silence permeated the terrace and the kitchen in Halliwell Manor as each occupant pondered over the gravity Piper's words, affected and touched. Lucius was trying to piece together the puzzle, trying to decrypt the happenings of the previous night, and wondering if Pandora's life would be put in danger once again by… the thing, whatever it was.
Finally, Prue assembled an eloquent sentence before heading off to the front door to reach work on time, "Just don't do anything unless we're together, okay. Promise?" Piper yelled out a quick affirmative and Pandora's voice echoed around them, a cheeky nuance in her voice, "Or at least, make sure I'm with you for backup-, uh… Pheebs? Aren't you supposed to be leaving with Prue to work?"
Unlike Narcissa, Lucius and Severus lost all interest in their bout of eavesdropping once Phoebe bemoaned over her concerns and fear over working alongside Prue and failing, therefore making the eldest Halliwell look bad. Nor were they interested in the other two sisters building up her confidence as they returned to erecting plans for the Yule break in concerns to Theodore defecting, shrouding themselves from becoming suspects, and lastly, the Dark Lord's inevitable ire to losing the perfect spy.
***P4***
No sooner had Prue and Phoebe departed to Bucklands, did Piper flip another page from the Book of Shadows and suddenly pause, her eyes widening in recognition at the dauntingly familiar creature. Pandora was aimlessly scrolling through her messages on her phone when Piper let out a sharp intake of breath, capturing her undivided attention and discarding her phone for the time being.
"Piper? What is i… Woah!" she plumped down on the seat beside her sister, her silver-gray orbs not once detaching from the entry in the Book of Shadows, "The Wendigo? Is-is, Piper, is that the creature that attacked you?"
"Uh-huh! I'd recognize it anywhere." Piper hesitantly faced the platinum-blonde, "We gotta meet up with Billy and tell him."
Pandora gaped at her for a brief moment before shaking her head in negative, "Come again? Look, Piper, I get it, okay. You have some sort of bond with the dude after he saved your life, and don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for his timely intrusion, too! But…"she bit her lip in consternation, her shoulders slumping in defeat, knowing that stubbornness was a Halliwell trait, and that Piper would not be easily talked out of her 'brilliant' idea. So, Pandora decided to stick to common sense in the hopes of appealing to Piper's pragmatic nature, "Piper, what do you expect us to say? Oh hey, Billy! So, turns out, we have this big, informative book in the attic left by our ancestors filled with details about a myriad of creatures that aren't supposed to exist? Come on! This is a Charmed gig! It's best if we keep Billy out of it and relatively safe for harm."
Doubt flickered in Piper's chocolate orbs, replacing the steely glint of determination. A second later however, much to Pandora's annoyance, Piper's stubbornness returned tenfold, rearing its ugly head, "You're absolutely right, Pan; but whether we confide in Billy or not, he's not going to back down. The Wendigo killed his fiancée! He's going to continue pursuing it and if we don't tell him anything, then he'll most probably end up dead!"
Suffice to say, thirty minutes later, a peeved Pandora tossed her car keys to the valet and walked into Quake with a triumphant Piper, both of whom made a beeline toward Billy, who Piper called beforehand, insisting he meet them there for a briefing about the accursed creature. Five minutes into the conversation and a dumbstruck Billy numbly interrupted Piper's blathering, "It's called a what?"
"A Wendigo," Piper didn't miss a beat and plunged into hashing out the gritty details, "Apparently, it looks like a normal person during the day but then it transforms at night. It survives by feeding on human hearts."
Despite the fact that Pandora was practically forced into accompanying Piper, and despite the fact the entire situation was no laughing matter, Pandora couldn't help but be amused at the comical expression shrouding Billy's face, "Yeah, I know. Believe me, that revolting piece of information left an impression on me too. Cannibalism is heavily frowned upon in society, but there are a lot of rebels out there- OUCH!" the platinum-blonde rubbed her arm where Piper had painfully pinched her, "What's with everyone inflicting pain on me!"
"What's with the lack of tact," Piper rebutted with a pointed glare, discretely titling her head toward a rapidly paling Billy. Sighing aloud, Pandora evoked her compassionate side and addressed the overwhelmed dude, "Look, Billy. According to the super secretive information we managed to procure, the first Wendigo was a mortal who was betrayed by his lover, cut out her heart and ate it. As soon as he did, his own heart turned to ice and that's how he became this monster. Now, we could speculate this to be a myth, but after Piper's attack last night and your fiancée, and the many heart-less victims, we know otherwise." She then arched an eyebrow at Piper, "Better?"
"Much," Piper rolled her eyes.
Billy swallowed harshly as he processed the overload of information, "So, what, it like… it takes love from others. Is that it? Or… then why did it go after you? Are you in love?"
Pandora found herself unable to contain her sniggering and promptly coughed out, "Leo!" receiving another painful pinch in return.
"No," Piper clearly enunciated, shooting one last glare at Pandora before focusing her attention to Billy, "Unfortunately, no. It must be attracted to something else." Billy stared intensely into Piper's eyes, "Like maybe beauty?" Piper blushed in embarrassment and it took all of Pandora's willpower to keep up her emotionless façade and not burst into laughter. Billy grimaced in apology, "I'm sorry. It's just… you remind me a lot of my fiancée."
Piper smiled timidly in return, immediately changing the subject, "Um, anyway, from what we've gathered, it strikes during the three phases of the full moon. Which means it may try again tonight." Billy adopted an awestruck expression, his hazel eyes flickering from Piper to Pandora in shock, "That's what it did before. Amazing! You know, I've been tracking this thing for two months and in one night, you two are a PhD in Wendigo."
"Imagine that," Pandora sarcastically drawled out, glaring pointedly at Piper who was uncomfortably squirming in her seat. She inwardly rolled her eyes at Piper's deplorable acting skills and quickly intruded before Piper exposed their little, not so little, family secret. Flashing Billy her famous mega-watt smile, pearly teeth and all, Pandora convincingly deceived him, "You'd be surprised to know how many moldy old books are out there, all but forgotten and discarded long ago, gathering dust in various dingy and obscure bookstores all around San Francisco," she shrugged with a coquettish smile, "Piper and I struck luck in the first antiquated bookshop we walked past."
Billy ate her lies and stopped questioning their sudden 'PhD' in Wendigo. Piper let out a subtle, barely audible sigh of relief, suddenly glad that Pandora had insisted on chaperoning her. Their little get-together came to an end with Billy being quite vocal in revealing the creature's identity to Agent Fallon instead of Andy, due to her being a 'believer', and just as the sisters stood up to leave, Piper nearly collapsed onto the ground due the sudden dizzy spell that hit her.
"Are you okay?" Pandora oozed with concern, brows scrunched together in disconcert. Piper nodded weakly and waved off her fears, "Yeah must have, stood too fast. Billy, call me after you see her okay? Please? We can help. I can't explain how, just trust us." Billy nodded obediently and parted the sisters with a smile. The phone rang not a moment later, and Pandora was left sitting by her lonesome at the table, unable to shake off the foreboding sensation saturating in the air.
"That was Andy checking up on me," Piper informed her after she hung up, "Look, Pan, Laurence Beck from the Health Department is here for a code inspection, I won't be long-"
"Oh no you don't!" Pandora abruptly snapped, standing up and placing her hands firmly on her hips as she stared Piper down, "If this Beck dude finds out you're working while you're so obviously sick and risking contamination, then Quake could get shut down. You, Missy, are going to march your perky ass over to my car, now! I already gave you a free pass to meet up with Billy, don't push it!"
Piper harrumphed and stubbornly crossed her arms against her chest, but her stern glare had no effect of Pandora, especially due to the fact that she looked too sickly, "I'm the big sister here, Pandora!"
"Yeah, well, act like it then!" Pandora retorted, pointing a finger toward the door, "Don't make me repeat myself! Get out, now!"
Suffice to say, Pandora may have lost the battle in coming over to Quake, but in the end, Pandora won the war.
***P4***
For the entirety of the afternoon, Lucius and Severus had ensconced themselves at Hogwarts with the Headmaster, devising plans for the Yule holiday, the arrangements for when Sirius moved into Malfoy Manor for safety against his impulsive actions, and the downfall of the Dark Lord. Meanwhile, Narcissa Malfoy was a nervous wreck. It wasn't until Pandora and Piper returned from their summit with the muggle who came to Piper's aid, did Narcissa rush over to the terrace in the hopes of listening in to an update of their crucial situation.
Unfortunately, nothing of importance happened; Piper was ordered by her husband's daughter to take an afternoon nap, and despite Piper's litany of arguments, she succumbed to a slumber ten minutes later, leaving Pandora to watch over her in silence, and therefore, leaving Narcissa to her worriment. An hour later and nothing had changed. Narcissa kept her eyes trained on the fireplace, desperately willing her husband and dear friend to materialize amidst the green flames, and it wasn't until another hour had gone by, had her wish been granted.
"Lucius!" Narcissa cried out, alarming the aristocrat. In a manner so unlike the eternally put-together Lady Malfoy, she hurled herself at him and buried her face in his chest. Rendered speechless, Lucius wrapped his arms around his trembling wife and shared a look of anxiety with his identically perplexed friend. "Oh, Lucius. Severus. Thank Merlin you are here. It's terribly awful!"
Lucius immediately sprang into action. He ordered the house-elves to prepare Narcissa's favorite jasmine tea, and sequentially escorted her to the terrace, a concerned Severus shadowing them as he scrutinized the situation. "I assume something had gone amiss with the sisters to reduce you into such a state, Narcissa?" Severus neutrally inquired. Lucius stiffened once Narcissa frantically nodded in response, her trembling hands pouring herself a cup of tea, eyes shuttered and face lined in consternation.
"The-the thing the sisters spoke of," Narcissa uttered once she drained her tea, hastily refilling the tea cup again, "As soon as you both departed, Piper managed to identify the creature from the Book of Shadows. It's a Wendigo," she imparted, eyes taking in Lucius' rigid form and Severus' complete nonchalance, "Apparently it shares a resemblance to a werewolf, but that is as far as their similarities go. According to the Book of Shadows, the first Wendigo was a mortal who had been betrayed by his lover, and in retaliation, he cut out her heart and ate it. After that, his heart turned to ice and he became a Wendigo. Also, it strikes during the three phases of the full moon, meaning tonight there will be another victim!"
Complete and utter silence followed Narcissa's ungodly tale. Both Lucius and Severus gaped at Narcissa's stricken and solemn face in bemusement, not knowing what the correct response should be. They had long learned their lesson by now, not to treat each new revelation with derision – after all, they thought the existence of demons and warlocks to be ludicrous, they believed wiccan witches were mere practitioners and naught but a mockery, they believed ghosts to be a pearly sheen such as those that dwell at Hogwarts, and yet, each time… time and time again, they have been proven wrong – spectacularly proven wrong.
"So," Lucius had recollected his bearings and cleared his throat, feeling a touch uncomfortable, "This… Wendigo, it… it eats the hearts of its victims and attacks three consecutive nights, every month?"
"Yes! And like werewolves, they look like regular people during the day," Narcissa bit her lower lip, eyes narrowing in on the familiar vehicle of Andy's as it parked by the driveway. However, he wasn't alone. An unknown muggle woman appeared alongside him, both of them approaching the Halliwells' front door. Severus never detached his eyes from the Halliwell Manor as he mused his thoughts out loud, "Perhaps I should report to Dumbledore about this?"
"Go away!" Piper gruffly called out, prompting Narcissa's expression to turn into concern. The front door swung upon and they could clearly see Pandora smile sheepishly at Andy and the unfamiliar muggle woman, "I am so sorry about Piper. She's not feeling too hot right now, so she's kind of cranky. What can I do for you Andy, Agent Fallon?"
Due to the ingenious Listening Charm, the Malfoys and Severus distinctly made out Piper's muffled grumbling in the background to be her persuading Pandora to send the two muggles away, much to their bafflement. "Piper, how about you go to the living room and relax on the sofa, m'kay?" more irate grumblings could be heard and the three wand-wielders focused their attention on Pandora. Even from afar, Lucius recognized his dau-… Pandora to be extremely tensed and not her usual laid-back self, despite her welcoming smile in the face of the visitors.
"We're sorry for coming unannounced Dory, but … we came to talk to you about Billy. He's been killed," Andy's tentative voice echoed around the terrace and only Narcissa knew the significance of his abrupt death as she inhaled a sharp intake of breath, eyes wide and lower lip quivering. In sync, Pandora and Piper, who overheard Andy's statement, shrieked out, "WHAT?" and not even a second later, a bedraggled and haggard looking Piper materialized beside Pandora.
"That's not possible! He should have been saved. It's not even night," Piper frantically cried out, obviously stricken by her rescuer's sudden death. Although they couldn't see his face, they could tell from his tone, that Andy shared the sisters' grief, "It might not have been whoever attacked you."
Pandora scoffed violently, her voice heavy with scorn, "Oh come on, Andy. Who else could it have been? He knew too much, hence, he was killed by the perpetrator. It's obvious!"
The muggle woman spoke up for the first time since their arrival, "We don't want to take up too much of your time. Just a few questions, if you don't mind. We were wondering if you knew what exactly Billy was coming to tell me." The wand-wielders listened intently as Piper weakly listed off a few facts about the Wendigo. "How's the arm?" the muggle woman inquired before they left. After scrutinizing Piper's bandaged arm, she carried on, "You're the only one to survive the attacks. Hope you didn't get infected by it. If you think of anything, anything at all, call me directly."
They watched as she handed over a card and left to wait by the car. Once Andy embraced the two sisters, Pandora slammed the front door closed. Severus parted his lips to comment over the incident when all of a sudden, Piper's fearful whimpers echoed around the terrace, followed by Pandora's shrill scream.
"Oh my-, oh my God! Fucking hell! Piper, don't, don't worry, we'll, we'll get to the bottom of this! I promise! I'm gonna call Prue and Phoebe to get their asses over here. O-okay," Lucius felt numb upon hearing the unadulterated fear in Pandora's usually confident and cheerful disposition. He was too numb and drowning in his thoughts over what in Merlin's name had occurred to instill such palpable fear in the two sisters that he failed to notice Narcissa's nails digging into his arm, nor could he hear Severus repeatedly calling out his name in a mixture of anxiety and concern.
***P4***
Pandora felt useless. She was at a loss over what to do to calm her sister down. She was the baby of the family, and despite her moments of maturity, she wasn't used to taking care of people or calling the shots around the Manor. All Pandora could do, was keep her arms wrapped tightly in the hopes of halting Piper's entire body from its violent trembling, along with the many crocodile tears cascading down her sweaty visage. Every few minutes, the youngest Halliwell would dip a soft cloth into a bowl of cool water and proceed to dab it across Piper's face, constantly brushing away the many strands of hair that were sticking to her face.
"Pandora? Piper?!"
Relief flooded Pandora and she couldn't hold in her sigh of content once Prue and Phoebe barged into the living room, identical frowns of concern and apprehension palpable on their features. Their worry skyrocketed upon seeing Piper's pathetically dismal state, and Pandora's usually bubbly disposition gravely solemn, and they hastened to their side, various questions visible in their dissimilar eyes.
"I'm miserable," Piper croaked out, burying her head deeper into Pandora's embrace. In sync, Prue and Phoebe lifted their gaze to Pandora, waiting for some sort of clarification. Humorlessly laughing aloud, Pandora hysterically shook her head, "She's miserable and I'm freaking out here, you guys! Like majorly freaking out! This, this shit is… we're not prepared for this, okay?! We should have been prepared in case inexplicable shit like this happens to us, because I, no, no WE, have been completely unaware that this sort of thing is possible!" It was commonly known that whenever Pandora was nervous or scared, she rambled and cursed and ranted people's ears off.
Prue slapped a hand onto her forehead and started pacing the living room, impatience clearly radiating from her stiff posture, prompting Phoebe to take the wheel since she was the most fluent in Pandora language, "Pan, sweetie, enough rambling. What happened?" Unable to bear those words coming out in the open, Pandora peeled off the bandage covering Piper's wound, showcasing a thick tuft of shaggy brown hair enveloping the scratch she had received from the Wendigo, and threatening to spread the entire limb. Phoebe recoiled backwards, pure horror shrouding her face, "Ohh! PRUE!"
It was obvious to all three of them that Prue was trying to act cool, "Oh, um, can you get up?"
"Back off! What, you think I can't walk now?" Piper darkly snarled, her face contorting in rage as she extricated herself from Pandora's embrace. Taken aback, and shocked with the staggering change in their compassionate and timid sister, Phoebe softly approached her, "Honey, we're just trying to help you." But her words apparently didn't have an effect on her newly altered disposition and Piper proceeded to acidly spit out, "Help me? You can't even hold a job."
Phoebe took a step away from her as though she had been slapped, hurt visibly shining on her features. In unison, Prue and Pandora scolded her, "PIPER!"
"Oh, save it! The eldest and the youngest, how fitting," Piper scoffed meanly, "You two always think you can be in charge, huh?" and in the blink of an eye, Piper's sudden brutality vanished, replaced by shock and fear and a certain tenderness that was purely Piper. She lifted a trembling hand to cover her mouth, "I'm so sorry. What's happening to me?"
Taking charge, Prue affectionately brushed away the sweaty hair from her face, "It's all right. We're gonna take care of you." Jade orbs met a pair of chocolates and silver-grays in terror. Wanting to make herself busy to think clearly of the terrifying reality they were currently experiencing, Phoebe began scouring the room, and her eyes landed on an unfamiliar card that stood out. The second she picked it up, she was sucked into a premonition, eyes tightly clenched shut, drawing Pandora, Prue and Piper's attention onto her, and their concern surmounted at the horror written all over Phoebe's face.
"Pheebs? What is it? What did you see?" Pandora hesitantly inquired, and deep inside, there was a small part of her too afraid to know. Phoebe turned the card over so that her sisters could clearly see who it belonged to, "I just saw the Wendigo. It's Agent Fallon."
"Huh, I didn't peg her to be one with an acquired taste for human hearts. To protect and serve my ass!" Pandora had a habit of masking her fear with unwarranted humor in a failed attempt to lighten tense situations. Most times, it went unappreciated by her sisters, if Prue's glare was anything to go by at this particular moment. Piper however, frowned in confusion, completely overlooking Pandora's jibing commentary, "Her?! I thought it had to be a him."
Phoebe shrugged linking her arm with Pandora's and using her as an anchor, "I guess not. And even worse, I saw her and Andy at the park at night. Alone!"
"Oh hell no," Pandora shrieked, the full veracity of the events finally startling her and consuming her with the appropriate dose of fear, "If she so much as hurts Andy, I'll find a spell to torment her for an eternity! We have to save him from the fatal clutches of that heart-chomping whore!"
***P4***
"Preposterous," Albus murmured in marvel; he had been brought up to speed over the discombobulating events, most importantly the mystical species called Wendigo that survived on a diet of human hearts three consecutive nights, on every month. Currently, he was frozen in alarm over the discovery that due to Piper being infected by the grotesque creature, she was transitioning into a Wendigo herself, infected by its talons.
Severus let out a strangled sound of disgust, "If this Wendigo is anything like werewolves, then Piper has no chance of recovery. She's already been infected, cursed to become a murderous creature three times a month!" If asked, he would deny it to his last breath, but he, like Lucius, were terribly concerned over Piper's wellbeing, and feared for her and the other three Halliwells' lives.
"I don't believe that," Narcissa profusely argued, shaking her head in a mixture of denial and hope, "Wiccan witches have already been doing a marvelous job of achieving the impossible. They manage to produce feats that we can't do! For Circe's sake, they managed to summon their ancestor from the dead in flesh and blood, remember?"
Narcissa's vehement argument managed to silence the three wizards and they concentrated on the Halliwells who were currently flipping through the Book of Shadows in an attempt to rescue Andy from the Wendigo in disguise, and stop Piper from transitioning into one herself.
"I tried Andy's cellphone. No answer," Prue's worried voice boomed in the terrace, immediately followed by Phoebe's gloomy comment, "We can't find anything about reversing the Wendigo thing."
Hope and fondness consumed Lucius once Pandora's voice joined the fray, "Speak for yourself, sis. There's a c.f. Desiderata written at the bottom of the Wendigo entry. Now, my Latin's a bit rusty since I excelled in French and Spanish during high school." Phoebe snorted loudly at that. Albus beamed jovially as he comprehended the meaning, "Desiderata. Look up things that are yearned for," he promptly informed them, his words parroted by Prudence, who thankfully, excelled at Latin, as opposed to the youngest Halliwell.
The tensed atmosphere was interrupted by the constant flipping of pages – presumably one of the sisters hastily turning the Book of Shadows to the correct page, and the dark nature of the Wendigo possessing the compassionate sister as she spewed forth cruel comments.
"Piper!" Pandora chastised her.
"Don't Piper me, just shut up!" was Piper's vitriolic retort. For some reason that Lucius despised, he felt his hackles rise at the crudeness aimed toward his da-… Pandora! Prudence apparently, shared his exact sentiments, "Hey! You are going to listen to me, Piper! This is not you! All right, it's the blood of the Wendigo and you have to fight it."
There was a small pause before Piper weakly uttered, "It's too strong." However, Lucius's lips unconsciously lifted into a fond smile when he heard Pandora confidently address Piper, "You're stronger, Pipes. You can beat this, I know you can." Phoebe shared the same sentiments, and the four wand-wielders breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the infected sister return to normalcy. Not even a second later, Prudence gathered their attention, the sound of rustling paper finally halting, "Alright, things that are yearned for. Wisdom, balance, unbecoming-"
"Unbecoming!" Pandora cried out in triumph, "That's gotta be it right? Unbecoming a Wendigo."
Prudence's voice seemed lighter as she read out a new entry, "Alright. Pan's correct, here we go. Unbecoming a Wendigo. So… we have to kill the Wendigo that slashed you by melting its heart of ice."
"You know, I agree with Pandora's previous statement. Our ancestors are just so damn cryptic!" Phoebe huffed out. Albus however, seemed to be miles away as he stroked his beard and pondered over Prudence's words, "Melt its heart of ice, hmm… I wonder, I wonder…"
Lucius, Narcissa and Severus however, were trying and failing to mask their concerns as they listened in to the sisters argue over the best method of killing the muggle woman to free Piper from her infection. "Are you off her rocker? We're not going to kill you, Piper! But what we are going to do, is kill that bitch who targeted you and is now targeting Andy," Pandora spat out in rage.
"But we might have to confine you until we get back," Prue sorrowfully commented. The blood of the Wendigo further made an appearance in Piper as she crudely snarled out, "No! Go to hell!"
After an awkward moment of silence, Phoebe returned with handcuffs and Piper returned to normal, "I don't want this to happen to me, Prue. Kill Ashley. This is me talking." There was a clink of the handcuffs and as each sister called out their farewells to Piper, the wand-wielders intently listened in as they made plans of purchasing a 'flare gun' while they rushed over to Piper's jeep.
"Dumbledore? Should we… follow them?" Lucius hesitantly inquired, trying to mask the concerned paternal feelings in him as educational curiosity. Albus remained silent, his twinkling blue eyes never once disconnected from Lucius's steel silver-grays. But before he could offer a response, a bloodcurdling scream that sounded distinctly like Piper, shook the foundations and a minute later, they could hear the animalistic growls of the Wendigo echo around them from the attic. Narcissa paled drastically and held Lucius' hand in a firm grip and her grasp turned excruciatingly painful when – for the first time since discovering of its existence – they laid eyes upon what a Wendigo truly looked like as Piper departed the Halliwell Manor.
Albus abruptly stood up and quickly waved his wand in complex motions, "I placed a temporary tracking charm on Piper. If my theory proves to be accurate, which I assure you, it is, then she is heading to the destination of the park where her sisters set off to. Only then, shall we apparate to them and observe from afar under a disillusionment charm and silencing spells."
Nervous, yet determined, the other three nodded, and this time, Narcissa was adamant in tagging alongside them. She already perceived the sisters as pseudo-daughters, and she felt a deep need to be close by in their time of need – even if her appearance went unnoticed.
***P4***
Pandora, Prue and Phoebe frantically scoured the park for Andy or Fallon. They continuously called out his name, hoping for a verbal response, or that their appearance would halt Fallon in her process of tearing out his heart. Pandora shook her head and tried to eliminate the ghastly image her imagination made up as she joined in with her sisters.
"Andy?!" "Andy!" "ANDY!"
Phoebe suddenly gasped and clutched onto both Prue and Pandora's wrists, her eyes widening in recognition, "This is definitely the place. I recognize it from my premonition." A dark, predatory growl rang out in the clearing, startling them and prompting Prue to whip out the newly-obtained flare gun, shoot it and bleakly miss their target, "Okay, give me another one," she demanded, holding a hand out.
"Bright side?" Pandora weakly uttered as she passed over the ammo, "You managed to temporarily scare it off."
"Not to put a damper on things, but if that didn't get Andy to come out, he's dead already," Phoebe morbidly told them, horror etched on her features. Pandora vehemently shook her head in denial as Prue angrily shot at the Wendigo again, missing the target for the second time. "He's dead when we find a body, not before," Prue stubbornly snapped, "Okay, how many more do we have?"
Phoebe grimaced, "Two."
Horror-struck, Prue snapped out, "Two?"
Pandora huffed and yanked off her leather jacket, flexing her shoulders in preparation, "Yes, two! That's all they had-, oh my God! Andy?" Prue and Phoebe immediately pivoted around and chased the youngest Halliwell and all three of them knelt down on the ground, examining Andy's unconscious form and taking in his ripped shirt. Prue shuttered her eyes in relief, a weak smile materializing on her face, "Oh God. Alright, he's alive but she's slashed him."
"Our timely appearance interrupted the sick bitch's dinner," Pandora spat out, her sharp eyes scrutinizing the clearing; unbeknownst to the three sisters, at a short distance, they were being closely watched by four invisible people – three men, and a woman who seemed to have adopted maternal affections towards them.
The ominous growling of the Wendigo interrupted their scrutiny and reflexively, Phoebe grabbed the discarded flare gun from the ground and shot toward its direction. "Damn it! Missed again! We have only one left!" Phoebe yelled, slamming a fist onto the ground. Pandora felt rage consume her and without further ado, she snatched the gun from Phoebe's grip and stood up, squared her shoulder and carefully taking aim, "It's my turn. This time we don't fire until I see slobber on the wench's face."
Prue and Phoebe stood protectively on either side of their baby sister. The three witches inspected their surroundings, and all of a sudden, Prue pointed to their right, "Okay, uh, it's over there!"
"No, no. Wait, I think it's over there," Phoebe contradicted Prue's assessment, pointing some distance to their left. Prue however, stubbornly shook her head, "No, no, it's right here…"
"Holy FUCK!" Pandora screamed, "You're both correct. There are two Wendigos! TWO! How can there be two?!" And then, Prue had to say those accursed words out loud, "One of them must be Piper. Shoot!"
Pandora didn't, for even a second, detach her eyes from the two approaching Wendigos, though her face drained of all color, giving her a ghostly appearance, "Prue. I-I can't. What if I end up shooting Piper?"
Prue tried to instill hope and confidence into their bleak situation, "Just shoot and pray you hit the right one."
Pandora bitterly scoffed out, "Easy for you to say! You're not the one that could end up killing your own damn sister!" but nevertheless, the platinum-blonde squinted an eye shut, randomly picked a Wendigo and aimed correctly, straight at its heart. Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion, and before the flare could impact with the chosen Wendigo's heart, it froze… in fact, not only did the flare freeze, but the other Wendigo as well. "Great! I nearly shot Piper! I told you, Prue! Ugh!"
Piper the Wendigo seemed startled, yellow eyes widening at the frozen flare and then at her three sister witches. Phoebe victoriously called out from Pandora's side, "Prue, use your power!"
She didn't need to be told twice; Prue squinted her eyes and they all watched with malicious glee as the flare swiftly impacted with Fallon's heart. The Wendigo unfroze and screeched out eerie, agonizing screams. They all watched as the Wendigo's entire form burned completely before disappearing, leaving nothing behind… not even a pile of ash.
"Damn," Pandora pouted good-naturedly, "I was really looking forward to dancing over her ashes."
In unison, Prue and Phoebe burst out into laughter, the dreary situation turned light, and Pandora joined in on the laughter once Piper returned back to her mortal form for good and ducked behind a tree due to her being naked as the day she was born. Picking up her leather jacket from the ground, the youngest Halliwell joined her other sisters and wrapped it around to help cover Piper's modesty.
***P4***
Lucius sat by the terrace, enjoying his moment of solitude and the fresh breeze of air that occasionally hit his face. Severus had returned to Hogwarts to discuss the events of the Wendigo with Dumbledore, and Narcissa was currently relaxing in the shower.
His thoughts revolved solely on the defeat of the Wendigo. Pride consumed him – paternal pride, despite his incessant denials. Lucius was, no matter how much he tried to conceal his true feelings, a proud father. He watched from afar as Pandora tried inducing mild humor into bleak and terrifying situations that would cause the most experienced adults and hardened aurors to freeze in place. He watched as Pandora's tender and compassionate nature made an appearance when she threw all caution to the wind to reach to the muggle man's side. He watched her stiff posture slump in relief after determining that the muggle was in fact, very much alive. And lastly, Lucius watched Pandora portray fierce determination and courage when she shot the Wendigo and aimed correctly – despite her aiming the wrong target.
Yes. Lucius was proud. But the sentiment which overcame him that he absolutely loathed, was the unadulterated fear. Not fear for the chance of their discovery by the Wendigo, but fear for his dau-… fear for Pandora, and shockingly, fear for Prudence, fear for Phoebe, and… fear for Piper… he feared not only that Pandora could get harmed and infected or worse, killed by the monstrous beast. No… Lucius feared that Piper would never be liberated from her infection, and he feared that she might be killed instead of the true Wendigo.
His wife's unhealthy addiction with the Halliwell sisters needed to be put to a permanent end… but deep inside, Lucius knew it to be a lost cause. Narcissa was hooked; his lovely, compassionate wife, who had longed for more children but didn't want to risk the wrath of the Dark Lord and his future return, never asked for another child, for another sibling to Draco … Lucius knew that Narcissa was coming to love the four wiccan witches as her own children, and that thought more than ever, terrified Lucius.
Why? Because with every passing day, Lucius was becoming more and more attached to Pandora Halliwell, and to an extent, her three elder sisters, and Lucius didn't want to be! Lucius will never give up on putting a stop to his growing affections toward her, towards them, even if he had to fight his wife in the end.
Lucius Malfoy didn't know that he was fighting a losing battle.
***P4***
"Who are you texting?" Phoebe's nose was practically in her way, covering the screen from view. Pandora jokingly pushed Phoebe away from her personal space and nonchalantly drawled out, "Oh you know, my boyfriend, Aaron. The same boyfriend who returned from Spain two days ago and I had yet to see ever since the whole Wendigo shebang that interrupted our romantic date after being a week apart."
Prue smirked, enjoying Pandora's situation too much to be healthy, "Now you see what I went through when Andy showed up right after we received our powers." Before Pandora and Phoebe could come up with a smart retort, Piper materialized before them from behind the bar and called out, "On the house, for saving my hide."
"Literally. You Wendigo, you," Phoebe saucily winked at her and gladly accepted her drink. The second Piper took a seat next to Prue, said sister vocalized her concern regarding her health. Pandora rolled her eyes, "Quit smothering the girl, Prue. Piper's back to normal. Let us flip the page on the Wendigo chapter of our life and move on."
Phoebe lifted her glass in the air, "Hear, hear!" Of course, Piper had to bring up Billy's death, engulfing them in morbid silence as they grieved the brave man who saved their sister and ended up joining his beloved fiancée in death.
"There was no way we could've known about Fallon, Piper," Prue sympathetically rubbed her arm. Phoebe nodded in agreement, "He wanted to help stop her so she couldn't hurt anybody else and that's exactly what he did."
Pandora suddenly perked up as a thought occurred to her, "BTW – that stands for, by the way, for your info… what did you end up telling Andy?" And that had Piper and Phoebe's complete and undivided attention. Prue shrugged, "I told him the truth."
"Get out!" Phoebe gasped, lightly smacking her on the shoulder. Pandora narrowed her eyes in suspicion, "Please don't tell me you cast another Truth Spell?!"
"No!" Prue mock-glared at her, prompting the platinum-blonde to playfully stick out her tongue in reply. "I said what he saw happened was true, that Agent Fallon really was the Wendigo and that had we not vanquished her, that both he and Piper would've been killed," Prue shook her head and smirked at her three flabbergasted sisters, lifting her hands towards the heavens, "I couldn't think of anything else to say."
Pandora recovered from her shock and smugly smirked back at her, "Well, I bet you I would've come up with a better story had you asked. But, I wouldn't have, because I think you should pluck up the courage and tell Andy the entire truth. He can take it, I know he can."
Prue rolled her eyes at the recurring argument she and Pandora had been having ever since the Truth Spell incident, but offered her no retort in favor of answering Piper's inquiry of what Andy's response had been, "Not much. He was either too stunned to speak or he actually believed me on some level. It was the closest that we've ever come to having an honest conversation," she beamed at them, feeling lighter.
"So, to play devil's advocate," Phoebe hesitantly started, "Maybe Pan's actually been spot-on all along regarding Andy being more open to you being a witch." Pandora's smug smile grew wider, if possible, prompting Prue to narrow her eyes at her youngest sisters, mischief and mayhem, and playfully smack Phoebe lightly, "All right, back to work."
Phoebe grimaced and sheepishly addressed her, "Actually, I need to talk to you about something and please don't be mad but… I quit," she closed her eyes and peeked at her for any form of violent reaction, but upon being on the receiving end of a stunned inquisitive gaze, Phoebe clarified her reason, "It's not that I don't appreciate the opportunity, because I do. It's just that every time I touch something at Bucklands I risk having a premonition and it's just too emotional for me. Besides," she smiled softly, "that's your world. I need to find one of my own."
"That's one of the best excuses I've ever heard for quitting a job. Points for creativity, Pheebs," Pandora teased her. Prue chuckled at them and embraced Phoebe in a hug, "You will. I guarantee it."
"Just stay out of my world or I'll kill you," Piper snapped darkly. Pandora, Prue and Phoebe gaped at her, their expressions ranging from worried, to shocked, to confused. All of a sudden, Piper turned around, waved a hand aside and childishly giggled, "Kidding! It's just a joke," she smirked before walking away.
Prue looked appalled, "Ooh!"
"That-that wasn't funny!" Phoebe mumbled in irritation, indignantly crossing her arms against her chest. Pandora frowned at Piper's retreating back, when suddenly, a vibrant smile radiated off her gorgeous features and she smirked, "I am so proud of her! Piper actually succeeded in tricking us despite her abysmal acting skills. You go girl!" she called out, much to Piper's amusement, and Prue and Phoebe's palpable annoyance, them not sharing Pandora's current sentiments, not in the slightest.
A/N: I hope you liked this chapter?! XD
In my opinion, this episode was a milestone in the entire Charmed series as it was the first time portraying one of the sisters transforming into a creature or whatever. So I put my best efforts in this chapter, I hope I succeeded in making it great…
Next chapter is my FAVORITE episode from Season One of Charmed and I cannot wait! ;) I'm so excited! XD
Now, about the Poll for who Pandora would end up with:
Pandora/Cole Turner: 79.
Pandora/Sirius Black: 43.
Pandora/Bill Weasley: 29.
Pandora/Kyle Brody: 13.
Pandora/Gideon (The Elder): 4.
Pandora/Andy Trudeau: 3.
This Poll will be in effect until Season 3. Now, Dear Readers, if the person you want didn't gain much votes, don't worry there is still time; with your votes, it can change. And you never know maybe they will still have an active part since I am changing a lot of things. I already have a plot laid out for EACH of the names I posted up in the Poll.
R&R.
