Matilda, Child of Fire

TFB: Of Fantasy & Football

30 TFB: Of Fantasy & Football

"Home is a fire/A burning reminder/Of where we belong..."

-Death Cab for Cutie, song "Home is a Fire"

Noon, Saturday, March 2046, Living Room, Vera Manor, Seattle, Washington

"It is time this Vera-Valensi-Chase-Halliwell meeting came to order," Harry called out at the throng of magical folk seated in the living room's velveteen couches before him.

"Wyatt," Leo called out. "You forgot 'Wyatt.'"

"My apologies," spoke Harry again. "Vera-Valensi-Chase-Halliwell-Wyatt."

Fourteen people were in attendance—the Halliwells, plus the Vera clan (except Abigael and Tory), and Valensi descendants (save Maya and Henry). Maya was wrapping up her clinical research rotations at Columbia, Henry didn't have magical powers and was busy lecturing, Tory was in the middle of law school final exams, and Abigael was...Abigael, attending monster board meetings, literally speaking. Morgana and Matias couldn't risk traveling due to old age (a century and counting).

"We're here," Matilda chimed in, "to figure out how to leverage our shared power to defeat the Portender and his fire spawn, once and for all," as everyone nodded in understanding—except one.

"There's nothing you can do. It'll find us, and when it does, we're all dead," muttered Maggie morosely as Harry and Matilda glanced in her general direction.

"Well, you're just a ray of sunshine now, aren't ya!" Piper shot back, from the opposite couch where she, her sisters, her husband, and grandson Wyatt were. "We didn't orb all the way from California for that defeatist attitude—"

"We kick evil's ass every day," said Paige, sipping her glass of sparkling water.

"Sometimes twice a day," added Phoebe confidently. "We can totally do this!"

12:20 pm, Living Room, Vera Manor, Seattle, Washington

"This is a diagram of all known powers, plus a battle draft," began Jordan, who took his turn at the helm.

"Wait, isn't that your fantasy football board?" Maggie asked, somewhat skeptically, eyeing the tournament brackets of the left half of Jordan's dry erase board, the right side completely blank.

"Yeah, but lemme get to it," he answered as he began writing on the right side. "For purposes of combat, we have Wyatt's family—Piper, Phoebe, Paige. We also have Matilda's family—Macy, Harry, Maggie, Jordan, Mel, and Abigael," writing a "(?)" question mark next to Abigael's name, as nobody was certain whether she would show up to fight, due to whatever pacts she was currently negotiating.

"Wait, what about me?" Leo asked. "I can fight too—"

"True," replied Jordan, "but from what Harry and I understand of your family and ours, we gotta keep our families safe too. We want you and Mel's daughter Tory to stand guard over Matias and Morgana at Epicenter Pico No. 22 on the day of in case any fire spawn attack or try to hold them hostage."

"Ok," said Leo slowly. "Where exactly is this 'Epicenter Pico'?"

"The Azores Islands," Harry answered casually, as Leo's mouth dropped open.

"Seriously?" he breathed. "Awesome!"

Piper shot Leo an exasperated look. "Lemme get this straight, Harry, my husband's going on a tropical vacation while we fight to the death? That doesn't sound fair—"

"Fair? Hardly," admitted Harry, much to Piper's surprise, who expected more hedging. "Equitable though? Absolutely."

Piper sighed. "Fine."