Ashes To Ashes (Charmed) *Chris/OC*

02. A Ray of Hope

Their unique circle of witches and Darklighter reappeared in the conservatory of Halliwell Manor. Blake actually had to squint to adjust her eyes to the sheer sunlight that was pouring in through the large open windows. This house was the exact opposite of her own. Everything was bright and open. The walls and furniture were stark white, yet everything was still kept clean and tidy. Blake couldn't help but wonder how much money this family must have behind them.

"So I've got a question," said Phoebe, breaking Blake out of her almost reverie. "How come you didn't freeze under Piper's power earlier?"

Blake regarded her uncertainly. "What do you mean?"

"The pot that you threw at us," Piper explained. "When I froze it, you should have frozen too."

"Oh. I'm sorry, I don't know," Blake confessed. "I've never met anyone with a power like that before."

"It was strange," Paige agreed. "It's worked on every other Darklighter we've come across."

"Oh, well, I..." Blake hesitated, unsure of how much she should share about herself. But the sisters were all watching her now curiously. And she couldn't deny that they'd given her the benefit of the doubt when nobody else would have. "I'm not actually a full Darklighter... My mom was a witch. Maybe that's why?"

"You're right. My power doesn't work on witches," Piper confirmed, suddenly sounding more interested. She sank onto one of the couches and gestured for Blake to do the same. "That also makes sense why you're not like other Darklighters. You must follow your witch side."

Blake shrugged and awkwardly perched herself on the edge of an armchair, very aware of the pristine piece of furniture beneath her dusty clothes. "I guess so. I don't really follow my mom in particular though. She wasn't a very good witch..."

"What was her name?" Phoebe asked, just as interested as Piper.

"Patience Wicker."

"Huh, another P," Paige commented.

"Not one I've heard of though," said Piper. "I guess there are still lines of witches that we don't know about... Do you remember your grandmother?"

Blake shook her head. "I never met her, but her name was Priscilla... Tracey, I think?"

"Hmm... I can't say I've heard of her either, but it's definitely the same pattern," Piper mused.

"Pattern?" Blake repeated, making it a question.

"Family tradition," Phoebe explained. "Every girl in our family has a name beginning with P."

"Oh..." Blake then realised what that meant they were considering. "Wait, you think we might be related?"

"It's a possibility," said Piper. "A lot of witches are related to one another somewhere down the line - that's probably how the magic stays strong. But the ones in your family don't sound familiar."

"Do you know of anyone further back?" Paige asked.

Blake frowned in concentration, trying to remember the old forgotten family tree that she'd found amongst her mother's things as a child. She'd certainly looked at it enough in the past, wondering if there had ever been any good witches somewhere back along her ancestry. "I don't know the first name of my great-grandmother... All that was written on our family tree was P. Bowen."

"Bowen?" Phoebe echoed, the name finally striking a chord of familiarity. "Hey, that was Prue's name in the past!"

"But according to our family tree, P. Bowen never married," Piper pointed out.