Piper Halliwell

"You're the heart of this family, Piper."

- Patty to Piper on how she sees her.

Piper Halliwell is the eldest sister of the Charmed Ones after the death of her older sister, Prue. She is the wife of Leo Wyatt and is the mother of their three children; Wyatt, Chris, and Melinda Halliwell. Piper is viewed as the main character of Charmed and is considered to be the most powerful of the Charmed Ones.

Early Life
Piper was born on June 7th, 1973 to Patty Halliwell and Victor Bennett. On march 24th, 1975 she was visited by her future self who together with the future selves of her older and younger sisters tried to unbind the bond that her mother had made with the warlock Nicholas. She promised him the powers of her daughters and had granted him immunity from those powers by blessing his ring.

In November 1975, Piper and her older sister Prue Halliwell welcomed their little sister Phoebe Halliwell onto the world. Not long after her birth, their grands, Penny bound their powers in order to keep them save from Nicholas. To reassure their safety and raise them as normal children, Penny made them forget about magic and erased all magic-related memories.

In her teen years, Piper didn't quite know where she fit in, according to Prue she was like the Jan Brady. An old classmate of hers also recalled that Piper liked to sit in the back of the class, drawing on her jeans.

Becoming a Charmed One


"I hate being a witch."

- Piper to her youngest sister, Phoebe.

On October 7th, 1998, Piper's youngest sister, Phoebe Halliwell returned from New York after spending six moths there. On that night, Phoebe had cast a spell that reawakened the powers of the three sisters that were bound by their grams when they were young.

Both Prue and Piper did not believe Phoebe when she told them that they were witches. However, soon after Piper discovered that she had the power to freeze time as she initially thought, freezing Chef Moore during her job interview and believed her youngest sister.

At first, Piper was confused and hated being a witch. Not sure from where her powers came or if she was truly a good being, she tried to keep the magic down. However, she couldn't fully control her power and often froze the scene when she began to panic.

Phoebe convinced her that Piper was good, since she was the most caring person Phoebe knew. Piper, still not sure if she was truly good, went to a local church. As she stepped inside, she was convinced that she good as she was not struck by lightning.

Quitting Quake and Opening P3


"I owe it all to Joanne. She made me realize that somehow I had forgotten what my dreams were, still are. I always wanted to be a chef and have my own restaurant not manage one. It's a good job and the pay's okay but it's not my dream job."

- Piper deciding to quite her job at Quake.

At Quake, Piper constantly had to work in double shifts. She was unhappy with her job and the lousy boss she had, which is why she decided to quit and pursue her life long dream of owning her own restaurant.

However, opening a restaurant would be too risky and thus Piper opted for a nightclub instead. She had set her sight on a building formerly know as "The Industrial Zone". Prue claimed it was a great place, saying that she often used to go to that club after work.

With the help of her sisters, Piper got a loan and bought the club. She named it P3 which stands for "The Power of Three" as well as for herself and her sisters; Prue, Piper and Phoebe. Though some say they thought it was the name of a parking level.

P3 had a rough start. The first few nights didn't attract many people and Piper was already in the red. Prue had already contacted someone from the bank to help pay off the loan. However, when Leo Wyatt had put a spell on Jeff Carlton, who was the manager of a popular rock-band called Dishwalla, the club was put on the map.

The club became the place-to-be in San Francisco and was the biggest source of income after Prue had quitted her job at Bucklands. It was also the place where the sisters would go to after they had fought another demon. Piper tried hard to keep P3 demon free, and she succeeded very well.

Prue's Death and Accepting Paige
"Tell her, Piper. It's all right to hate her. You should hate her! When my parents died, I hated them for it. I was alone, and I hated them. It is okay to hate Prue."

- Paige to a raged Piper, to break her down to let out her true emotions.

On May 17th, 2001, Piper's elder sister, Prue Halliwell was killed in battle by the demon Shax. The sudden loss of their sister was devastating for Piper and Phoebe, but it had hit Piper harder. Her emotional rage caused her to act reckless towards demons and got herself turned into a fury.

After Prue's funeral, the two sisters find out that they have a half-sister named Paige.

Piper has trouble accepting Paige as her sister. When she was turned into a fury, Paige caused Piper to breakdown and reveal how she felt about Prue's death. Finally revealing her true emotions, Piper turned normal could start to mourn Prue and accept Paige as her sister.

Piper had baked muffins for Paige and brought them to her at South Bay Social Services, where Paige worked. When Piper was a fury, she had scratched Paige in the neck and thus wanted to apologize.

Phoebe Becomes the Queen of the Underworld


"Phoebe, you're evil. You're like the queen of all evil, literally."

- Piper to Phoebe Halliwell.

Cole Turner tricked Phoebe Halliwell in marrying him through a Dark Binding, not knowing that Cole had become the Source of All Evil. Paige and Piper had figured this out and wanted to confronted Phoebe with this. However, Phoebe had a bigger surprise for them; she was pregnant. When she found out the truth through a premonition, she was in shock, however, the Seer convinced her to become the Queen of the Underworld.

Convinced that it was impossible to turn her good again, Piper prepared potions to vanquish Phoebe. Leo and Paige tried to convince her that Phoebe still had good in her, but Piper was stubborn and didn't listen. She had lost a sister again and would rather see Phoebe dead then as the Queen of the Underworld and thus all evil.

Feeling helpless, Piper turned to alcohol and drunk herself unconscious. Paige was able to wake her up and convince that Phoebe could still be saved, and still turn good, as she had seen signs of goodness in Phoebe.

Figuring out that vanquishing Cole could turn Phoebe back, Piper, Paige and Leo went to their penthouse and confronted Cole. Right at the moment where Cole was about to kill her sisters, Phoebe interrupted. She joined her sisters and vanquished Cole.

Phoebe was still pregnant, however, and the baby began taking over Phoebe. Piper tried to bind its powers but the baby kept defending itself and it's mother. The Seer was able to steal the baby and crowned herself as Source of All Evil. She, together with the infernal council members were ultimately vanquished by the sisters, after which life returned to normal.

The Birth of Wyatt Halliwell


After many failed attempts to get pregnant, Piper and Leo managed to get pregnant. The pregnancy was not easy. Aside from the problems of a mortal pregnancy, Piper's powers became uncontrollable and she often burped orbs. This was all caused by the growing powers of the baby she was carrying, who also swapped the powers of his parents when they had a fight, so that they could walk a mile in each others shoes.

Both the sisters, Leo and even Darryl decided it was best for Piper if she would stay out of demon fighting. That way the baby wouldn't be hurt. However, the baby proofed to be able to defend himself and his mother from the womb by using a protection shield and healing wounds. Piper became invincible.

Invincible as she temporary was, Piper was still vulnerable for diseases. During her third trimester, Piper was diagnosed with Toxemia. The doctor says the treatment involves a no-salt diet, no stress and lots of bed rest for the rest of her pregnancy.

The next day, Phoebe, Paige and Leo discover that magic has disappeared from the world. As it turns out, a prophecy made long ago is about to come true; the birth of the Twice-Blessed Child.

Piper gave birth to her son, Wyatt Halliwell, on the dining room table on the same night. Wyatt came in a swirl of orbs, much to the surprise of everyone. However, everyone was under the impression that Piper and Leo's child would be a girl, and thus it was an even bigger surprise to see Mr. Winkie between the legs, as Phoebe had put it.

Breaking Up With Leo Wyatt
Piper and Leo temporarily broke up when Leo became an Elder. He was forced by the other Elders to stay in the Heavens. When they hugged, Leo used one of his new Elder powers to take Piper's pain away, making it easier for her to accept a life without him. He would lower the effects of this power each day until it would finally wore off.

However, Chris had sent Leo to Valhalla making him unable to lower the effects of the power. As a result, Piper became an over-happily woman who was happy with every little thing in life and always had a big smile on her face.

Phoebe and Paige had no clue of what Leo had done and tried to find a way to turn her into her normal self. Paige had cast a Memory Spell on Piper, hoping that she would turn normal again, instead, it erased all off Piper's memory. She still was an over-happily woman, but she had no clue who she was and where she was or even that she was a witch.

Some time later, when the sisters could free Leo, Piper's memory came back and the power that Leo had used on here wore off when she saw him. Phoebe felt her pain with her newly gained Empathy power and began punching Leo.

Back in San Francisco, Piper and Leo decided that it was best that Leo moved out of the manor. He was still allowed to come over and spend time with Wyatt. This proved to be rather difficult for Leo.

The Birth of Chris Halliwell


Chris was conceived when Piper and Leo were trapped in Limbo by a Darklighter. Although she and Leo had no idea that Chris was their son, Phoebe and Paige both had already found out.

They had kept it secret from Piper until they knew that she was finally pregnant. When they told Piper, the sisters decided to keep it secret from Leo. According to Piper it would make things way to difficult for her and Leo if he knew. A few weeks later, when Piper and Chris were attacked by the Spider Demon, Phoebe and Paige had to tell Leo.

The pregnancy, like Wyatt's, didn't go smoothly. Piper lost a lot of blood and could die during the birth, but the doctors could save her and Chris. In the meanwhile, adult Chris had died. He was killed by Gideon whilst protecting his younger brother Wyatt.

Temporary Retirement from being a Charmed One


After vanquishing one of their biggest foes, Zankou, Piper and her sisters decided to retire from magic. They took on the appearances of three other women and also gave Leo another appearance. They faked their deaths and had Victor temporarily move into the manor.

After their funeral, Victor tells them that the constant changes of appearances confuses both him and the children. That is why Phoebe decides that the sisters should chose one appearance and make it a permanent one by the use of a spell. Piper chooses the look of a blonde, which Leo likes a lot.

The sisters and Leo also change identities, becoming the cousins of their father Victor. Piper is now known as Jenny Bennett and Leo as Louis, her husband.

The Ultimate Battle


When Christy Jenkins had turned her sister, Billie, as well as the whole magical community against the sisters, making them believe they didn't care for anything else but themselves anymore, Piper and her sisters were banished to the Underworld. They were able to go to Phoebe condo and prepare themselves to battle the Jenkins'.

Their first encounter with the two Jenkins' occurred in the manor. Both the Halliwell's as the Jenkins' had prepared potions of the same strength. When the potion bottles collided, it created an epic explosion that blasted the Jenkins' through the banister of the stairs, hurting Christy and the Halliwell's through the windows of the sunroom, knocking Piper unconscious.

Paige orbed her sisters back to the condo where two demons, Nomed and Zohar awaited them. The two demons had a proposition: the sisters should summon the Hollow and let it infect them after which they would collect the powers of the Triad and then kill Billie and Christy. Everything went according to plan but it killed Phoebe and Paige as well as Christy. Angered, Piper began punching Billie who was still alive.

Saving Phoebe and Paige


"But if you lend me your ring, I think I can go back in time and save her. It can do that, right? I mean, you can go back in time."

- Piper to Coop, planning on saving her sisters.

With the help of Coop's ring, Piper travelled back in time with Leo to 1975. Although Piper wanted to go back to Phoebe right before the Ultimate Battle, she travelled back to the moment of her conception. She and Leo appeared right into the living room of her mother and father, Patty and Victor.

Patty joins Piper and Leo and travels to 2050. Again, Piper arrived in another time then she intended. She wanted to travel to her Grams in 1975 but instead travelled to the time where she herself was a grandmother. Piper and Leo's future selves advised the three on how they could save Phoebe and Paige. By returning the Hollow back to it's contained before the whole manor exploded, they can save them.

Figuring that the Power of Three would be needed to return the Hollow. Piper, Patty and Leo got Grams. The four travelled back to 2006. Right on the moment that they arrive, the Charmed Ones and the Jenkins' start battle. Piper, Patty and Penny successfully pull the Hollow out of the five woman. Time adjusts itself to it's new future and Piper flashes into her past self becoming her present self again. Phoebe and Paige are saved, alive again. Not long after, the Charmed Ones and Billie are able to kill The Triad and Christy and return Patty and Penny safely to their own time again.

Later Life
"Which is why we’ve truly been Charmed."

- Piper reading her entry to her granddaughter.

By the year 2050, Piper and Leo live a happy and healthy live in the manor. Piper still has possession of the Book of Shadows and reads from it to her nine grandchildren until she is tired and needs to rest. She still appears with long hair, though it has become completely grey.

The magical lives of Piper and her sisters as the Charmed Ones, is written in the history books of Magic School as well as their own Book of Shadows, which has grown thicker by the time they are 80.

Powers and Abilities

 * Basic Powers
 * Spell Casting: The ability to cast spells and perform rituals.
 * Potion making: The ability to brew potions. One of Piper's finest skills.
 * Scrying: The ability to scry for a person or object by the use of a scrying crystal and a map.


 * Active Powers
 * Molecular Immobilization: The ability to slow molecules down to the point that they freeze. This is Piper's primary power which she channels through her hands.
 * Molecular Combustion: The ability to speed up molecules to the point that they combust. Piper gained this power two years after the reawakening of the Charmed Ones. It is considered Piper's strongest and most used power.
 * Molecular Acceleration: The ability to reverberate molecules at a speed which causes them to become disordered, resulting in the liquefaction of solid objects and is often reffered to simply as melting. Piper gained this ability in 2008 when she wanted to blow up the Source of All Evil in the form of a Golem.


 * Other Powers
 * The Power of Three: The collective power of Piper and her sisters which enhances their powers.
 * High Resistance: This power is only active when Piper is in unity with her sisters. This power causes her to be resistant to powers such as Fire balls and other lethal powers.
 * Agility: The ability that provides the user with great skill in the material arts.
 * Temporary Powers: Powers that Piper temporarily gained when she was transformed into or swapped powers with other beings.

Forbidden Love


"Whitelighters and Witches aren't allowed to fall in love. It's like humans and angels aren't ... but I did. I fell in love with Piper."

- Leo to Phoebe about Piper.

Piper's longest and permanent relationship was with Leo Wyatt. She met Leo for the first time when he came to the sisters as a handyman. While he actually served as the Charmed Ones' Whitelighter, Leo was forbidden to have any romantic relationships with his charges. Leo eventually revealed himself as the sisters' Whitelighter when he was shot by a Darklighter. When Leo was healed, he broke up with Piper so that he would not be punished for their relationship by his bosses.

The year afterwards, Piper had a relationship with next door neighbor, Dan Gordon. However, Piper still had feelings for Leo, for which he kept fighting for. Finally being able to win Piper for him, Leo took Piper to the Heavens to present her to his bosses.

A month later the couple returned back to earth, not noticing they had spent a month up there. It was revealed that they had to break up or else Leo would be reassigned to other witches. It was then that Leo proposed to Piper, saying that a marriage was the only way to be with each other as it could not be undone by the Elders.

Marrying Leo


"Heart to thee, body to thee, always and forever, so mote it be!"

- Piper and Leo during their Handfasting.

After a long struggle, Piper was finally able to wed Leo through a Handfasting. Two years later, the couple was pregnant of their first child, Wyatt Matthew Halliwell. Not long after the birth of their first son, Leo became an Elder and was not allowed to stay on earth any longer. This caused Piper and Leo to break up and almost divorce.

During their time apart, they spend a brief, intimate moment in which they conceived their second son, Chris Halliwell. Not long after the birth of Chris, Piper let Leo back into her live and became a couple again. A few months later, Leo fell from grace and became mortal.



Leo's Death
"The loss, the pain will motivate you, all of you to fight, without which you will have no chance to prevail."

- An Angel of Destiny explains why Leo must died.

Not a year later, Leo was taken by an Angel of Destiny. His death would give the sisters more strength to battle whomever they had to fight in the Ultimate Battle. During his absence, Piper began to film simple household chores and her sons playing with toys, so that she could watch with Leo after he returned.

Eventually, when the Ultimate Battle was over, Leo was brought back to Piper and his sons. A year later the couple welcomed their third child, and first daughter onto the world, Melinda Halliwell.

Later Life
Many years later, in the 2050, Piper and Leo are still together and living a happy, healthy life. They have nine grandchildren which they take care for when their parents are working or fighting evil.

Other Relationships

 * Jeremy Burns: Piper first met Jeremy at a San Francisco hospital when grams was admitted for a heart attack. He had left her his number on a napkin, which he had given to her when she was crying in the cafeteria. A few weeks later, when grams died Phoebe left the manor for New York. Six months later she returns and reawakens the powers of her and her sisters. Not long after Jeremy revealed his true self, a warlock who wanted to steal her powers and those of her sisters. He was ultimately vanquished by the sisters when using the Power of Three Spell. A year later, he was bought back to life by Abraxas, and attacked Piper's banker boyfriend Rob, which caused her loan application for P3 denied.


 * Mark Chao: A young Chinese-American college student killed and incinerated in a gang robbery. Mark's ghost form appealed to the sisters to save his soul, by giving him a proper burial, from the soul collector Yama. They both shared a big passion for food and cooking and coincidentally both had jobs which had nothing to do with cooking since those earned more. Mark gave Piper the old chinese recipe's from his father before moving on. Piper attended Mark's funeral and saw him going into the afterlife with his father.


 * Jack Manford: Jack was a regular customer at Quake restaurant. Piper and Phoebe had cast a love spell which caused Jack to be attracted to Piper. Surprised, Piper tries to turn him off her by talking about her supposed tattoos and piercings, which only encourages him further. Piper realizes the love spell only conjures lust, and that love is something special between two people, something that cannot be conjured. After the love spell got out of hand, it was reversed and Jack had no recollection of the event.


 * Josh: After Leo departs (upon Phoebe's discovery about Leo's powers) she meets an arts graduate student named Josh and subsequently fight over a bottle of wine. Piper for her meal she was preparing for Prue's boss and her two guests, one of whom turned out to be Josh who, after succeeding in buying the bottle, bought it to the house as a gift. Despite not letting go of Leo, a cautious Piper begins to date him. After three dates, combined with Piper's love for Leo and Josh receiving a job offer in Beverly Hills. Piper encourages him to take the job, thus ending the relationship.


 * Rob: In a move unusual of her character, Piper tries to sleep with a banker Rob in order to obtain a loan so she could buy the property that would later become P3. Despite having reservations, he was about to approve the application when the resurrected ex-boyfriend Jeremy returns to try and kill Piper. Rob got attacked in the process and subsequently declines the application, leaving Prue and Phoebe to mortgage the house so Piper could live her intermediate dream.


 * Dan Gordon: While Piper and Leo were separated Piper sought out a normal relationship with a mortal, her next door neighbor and former baseball player Dan Gordon. Although it started out well, the relationship began to fritter away when she blurts out Leo's name after he saved her from dying of Oroya Fever. During their entire relationship, Dan remained oblivious to the fact that Piper was a witch, despite encountering many close shaves. He eventually learnt the truth, he proved unable to handle the secret. Piper, with the help of a genie, had the information removed from Dan, but not before causing him to age uncontrollably. Eventually the pair ended their relationship.


 * Brett and Ryan: When Piper and Leo split up, she tried dating other men. Both Brett and Ryan were quite taken with Piper, but were immediately scared away by Wyatt using his powers behind Piper's back. This lead Piper to believe that her dates don't like children. When Wyatt tries his trick on Richard Montana, a male witch who Wyatt believed Piper was dating, Piper discovered it was Wyatt's magic that scared them away so that Piper would not date any other men.


 * Greg: Piper and Greg's relationship was the longest relationship after her marriage. The relationship ended after Chris fooled Greg into believing Piper and Leo were still together by showing them "sleeping" together (due to his wish being granted by Phoebe). In 2006, while Leo was still encased in ice, Piper and Greg literally collide with each other. Noticing Leo was absent, Greg tried to rebond with Piper. However, Piper turned him down as she was still holding onto hope of Leo returning after the Ultimate Battle.


 * David Right: After an epiphany caused Piper to swear off men. Paige and Phoebe decided to create the perfect man for her on her birthday - with a few of their personal preferences as well. An initially unhappy Piper comes round to adore him but after Chris manipulates David for his own gain (to try and convince the sisters to bind Wyatt's powers), all the sisters swoon over him, resulting in a food fight. Before vanishing at the stroke of midnight, David tells Piper not to give up on love.

Professional Life

 * Bank: Before working at Quake, Piper had a job as a banker. Much to her grandmother's dismay, Piper did not want to work as a chef at a restaurant since a job as banker earned more, and the family could use all the money they could get.


 * Quake: After the death of her grandmother, Piper wanted to honor her dream and applied for a job as chef at Quake. However, she was hired as restaurant manager when the current chef, Chef Moore had left for a job in France. Constantly working double shifts, and having a lousy boss, Piper was unhappy with her job. A year later, Piper was reminded of her life long dream of owning her own restaurant by an old classmate, Joanne Hertz. Piper decided to quit and pursued her dream.


 * P3: After quitting at Quake, Piper intended to open her own restaurant. However, the risks were to high to take and thus Piper decided to open a nightclub. With the help of her sisters, Piper opened P3 which quickly became San Francisco's hottest nightclub after Dishwalla had put P3 on the map. Though the club struggled a few times, the club did well and was the biggest source of income for the sisters. P3 became the place where the sisters would spend a relaxing night after all the demon fighting and thus was one of the places Piper wanted to keep demon free, however, demons have been battles and vanquished there on occasion.


 * Restaurant: Nine years after opening P3, Piper decided to sell the nightclub and finally open the restaurant she had always dreamed of owning. Finding the right location proofed to be difficult, much to the annoyance of her realtor. Finally, after visiting more then five different locations, Piper found the right place and began to get everything for the restaurant in order.

Personality
"Piper, listen to me. You are the most sweetest, most caring person I've ever met. No, I mean that, you are. You're always there to help anybody, even strangers. You've been doing it your whole life."

- Phoebe Halliwell to Piper.

Piper is described as the most kind, caring, and maternal of the four sisters. She can be very sarcastic and quick-witted, a trait likely acquired from years of looking up to Prue. Piper grew from the meek, shy and very much arbiter middle sister, to a confident, charge-taking, quite comedic cynical woman.

Appearance
Of all four sisters, Piper's appearance changes the least frequently and drastically. However, even these trivial changes reflect how her character changes.


 * Hair: For her entire childhood and going into her twenties, Piper sports dark brown hair of a moderate length and bangs. She lets her hair grow and gets a slightly lighter shade. Piper continues to grow her hair and gets light brown highlights during her first pregnancy. The highlights wear off and wears bangs again. She continues to grow her hair and has a loose curl on occasion. Piper lets her hair grow long and cuts it occasionally. In 2050, Piper still has long hair and lets it turn grey.
 * Aliases: As the alias Jenny Bennett, Piper has blonde hair which is generally shorter then the hair of her normal appearance. Her second alias, Jamie Bennett has long brown hair with loose curls.


 * Wardrobe: Her fashion sense is conservative during her early twenties. As she grows older she starts to wear more feminine clothes as well as hair gloves on occasion.


 * Make-up: Piper wears little to no make up. She keeps it clean and chooses colors that match her skin and lips closely. She only wears more make-up then usual for parties and other events.

Etymology

 * Piper: A name that came from a surname given to those who played the flute pipe.


 * Halliwell: Derived from any of the several places named with the Old English pre 7th Century elements "halig" meaning "holy", plus "well(a)", a well or spring. These places include Halliwell in Lancashire, recorded as Haliwell circa 1200; Holwell in Dorset and Oxfordshire appearing respectively as Halegewelle and Haliwelle in the Domesday Book of 1086; Halwell and Halwill in Devonshire, recorded as Halgewilla in 1086, and Holywell in Northumberland, Kent, Cambridgeshire and Cornwall.

Trivia



 * In 2007, AOL named Piper the greatest witch in television history. In 2008, she fell to third place on that poll, but still remains the highest among the Charmed witches.
 * Holly Marie Combs originally auditioned for the role of Prue, whilst Shannen Doherty auditioned for Piper. She said that The WB wanted her to read for the role of Phoebe.
 * Holly Marie Combs has appeared as Piper in every single episode of Charmed including "The Unaired Pilot". She is the only cast member to attain the Charmed perfect record.
 * Piper is the first sister we see in Something Wicca This Way Comes and the last sister we see in Forever Charmed.
 * Holly Marie Combs has given birth to three children, just like Piper, however, Holly has three boys.