The Halliwells Charm Hogwarts

Chapter III: Ready for Hogwarts

The rest of the vacations went by so fast for Piper. She spent everyday with Harry. Ron and Hermione were a little jealous. They were used to spending a lot of time as a group of three.

"It's just not the same without Harry," Ron complained.

"What's not the same?" Hermione asked puzzled.

"Just, everything. I mean, we used to do everything together. Now he either spends time with Piper without us, or he invites her to come with us wherever we go."

"Come on Ron. I think you're just jealous because Harry got a girlfriend before you did. It's not some sort of race ya know. We're not something that you just win."

"I know, but you can't tell me that you're not jealous."

"No not at all. Heck, I'd want a guy to talk to, run around with and make out with."

"Haha, don't we all. At least you've got two outta three." Hermione looked puzzled. She carefully folded a shirt and put it into her trunk. Tomorrow they would be leaving for Hogwarts.

"What are the two things?" Hermione playfully teased. She wished it would be all three. She liked him so much. True he could be a little immature, but what guy wasn't? And he was always a gentleman otherwise. She knew him well, that was always a plus. She wanted to know how he felt about her. She was just too shy to ask.

"You know what they are. Definitely the last two," he joked. She decided to tease him back.

"Okay then, let's get started." She grinned. His eyes got big and he turned crimson red. She broke out into laughter. "You are one guy who sure knows how to blush. I was only kidding though."

"I-I know," he stammered in reply. Little did Hermione know, her feelings for Ron were returned to her. But Ron thought that if he told her, she would laugh in his face. He wanted to tell Harry, but he might think he was on something. There was an awkward silence. They continued to pack without saying anything. Harry walked in the door. He had just said bye to Piper. "Did you and Piper break up?" Ron asked surprised that Piper wasn't around. Harry lightly hit Ron on the arm. Ron hit him back, but not as gently. Soon they began to wrestle. Harry may have looked small and scrawny, but all those years with Dudley had made him actually quite strong. Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Boys will be boys," she said to herself. -~-

"Mom!" Piper shouted.

"Yes Piper?" Patty called back.

"Could you please come here? I need to talk to you!" Patty walked to Piper.

"What is it dear? Is something the matter? You look a little worried." Piper looked down.

"Mom, I love you, and I don't want to loose you, but remember when you first came back?" Patty nodded. "Well, you told me that you would stay as long as you or someone could convince me that being a witch isn't all that bad. I don't want you to leave, but I can't be selfish and keep you here. Being here has made me realize that being a witch isn't the worst thing in the world. I don't think I would've been able to make that decision without you, but I think being here has helped me understand that." Patty smiled at her daughter lovingly.

"I would love to stay, but I'm also really happy that you have decided to stay being a witch. The Power of Three doesn't work out too well if there are only two willing to be witches. We should tell Grams and your sisters. I'll go tell your sisters, you get Leo to get Grams."

"No, I want to tell Prue and Phoebe. I think that since I brought you here, and I'm sending you back, I should explain to them what I explained to you." Patty nodded her head.

"I understand. You gotta do what you gotta do. If you need any help, I'm here."

"They're my sisters. I'm sure they'll understand." Patty nodded. Her head and sighed as Piper left. She was growing so quickly. All her daughters were, and she wouldn't get a chance to be a part of their lives. "Prue, Phoebe!" Piper called out. "I have something really important to tell you!"

"We're in here!" Prue called back. Piper walked into their room. "So what's up? Where's the fire?"

"Um.. there isn't one. But I have some really important news."

"Well, get on it," Phoebe replied.

"Um, I love mom, and you know that...but I'm ready to be a witch. So, she's going to be going soon."

"WHAT!!! NO! THAT"S NOT FAIR!" Phoebe cried out with tears running down.

"Phoebe, it's okay. You really didn't expect Mom to stay forever...did you? She told us that she would have to leave eventually," Prue informed, but she was crying too. Piper hated doing it, but she had to do the right thing. And it was better to do it now than to wait too long.

"C'mon, Leo's getting Grams. Let's go wait with Mom." Phoebe an Prue followed Piper to the front room. Leo and Grams were patiently waiting for the girls to come out.

"What's the emergency?" Grams asked softly.

"Piper, do you want to tell them, or should I?"

"Could you tell them, telling my sisters was hard enough. I don't want to have to tell them too."

"Patty, what is she talking about?" Grams asked. "Is anyone hurt?"

"No Mom, nothing like that. But, Piper has finally accepted her destiny and who she is." Grams looked proudly at Piper and her daughter. She knew that Patty could help Piper with just a little bit of time.

"I can take it now. I'm not blaming magic for the cause of Mom's death anymore. I understand that now. I love Mom, but it makes sense that this is the right thing to do."

"Why don't we give the girls and Patty some time to say goodbye? I think they should have a chance this time."

"Mom! I'm gonna miss you so much!" Phoebe complained. "It's not fair that you have to go right when I get to know you!"

"I know it's hard, but I have to go." Leo walked into the room.

"They say it's time. You have to go. I'm sorry to cut this short, but they need you back up there." Patty nodded her head. She hugged her daughters and gave them each a kiss on the cheek. The room illuminated with gold light, and Patty ascended into the sky. The girls waved and yelled bye. Soon afterwards, they dried their tears. Prue couldn't take it, she left. Phoebe soon followed, but ended up going a different way. Piper looked over her shoulder.

"It's my fault. We were fine before. If I had just accepted who I am earlier," she retorted. She walked out. Grams started to go after her, but Leo held her back.

"She needs time to think. C'mon, you need to go back to the manor. The girls will want to talk this out by themselves." Grams backed off and she orbed away with Leo.

Piper walked into Harry's room. There she saw Ron and Harry rolling around on the floor. Hermione ran up to her.

"Thank goodness you're here! They've been fighting for about five minutes and they're bound to break something or hurt each other. She tried calling their names, but they didn't budge. She from them, and she and Hermione tried to pry them off each other, but it didn't work. Piper unfroze them and blew up a vase on the dresser. The explosion got the boys' attention. They looked at Hermione, then Piper. She turned around and walked away. Harry ran after her. He could tell that she was upset.

"What's wrong Piper?"

"Nothing," she replied hastily. She started to walk away, he grabbed her arm, but she yanked it away.

"Did I do something wrong?" Harry asked.

"No, you did nothing wrong." She turned around and looked into his eyes. She was crying now. "My mom's gone."

"What do you mean she's gone? She went back to America?" Piper shook her head.

"She's dead. Well...she's been dead for a while."

"How long is a while?"

"Since I was four." Harry raised his eyebrows in surprise. "She was killed by a water demon. Phoebe and I were too young to remember, but Prue wasn't. That's why it was so hard for her. But Grams is able to summon the dead, so we talk to her occasionally. But I was having a lot of issues, so she came back for a while to help settle things. Well, things have been settled, and she's gone now. Only this time, Phoebe and I aren't too young to remember." Harry looked straight into her eyes.

"It's never easy having parents die, even at such a young age. Especially when you're younger because you grow up wondering what would have happened had they lived. I know what it's like. Both of my parents are dead." Piper nodded her head in understanding. "What about your dad? You've never mentioned him before?" Piper sighed.

"It's for a good reason. Our dad left us. I remember, it was my birthday and everything was perfect. That is, until a demon attacked. My dad was furious, but mostly scared. He didn't want to see us die, so he left. Grams and Mom told him to stay away. He hasn't tried to see us since. The last time I saw him was at Mom's funeral."

"But he loves you."

"I don't know that. He's never tried to contact us. No birthday calls, no phone calls, no sneak peeks at school. Nothing. That doesn't amount to much. Oh great, now I'm starting to sound like Prue." Harry didn't know what to say. He lost his parents, but in a very different way than Piper had. He hugged her and kissed her on her forehead. "I gotta go and see if I can find Prue and Phoebe. They left as soon as Mom went back."

Piper searched throughout Diagon Alley, but she couldn't find them anywhere. She returned to their room, and she found her sisters moping around. They looked up as she walked through the door.

"Where have you been?" Prue demanded.

"I've been looking for you two. Where have you two been?"

"Out and about," Prue responded. Piper and Phoebe rolled their eyes.

"I was studying a spell book that I had bought today and I was taking notes on them."

"I bet Grams wished you studied like that for elementary school." They all laughed at the joke. It was good to laugh.

"C'mon now, we shouldn't be this sad!" Prue spoke up. "Mom passed away a long time ago. We moved on once...we can do it again." That really got the girls motivated, and they finished packing and ran down the stairs for dinner.

"I'm so excited about tomorrow!" exclaimed Phoebe.

"Finally, the moment we have been waiting for all summer!" Prue added in.

"A whole year with Harry," Piper sighed to herself. Prue hit her over the head. "Ow! What was that for?"" Piper angrily asked while rubbing her head.

"Just trying to knock some sense into ya!" Prue quipped. Phoebe laughed. This whole Hogwarts school thing was really bringing out the best in her sisters. Even after their mom leaving. They had still managed to make jokes and have fun. It helped bring them together, and Grams had always told them that they were strong as three but even stronger when they were emotionally united.

The next morning was chaos. This time Phoebe was the first person awake. She also got yelled at for trying to wake Prue and Piper up at six in the morning. So, she went downstairs to have a very early breakfast.

"Why up so early?" Tom asked as Phoebe ordered breakfast.

"Just excited I guess," Phoebe responded. He nodded his head in understanding.

"Hogwarts is a wonderful place. Loads of fun. Dumbledore is an excellent headmaster. You'll love the guy. He is the best wizard you'll ever come across. He's the only one You-Know-Who is afraid of."

"No," Phoebe paused. "I don't know who...care to elaborate?" Tom shook his head.

"Nah, I don't like talking about him. His name if frightening to a lot of people, and I'm one of those people. He scares me stiff. You'll find out from braver wizards than me." Phoebe smiled politely and quickly walked away with her breakfast. She stayed downstairs for an hour eating and reading her spell book. She crept back upstairs hoping that she wouldn't wake anyone up. She slowly opened the door and saw Piper and Prue fighting over the bathroom.

"Guess I didn't have to come in quietly," she thought out loud. Prue and Piper turned at the sound of her voice.

"Phoebe! Where have you been? Can you imagine how worried we were when we looked in your bed, and no one was there?" Prue scolded.

"Hey! I tried waking you two up, but you just yelled at me. So, I went down for breakfast."

"Okay, okay. Our bad," Piper replied. "But have you taken a shower yet?"

"Um...no, why?"

"Well, because Prue and I need to take showers, and now you do too."

"How bout oldest foes first?" Prue suggested.

"Oh! So not fair!" Phoebe argued. "I say youngest to oldest." Prue and Phoebe looked at Piper.

"What do you think?" Prue asked.

"Well, no matter which way we go, I'm going to be in the middle. So how about rock paper scissors? " Her two sisters agreed. Phoebe ended up winning, and Prue scowled. By eight o' clock, all the girls had finally taken their showers. By nine they were all ready to go. They all went down for breakfast where they saw nine redheads, Hermione and Harry all eating breakfast. The girls were completely thrown off by how many people were there. Harry turned around, and saw the girl ordering breakfast.

"Hey!" He called out. "Come and meet Ron's family." Harry introduced the girls to Ron's family and they shyly said hi. Mrs. Weasley spoke up.

"Why don't you girls go get your breakfast and eat with us?"

"Thank you for the offer but we want a little bit of privacy. We don't mean to be rude, but our mom is no longer with us, and we need to talk it over. Plus we'll be on our way to Hogwarts, and we need to spend some sisterly time together," Prue responded.

"Of course dears. Something like that requires privacy." The girls got their breakfasts and sat down together.

"She seems quite nice. Mrs. Weasley that is," Piper remarked. "Harry told me she's excellent. If it hadn't been for her, Harry wouldn't have known where to go while at the train station."

"What do you mean?"

"Haven't you ever looked at your ticket?" Piper asked. Prue shook her head. "It says we have to go to platform 9 3/4 ."

"What!?!" Prue responded surprised. "9 ¾? That doesn't sound right. Are you sure it's not a misprint?"

"Positive. Harry told me that uh...we kind of have to walk through a wall." Phoebe and Prue cracked up.

"Walking through a wall? Ya, that'll be the day," Phoebe said still laughing." Phoebe looked up at piper who had a straight face on. "Oh, you-you're serious?" Piper nodded her head. "We really do have to walk through a brick wall." Piper nodded her head once again.

"We walk through a wall?" Prue remarked still in shock.

"You know Prue, you can say that as many times as you want, but it's still going to be the same answer." Prue glared at her.

Ron glared at the sisters. "They don't look like they're grieving. I mean, they're sitting there, laughing. Probably at us."

"Ron, what are you talking about?" Harry asked.

"I'll tell you what I'm talking about. They said they needed some quality time together...to grieve over their mother. Ha! Doesn't look like it." His mother gave him a cold stare. "I'm serious! They're sitting there laughing. I bet they just didn't want to sit with us. Those little..." Hermione was shocked, and Harry was angry.

"RONALD WEASLEY!" Harry snapped. "You better watch yourself! You talk about then like that again and you'll be sorry! You can count on that!" Harry stormed off up to his room. The Weasleys and Hermione just stared at Ron. He left the table and went up to his room.

"That's not like Ron," Bill said. Charlie nodded his head. 10 minutes later, it was time to leave. By 10:45, they had reached the train station. -~-

Prue looked around.

"I guess we really do have to walk through a wall." Piper never rubbed it in their face, she just nodded her head. Bill, Charlie and Fred were already gone. George was just getting ready to go. Phoebe, Prue, and Piper watched in amazement as he walked through the wall. Harry walked up to the girls. He grinned when he saw the look and shock on the girl's faces.

"I remember the first time I was here. I was so confused. But don't worry. Running is a lot easier than walking. Come on, I'll carry your bags, and you can just run through."

"Just run through?" Phoebe questioned. Harry nodded his head. "Okay, who's first?" by the time she finished her question, Prue was running and Piper was going after her. Phoebe rolled her eyes. "Oh great. Never mind that question." She took a deep breath and tan through the barrier. When she reached the brick, she closed her eyes expecting a head-on collision, but there was none, and she ran into Piper who fell on Prue from the impact. When Harry appeared from behind, he couldn't help but laugh.

"What happened?" He asked still laughing.

"Phoebe happened. She ran into us," Piper answered. "And are you making fun of us?" Harry shook his head. Harry offered his hand to help the girls up. They all grabbed his hand at once, and they pulled him down. Now it was the girls who were laughing.

"Ya ya, laugh it up!"

"Don't worry, I am," Piper responded. Harry smiled at her, and she smiled back.

"Come on you two love birds," Prue called out. Piper and Harry blushed. They climbed onto the train and found two empty compartments next to each other. Piper, Prue and Phoebe took one compartment, and Harry took the other one and was joined by Ron and Hermione.

"Hey Harry!" Ron said brightly. Harry just glared at him. "What's wrong Harry?"

"You know what's wrong," Harry spat.

"I swear Harry, I don't know"

"You honestly don't know?" questioned Hermione.

"I swear! I have no idea what Harry's talking about," Ron protested.

"You maliciously degraded my girlfriend this morning during breakfast," Harry angrily informed a very stunned and confused Ron.

"I-I-I did? I d-don't re-remember!" Ron stuttered. "Harry! You gotta believe me!" He desperately cried.

"Uh, Ron. You're being a little over-dramatic," Hermione pointed out.

"Well, when it comes to one of my best friends not believing me, I think I have a right to over-react just a little." Harry cocked his eyebrow. It was possible that maybe Ron was just a little jealous and he never meant to explode. Maybe he chose to forget it because he never meant to get so angry. It didn't mean he forgot, but he was actually trying to forget about what had happened.

"It's okay Ron. You probably got a little jealous, and I can understand. I haven't really hung out with you guys a lot, and I'm sorry about that." Ron opened his mouth to protest, but Hermione shook her head.

"Thanks for understanding Harry," Ron said changing his response. "I guess I have been jealous. I shouldn't have blown up." Ron's statement was true. He had been a little jealous, and he shouldn't have blown up. He just didn't remember any of it. Ron grinned, and Harry grinned back. Hermione smile. Things would go back to being normal, and the argument hadn't lasted very long. -~-

"Hey Piper, you look a little nervous," Phoebe noticed.

"I am. And not a little, a lot." There was a knock at the door. It was Ron, Harry, and Hermione. Harry looked at Piper in concern.

"You don't look too good Piper," he pointed out.

"She's a little nervous," Prue informed him.

"There's no reason for you to be nervous," he comforted. "You'll be with all of us. And you're gonna make lots of friends."

"I know. But still, it's still hard. I mean, it was always all right at school cause everyone knew each other. And some of my friends and I were going to be going to the same school."

"Don't worry about it. You already have friends." Piper smiled at Harry and relaxed a little.

"When do we get there?" Prue questioned.

"About nine hours," Hermione answered. Prue groaned.

"Nine hours? Ugh!!! What's there to do in nine hours?"

"Don't worry. The time tends to go by quickly," Ron assured them. "And you get food too. It's great!"

"Do they serve dinner on this train?" Phoebe asked. Ron shook his head.

"They only have snacks, but they're really good."

"And don't worry, there'll be a huge feast when we get to Hogwarts," Harry explained.

"I think there's someone at the door," Phoebe stated after hearing a light tapping noise. They turned to face the door as it was opening. There stood a white-haired guy with two large guys right behind him.

"Hello ladies," he drawled. "I'm Draco Malfoy." He looked around and saw Harry, Hermione, and Ron. "I see you've already met Potter and his friends. That means you should've already heard some pretty nasty stories about me. Don't take their word though, you'll have to get to know me on your own." He smiled and winked at Prue. She instantly blushed. She couldn't believe she was blushing! She was always the one in total control over guys, but she felt like she was melting under his stare. "Is it correct to assume that you are the Charmed Ones?"
"Yes we are!" Prue haughtily replied. Draco smiled. Finally, a fiery girl! He liked her right away!

"And what are your names?" They told him, and Prue finished with an icy voice. "Prue, that's short for Prudence, is it not?" She reluctantly nodded he head.

"I don't mean to be rude Draco, but could we some times to ourselves?" Phoebe piped up. Draco turned to face the youngest sister. He had forgotten there were other people in the room.

"Of course. My deepest apologies," he lingered his last word. He took each of the girls' hands, gave each a quick peck and left the room, his two friends trailing behind. -~-

The girls managed to survive the train ride and the embarrassing part of being sorted to their houses. They were obviously placed in Gryffindor. Hufflepuff grumbled how Gryffindor always got the good people (i.e. Harry Potter) but they were still happy with the new people they received.

"This is a lot of food," Phoebe observed.

"Well there are a lot of people," a Gryffindor replied. Prue looked over at the Slytherin table and spotted Draco. "So when do we get to see your powers?" he asked a little exited. "I don't mean to sound rude. Seamus Finnigan's the name."

"I'm Prue, and these are my sisters Piper and Phoebe. But I'm sure you already knew that." Prue went back to catching glances of Draco. Seamus caught her.

"He's not the type of guy you want to get mixed up with. He seems charming to a lot of girls, but he's an evil person. Almost everyone in that house is. Wouldn't surprise me if he's already slept with a few girls. He' actually got a girlfriend right now." Prue scrunched up her nose.

"Don't worry about me, I already hate the guy. He's a total jerk," she answered as she glared at him. If he was going to play games with her, she would just have to play along. Right as Draco was about to take a bit out of his food, she flicked her fingers, and his fork flew a few feet away. A few people giggled, but Draco just scowled. He picked up his fork and was about to sit down, when Prue concentrated on his chair, and it slid back a few inches. He fell down, and no one could contain their laughter. He was furious, but he continued to ignore people. Even his table was laughing. Before he could take a drink of his water, it was dumped all over him. His plate started to levitate. All of a sudden, everything stopped except for the Charmed Ones.

"Prue, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Piper asked. "You're embarrassing the poor guy!"

"I'm just having a bit of fun," Prue argued. "He embarrassed us!"

"Doesn't mean that you have to do this to him," Phoebe argued back joining in. Prue threw her hands up in the air.

"Fine! I won't do anything!" Prue put down the plate, but spread a little bit of food on his face and giggled. They ran back to their seats and sat down just as time unfroze. Draco expected the food to come crashing down, but nothing happened. He realized that there was already some food on his face. He grabbed his napkin and wiped his face clean. He looked around at everyone laughing. The Gryffindor were the first to figure out what had happened. They were commending the sisters. Draco clenched his fist and glared at them. Prue just smiled and winked. A feeling of warmth spread throughout his body. He was embarrassed beyond belief, but for some reason he didn't mind being teased by Prue. All of a sudden he felt an arm on his shoulder. It was his girlfriend.

"Don't worry, we'll get the witch."

"No. We'll leave her alone." Angela, his girlfriend, was surprised. She noticed Draco's puppy dog eyes and realized he had a crush on the older sister. She would take care of the sister, and then the rest of them. -~-

Their first day was gruesome. Everything kept switching. Finally Piper got the sense to freeze the stairs before they started moving too far. They also managed to get lost. They day finally ended.

"This is worse than any high school," Prue, said exhausted.

"I don't want to do my homework," Piper complained.

"But we gotta," Phoebe answered. They finished their homework and went to sleep. The weeks flew by. Soon it was Halloween. Prue's favorite class was Transfiguration. Phoebe's was Defense Against Dark Arts, and Piper's was Potions. She excelled in the class. One day while in class, Snape was teaching them how to make a complex sleeping potion.

"You will need to use two hairs of a wolf, a layer of skin of a frog, and the feather of a dove," Snape announced. He went on naming ingredients when Piper rose her hand. "Ms. Halliwell," he called on her icily.

"Sir, I do believe it would be easier if you use a ginger root, the nectar of a Magnolia, and mix them together with bay leaves and ginger and put them into some jasmine tea, I assure you, the results will be considerably better,"

"Very interesting. 10 points for Gryffindor for having such a smart student," he grumbled. There were gasps across the room. Snape was always taking away points, not giving them. He hated admitting that Piper was excellent, but he had no choice. She was talented. -~-

When Harry walked out of his Divination class, he noticed a crowd in the Great Hall. At first he thought someone was hurt and raced over.

"What happened?" he asked Dean.

"You'll never believe what happened Harry! Your girlfriend earned 10 points for Gryffindor...from Snape!"

"No way! He'd never do that!"

"Apparently he did!"

"Looks like you've got some competition there Harry>" Harry spun around and saw Malfoy grinning at him." Oh the Great Harry Potter suddenly stops being so famous."

"Shut up Malfoy."

"Upset are we? Jealous? Jealous of your girlfriend and her sister?" Prue walked up behind them and put a hand on each of their shoulders.

"Is there a problem here boys? Hope you're not fighting over my sister." Malfoy turned around. Prue smiled and winked. Malfoy grinned and walked away from the crowd.