Piper Halliwell

Template:Infobox Charmed Character Piper Halliwell is a fictional character from the American television program Charmed, and was the leading characters featured during the series' run. The character is primarily portrayed by actress Holly Marie Combs, as well as a few other actresses during different stages of the character's life. Initially Piper begins the series as the middle child of three sisters. However, at the start of Season Four she becomes the eldest of three sisters after the death of her older sister, Prue Halliwell, and the discovery of a previously unknown fourth half-sister, Paige Matthews. She is married to her former whitelighter, Leo Wyatt and is the mother of three children, Wyatt, Chris, and Melinda Halliwell. Her mother described her as "the heart" of the Halliwell family and is considered to be the most famous character throughout the series' run. In 2007, AOL named her the third greatest witch in television history.

Biography

Early character history

Piper was born June 6, 1973 to Patricia Halliwell and Victor Bennett. She was their second child. In the Season One episode "That 70's Episode", it is revealed that, on March 24, 1975, she was visited by a future version of herself. It was also on that day that Patty signed a pact with the warlock Nicholas to make him a ring that made him immune to her daughters' powers. After Piper's little sister, Phoebe, was born in November 1975, Penny bound their powers to keep Nicholas from collecting them and ultimately killing them. Growing up, Piper is the middle sister—meek, shy and very much the arbitrator between her sisters, Phoebe and Prue as originally witnessed in the first episode of the series “Something Wicca This Way Comes”.

It was revealed in the season three episode, Coyote Piper, that Piper wore glasses and braces in high school and was a shy and awkward student often feeling overshadowed by her sisters and classmates such as Joanne Hertz and Missy Campbell. She ran for freshman class secretary but was too nervous to finish her speech; needing Prue to finish it for her. One of her friends was Justin Harper, who later dates Prue in season three, having had a crush on her throughout high school. Piper graduated Baker High School in 1990. In the episode, Show Ghouls, Piper asked Phoebe what her middle name was and Phoebe answered 'Shirley'. The purpose was to make sure Phoebe was not possessed by a spirit from a fire that happened in 1889 as former demon Drake was in that episode.

Flashbacks from the Season Three episode “PreWitched” reveal that Piper was trained as an accountant and a chef at college. She worked as a bank teller after her college graduation, but was persuaded by Grams to resign. Right after Grams died in 1998 from a heart attack while walking down the stairs, Piper worked as a private caterer and as a chef at a trendy bar/restaurant in downtown San Francisco called "Quake". She seems to be widely considered one of the best chefs in San Francisco.

Revelation as a Charmed One

In the pilot episode of Charmed, Piper and her older sister Prue have moved back into their childhood home - a Victorian manor in their family for generations, and willed to them from their Grams. Six months after the death of Grams, Piper's younger sister Phoebe moved back home and discovered the Book of Shadows in their attic, from an old spirit board that their grams kept. The three sisters made the discovery of the ancient prophecy that spoke of three sister witches becoming the most powerful witches known to walk the earth -- The Charmed Ones. As a new witch, Piper developed the power of molecular immobilization, the ability to slow down the molecules of an object or person to the point of motionless activity, however, if used on a demon of high status the ability only slows down the molecules but does not completely freeze, so they are in slow motion. Her power was at first triggered by fear. She used her power for the first time during a practical interview for Quake -- Chef Moore entered before she had completed her recipe, and she froze him, albeit accidentally, to complete her dish. (She cannot freeze good witches & can only freeze those within her range or in the room)

Charmed life

The first season of the series focused on Piper and her sisters learning about their witchcraft and using their magical gifts to protect Innocents from the supernatural evils that plague San Francisco. While Prue acts as the fearless lead witch and Phoebe is the eccentric and reckless spell-caster, Piper takes up the reins as the moral compass and voice of reason for the Charmed Ones. Unlike her sisters, Piper was the most reluctant to embrace her destiny as a Charmed One fearing that it might mean she was evil (“I’ve Got You Under My Skin”). During the initial season the main antagonists for Piper and her sisters are warlocks, with the occasional demon appearing sporadically throughout the season. During her first year as a witch, Piper proves to be the sister most "unlucky in love". Her engagement with Jeremy Burns was abruptly ended when she found out that he was a warlock waiting to kill the Charmed Ones as soon as they received their powers. Piper also seemed to always fall for men she cannot pursue a long term relationship with. A ghost, Mark Chao, captures her heart very early on during episode four of the season (“Dead Man Dating”) but once his death was avenged by Piper and her sisters, Mark moved on. Later she meets Leo Wyatt, a handyman hired to do odd jobs around the manor (“Thank You for Not Morphing”). Piper and Phoebe both compete for his affections, and although Piper wins the gentleman's heart, Leo turns out to be a "guardian angel" or "Whitelighter" to the Halliwells and was forbidden from pursuing a romantic relationship with his "charge" (“Secrets and Guys”). The pair part ways, but not for long.

Season Two series begins as Piper and her sisters celebrate their one year anniversary as witches (“Witch Trial”). Piper leaves her management role at Quake and opens her own nightclub, aptly named P3. Early in the season, Piper's relationship with Leo ended due to the complications that developed because of the distance his responsibilities as a Whitelighter put on their relationship. She began seeing her next-door neighbor, Dan Gordon - causing friction between herself, Dan and Leo and Charmed's very own "love triangle". Piper constantly struggles to choose between Dan or Leo, a decision which doesn't become clear until the final half of the season when she chooses to be with Leo ("Murphy's Luck"). Season Two also shows Piper dealing with the loss of her first innocent, her Doctor, and shows her grieving. At season's end, Piper and her sister discover that the demonic attacks on their lives have not been random, but orchestrated by an evil demonic power known as The Triad ("Be Careful What You Witch For").

Season Three sees Piper and Leo begin a tenuous journey down the road towards marriage. The Elders forbid their relationship ("The Honeymoon's Over"), and Leo proposes to Piper. They attempt to marry in secret, but their love is exposed to the magical community by the demon Belthazor, and Leo is taken away by the Elders ("Magic Hour"). Piper goes on a magical strike and refuses to hunt demons for the Elders until Leo is returned to her. However, she realizes that she cannot shirk her responsibilities, and Leo is returned on the condition that their relationship does not interfere with their magical responsibilities ("Once Upon A Time"). Meanwhile, the newly-discovered Triad sends a demonic spy and assassin after Piper and her sisters -- a demon known as Belthazor, who infiltrates their lives disguised as the human Assistant District Attorney, Cole Turner ("The Honeymoon's Over"). Piper and her sisters eventually learn that their true enemy is a powerful demon known as The Source of All Evil and ruler of the demonic Underworld, desiring their lives, powers and their coveted Book of Shadows. Piper and Leo finally wed in front of family and friends at Halliwell Manor (after three attempts) ("Just Harried"). Piper loses her eldest sister Prue to the demonic assassin Shax at season's end. ("All Hell Breaks Loose").

The eldest sister

Just nearly a week after Prue's death, Piper and Phoebe discover the existence of their baby half-sister, Paige Matthews. With the addition of the youngest Halliwell - last name or not - Piper finds herself taking on the mantle as eldest sister and the most powerful of the Charmed Ones in terms of active power, potion-brewing ability and her ability to strategize.

The death of Prue was especially difficult for Piper, and as a result she had difficulty accepting Paige as a sister and a friend. ("Hell Hath No Fury"). Slowly, the friendship forms and sisterly bonds ensue as the season progresses, allowing the Charmed Ones to grow in power and vanquish the Source of All Evil in three separate incarnations. Upon fulfilling their destiny of vanquishing the Source, Piper and her sisters are offered the opportunity to give up their magical lives in exchange for normality - no magic, no warlocks, no demons, and even no Elders ("Witch Way Now?"). They decline the offer, and Piper learns that she is pregnant with her first child.

Entering motherhood

File:LeFemmePiper.jpg

A more aggressive Piper

During Season Five, Piper deals with the growing powers of her unborn child, and is diagnosed with toxemia, during her third trimester ("The Day the Magic Died") as a result of the stress of battling demons and warlocks during her pregnancy. Her baby, Wyatt Matthew Halliwell is born ("The Day the Magic Died") and is delivered by Phoebe and Paige. The family are surprised that the baby is a boy, and not Melinda, whom Piper had seen in her visit to the future ("Morality Bites"). Wyatt is a prophesied, twice-blessed child with tremendous magical powers, born on the Wiccan Sabbat. He is hunted by demons from the womb and as soon as he is born. Piper is reluctant to leave her baby to battle demons, but overcomes this fear when a demonic bounty is placed on Wyatt's life. She and Phoebe conduct a mass-vanquishing of demons in the Demonic Market, prompting powerful demons to place a law preventing any demon or warlock from hunting Wyatt. Piper then names her baby after Leo and Paige, both of whom had worked tirelessly to protect him ("Baby's First Demon")

During the season finale, Piper and her sisters meet Chris Perry, a Whitelighter. He appears from the future to aid them in their defeat of the ancient Titans. The Titans were trapped by the Elders in icy catacombs, and when released, destroy nearly all of the Elders, with Leo able to rescue and protect the surviving ones. Chris persuades Leo to transform Piper, Phoebe and Paige into the Goddesses of Earth, Love, and War, respectively, with the aim of giving them enough power to destroy the Titans. ("Oh My Goddess, Part 1")While a Goddess, Piper has control over the elements. While Phoebe and Paige struggle to control their power, Piper remains calm and serene. She is, however, angered by Leo's impending ascension to become an Elder. She uses her anger to destroy the Titans. While Phoebe and Paige relinquish their Goddess powers, Piper unleashes her rage onto San Francisco, throwing the city into a huge hurricane. She confronts Leo in the heavens and accuses him of abandoning their family. Leo attempts to heal her pain, but rather traps her pain deep inside of her and causes her to become light-hearted and "chipper" ("Oh My Goddess, Part 2").

Estrangement with Leo and second child

Chris becomes the girls' new Whitelighter as Leo struggles to leave the family to become a full-time Elder, and Piper attempts to adjust to life as a single mother. ("Valhalley of the Dolls (Part 1)"). Piper and Leo have separated and she begins to pursue relationships with mortal suitors. Chris reveals that he has returned to the future to protect Wyatt from a dangerous evil force that will not reveal itself for a full year, a mission complicated by Leo's intense mistrust of him. Piper throws herself into protecting Wyatt, and decides to swear off men as she decides that Wyatt is the only important male in her life. ("Prince Charmed"). Chris reveals also that Wyatt will become an extremely evil warlock in the future.

Piper and Leo reunited after they are trapped in the Ghostly Plane by a Darklighter. Leo is shot by the Darklighter's arrow, and is close to death. He tells Piper that he loves her, and they sleep together. In the morning, they are rescued by Phoebe and Paige. Leo is persuaded by his mentor Gideon to return to the Elders permanently, yet he does not know that Piper is pregnant with their second child ("The Courtship of Wyatt's Father"). She decides to abstain from telling Leo the truth, as leaving their family was hard enough the first time around.

It is revealed that Piper's baby is in fact the Whitelighter Chris -- Phoebe is the first to discover this, and Leo the last. Together, the entire family work even harder to aid Chris in saving Wyatt. Piper is persuaded to live in Magic School with Wyatt, as unborn Chris does not protect himself from the womb as did unborn Wyatt. Magic School is protected from evil and prevents death from occurring in the halls, and they are safe.

Piper goes into labor during the season finale ("It's a Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad World (Part 2)") but the side effect of Phoebe and Paige's cross-world-traveling causes her to become over-optimistic and happy. She casts a spell on Phoebe and Paige to make them cheery also, infuriating Leo and Chris as they attempt to convince the sisters that Gideon is hunting Wyatt. Gideon kills Chris, and Piper suffers from internal complications in the hospital. Her doctor, also affected by the spell, is unwilling to do anything to save her. Leo breaks the spell on Phoebe and Paige, kills Gideon and reverses the magic causing the world to be happy. It returns to normal, and Piper and baby Chris are saved.

Utopia and retirement

Season Seven, with the season opener "A Call to Arms", begins with introduction of the mysterious "Gathering Storm" and this force's manipulation of Leo. Piper tries to help a haunted Leo who killed a fellow Elder, as a result of the demon Barbas convincing Leo to kill a fellow Elder who he believed was after his family, just like Gideon. Some months later Piper cannot understand how Leo can make such a tremendous comeback from his grief of killing an innocent Elder, but she is willing to accept Leo back into her life once again, despite the fact that he tells her that he is an Avatar. With his Avatar kind, Leo and the sisters create a world of peace but it has deadly consequences in the episode "Extreme Makeover: World Edition".

But after the world of the Avatars fails, Leo has to deal with the Elders' punishment and he is once again taken away from his family to endure a trial. He has to determine if his destiny lies with his family or the other Elders. In the 150th episode, "The Seven Year Witch" Piper receives help in the form of Phoebe's past love, Cole. He helps her and Leo get back together for good (which also makes Leo mortal) and restores Phoebe's faith in love by proving that their (Piper and Leo's) love conquered all. Soon a new threat comes on the horizon, Zankou, a powerful demon imprisoned by the Source hundreds of years ago who seeks to bring order to the Underworld and to destroy Piper and her sisters.

After months of fierce battles and even losing possession of the manor and the Book of Shadows, Piper and her sisters destroy Zankou and the Nexus in the season seven finale "Something Wicca This Way Goes". At the end of the episode Piper and the sisters seemingly die in the final battle with Zankou. The mortal world, the underworld and the Elders believe Piper and her sisters to be dead, while this is the sisters' chance to finally get a normal life.

Rewitched and the ultimate battle

In Season Eight Piper transforms her face and takes up the alias of Jenny Bennett, only her loved ones being able to see her as she was. However, Piper's new look matches someone else who was wrongly wanted for murder as featured in the episode "Run Piper, Run". After clearing her look-alike’s name Piper has to change her look and get a new name, Jamie Bennett. While in disguise, Piper and her sisters take on a protégé, Billie Jenkins. While Billie helps with their demonic load, eventually Piper and her sisters realize that hiding their true selves is a mistake. After a plot that involves the Department of Homeland Security to explain her sudden return from the grave, Piper returned to her real name and old life in the amply titled episode "Rewitched".

Despite having been through hell and back in their relationship, Leo does not adapt to being a mortal married to one of the most powerful witches in magical history well. Even going to a magical marriage counselor doesn't turn out as well as they had hoped. Their counselor has them switch bodies in order to walk a mile in each other's shoes and hopefully mend some broken bridges. It works, and for a while, things are good in Piper's life.

In the tenth episode of the final season "Vaya Con Leos", the Angel of Death comes to Piper to warn her that Leo's time is coming. While Piper figures out a way to prevent Leo's death, it involved having Leo frozen. An Angel of Destiny tells Piper and her sisters that they have another battle to fight and Leo's death would have motivated them, and specifically Piper, to fight it. Piper reasons that losing Leo with his return hanging on her success is a much greater motivator than just losing him. The bargain struck, the Angel of Destiny vanishes, taking the frozen Leo with her. Simultaneously, Billie is searching for her demon-abducted sister, Christy Jenkins.

Piper starts to film everything that goes on in the house so when Leo comes back, he can watch what he missed. She also avoids demon fighting, but when she and her sisters discover that Billie and her recently-found sister are the ones they have to fight, she is the most determined to take the battle on. As the magical community is turned against the Halliwells by the Jenkins sisters, Piper escapes with her sisters to the Underworld. In the penultimate episode of the final season Piper and her sisters team up with two demons and utilizing the power of the Hollow, the sisters vanquished the spirit-form remains of the Triad and turned against the Jenkins sisters, also possessed by the Hollow. The battle ends with the survival of Piper and Billie and the deaths of Paige, Phoebe and Christy.

The series finale, "Forever Charmed" shows that Leo is returned to her, and he stops her from murdering Billie with her bare hands, taking her to Phoebe's apartment, where Coop materializes and is stunned to find that Phoebe is dead. Piper, however, is determined to get her sisters back, reasoning that they've conquered death before. She borrows Coop's ring, and through time travel summons her mother and Grams, and prevent the deaths of Phoebe, Paige and Christy, but with Christy alive, Leo is removed once more. Realizing Christy had manipulated her, Billie deflects her fireball aimed at her, killing Christy. Leo is returned, and the family present — the sisters, Grams, Patty, Victor, Wyatt, Chris, Leo and Coop rejoice in their final victory. With the destruction of all the strong demons of the past, the sisters can finally have normal lives. Piper and Leo's marriage returns to peace and they soon have a third child, Melinda. Piper also opens a restaurant. The story ends with an elderly Piper reading the events of the past from the Book of Shadows to her granddaughter. After Piper leaves with Leo to rest, more children enter the manor and we get to know them as more of Piper's grandchildren. Piper's granddaughter Prudence closes the door with her telekinetic powers, ending the story of Piper Halliwell and the Charmed Ones.

Powers and abilities

Piper's ability of molecular immobilization was inherited from her mother. It puts enemies and objects in temporary stasis. It gives Piper the ability to 'freeze' objects by slowing down their molecular movement to the point where they stop and makes it appear for her to have stopped time. Initially, Piper's power was triggered by fear, panic, and surprise, but she eventually overcame these obstacles and was able to freeze things any time she wanted. This power is channeled through her hands and wouldn't work if her hands were tied behind her back. Piper had to be in the same room with whoever she wanted to freeze and couldn't freeze someone outside of it. There are exceptions however, if Piper is in a different room and a door is open, then she can freeze anything that is outside of that room. Piper's range wasn't that far when she tried to freeze things, but it eventaully grew. It was established that Piper couldn't freeze good witches, but she seemed to overcome this obstacle. In season six, a male witch with telepathic abilities channels Piper's and freezes other witches. Later on, Piper was able to selectively choose what she wanted to freeze. For instance, she could freeze all the innocents in a room and leave demons still moving. She could also freeze just one thing. Prue later taught Piper to unfreeze certain body parts of demons, like unfreezing a demon's head so that the sisters could interrogate him. This power got stronger so Piper could freeze for longer periods and larger ranges. She was even able to leave the manor after freezing Billie, instead of staying and keeping her hands up. This power was almost weak against some demons and upper level witches, but Piper seemed to overcome these obstacles in later seasons. For example, Piper froze the Triad, a trio of powerful demons with power rivalling the Charmed Ones. Piper also learned how to freeze things without being in the room and her hand only being there. The phrase temporal stasis has been confused as a misused word for this ability but it actually states what the ability does (temporal means over a period of time and or denoting time and stasis is a state of balance between forces (equilibrium), and inactivity).

Later, Piper gained the power of molecular combustion, the ability to speed up molecular movement instead of slowing them down, and cause them to separate in an explosive action. This power was usually triggered by anger, frustration, surprise, and fear. Piper was scared of using either of her powers because when she would try to freeze something, she would blow it up instead. Piper can also blow up powers that are being thrown at her, for instance, in season five, a demon threw a stream of fire at her, and she exploded it. In season eight, Piper shows that she can deviate an attack when projectiles are thrown at her. For example, in series 4 a ghost from Leo's past throws a knife at her which she freezes just in front of her. She then unfreezes it and instead of the knife cutting into her face it falls directly to the floor instead with no visible wobbling of the knife, as if changing the direction of the force acting upon it away from her and down to the floor. Another example would be when in one episode a demon threw a fireball at her while the Charmed Ones were chanting, and Piper gestures at it whilst continuing to chant. The fireball flies back towards the demon. Piper also seems to be able to blow up something and not have it affect her. A door for example, would explode, but none of the wood particles would touch Piper. This may be subconscious defense mechanism that one of her powers is responsible for i.e. The shards fly in all direction but are deviate away from her. Piper couldn't blow up every demon, but demons that didn't blow up would occasionally be lunged backwards by her power. In season eight, her power grew and she was able to blow up a Triad member with three explosions to the chest. However, he was weakened, because one of the members had just been killed. Piper was able to speed up molecules so fast that she could create fire. In season eight, she created flames on wood. Also, when attacking a demon, an exploding flame action would occur instead of the demon or object just exploding. Piper seems to be immune to her own power. For example, in the season seven finale, Zankou had her powers and hit her with it, only leaving a scar. In series 2 Piper, Phoebe and Prue travel to the future and experience their future lives many years fast-forward in early 2009 (This would be series 9 or 10 if the series had continued that long). In this future one of the many power advancements that Piper experienced was the rather trivial but well used ability to change the volume on the TV without the remote or touching it but instead by commanding it i.e. shouting "louder, louder" at the TV increased volume whereas saying "TV...shut up, mute". It is interesting to note that during both these (and only) parts of the episode where this ability is demonstrated nothing happens until Piper starts gesturing at the TV with her hands whilst shouting at it. This could indicate that it was a natural advancement of her power and would seem to be a logical one too as her powers works by giving and taking kinetic energy to molecules (making them speed up or slow down). Since sound is just the vibration of molecules in the air then if Piper were to give these molecules more kinetic energy they would vibrate more, and hence volume would increase. If she took the energy away then volume would decrease and possibly mute the TV.

Occasionally, in times of great stress, fear, or desperation, Piper's Molecular Combustion power would be heightened to a more powerful degree. When she performed such empowered blasts, her abilities were similar to that of Molecular Dispersion. This power is also seen with Gideon the Elder. Molecular Dispersion does not merely cause the target to explode/implode, but rather have the atoms disperse and fall apart at the seams; in short, they would be vaporized. One example of this would be the incident in which the Source of All Evil used the Hollow to attack the Charmed Ones, and Piper desperately lashed out with her power, and vaporized him; unfortunately, as the Source was a being of immense power, he was able to reconstruct himself moments later.

Piper's powers are linked to her emotions intimately. In season five, she began losing control over her powers when her and Leo were having marital problems. She went to the extent of blowing up an entire wall. The first time it is seen is in 'Exit Strategy'. Piper had just gotten her power and was extremely afraid, afraid to the point where she kept blowing things up. Her powers were originally channeled through her hands, but this is not the case when her emotions are out of control. Originally, she had to use both hands for her powers to work, but she later learned how to use just one hand.

Unlike Prue's telekinetic abilities, the limits on Piper's power are not determined by an object's mass. Even relatively new to her powers, she once froze a moving truck to prevent it from hitting a baby's pram. Rather, Piper's power of freezing seems to be limited by the area, regardless of how many objects are in it or their weight. When indoors, Piper's powers appear to be limited by the room she is in. Outdoors, it is unclear what her limits are, but in a magical trip to the future, she once froze an entire city block, with every object in it. She was obviously very surprised by this, as if she had never demonstrated influence over such a large area before. Since this was an accident, it is unclear if that was actually her limit, or if she could freeze an even larger area through effort. She can freeze objects and people that are technically outside the room she is in, if she has a clear shot. In Wicca Envy, when Prue was framed for murder and put in jail, she freezes everything inside the jail from outside; when Phoebe was possessed by the Woogyman, Piper was able to freeze her while outdoors and Phoebe was still inside the manor because the door was open, giving Piper an unobstructed path to her. She also once froze someone who was outside in front of the manor and she was inside, just by thrusting her hands through an open window.

Piper can limit the extent of her power from fully vaporizing an object or person to just throwing somebody backwards by the impact of the power as seen when Christine Jenkins was only knocked down but not blown up. Another earlier episode showed that Piper did not want to blow up Billie Jenkins who was having a magical disease but rather knock her down to prevent her from attacking.

Like the other Charmed Ones, Piper can also brew magical potions and recite/write spells. She is best at making potions, as predicted by Grams in 1997 before she died from a heart attack, because Piper is a natural-born and university-trained chef. She however remains one of the most powerful witches ever.

• When Phoebe takes a trip to the past Piper, is shown to be able to slow down objects in motion, in stead of her freezing power in episode "Pardon my Past" season 2.

In contrast with Phoebe and Prue, Piper has never been interested in learning conventional means of fighting, such as martial arts kicks and punches, preferring to rely on her powers. As the use of either of Piper's powers would bring most physical confrontations to an immediate conclusion in her favor, there is little need for her to be adept at hand-to-hand combat, though she has been shown using some of her combat skills in some episodes. She has also been seen using some martial arts skills, and also gymnastics in the show.

Romantic life

She has dated a ghost, a banker, a construction worker, a grad student, a fireman, a warlock, and her Whitelighter and husband Leo Wyatt. They broke up for some time because their relationship could not work due to their conflicting magical destinies. Piper then sought out a normal relationship with a mortal, her next door neighbor Dan Gordon before reuniting with Leo. During their relationship, Dan remained oblivious to the fact that Piper was a witch.

Piper and Leo still had to deal with the consequences of their forbidden romance after getting back together. When the Elders issued an ultimatum about Piper and Leo's relationship, Leo proposed to Piper, who, after some hesitation, accepted. They tried to marry in secret, but the Elders were told of their plans after Cole exposed them to the magical community. As a result of this, during the wedding ceremony (with Prue and Phoebe as bridesmaids and Grams as the High Priestess) the Elders painfully orbed Leo away. When the Elders forbade Piper from ever seeing Leo again, Piper decided to go on strike from being a witch. But once she realized that she still had a job to do and she still had to save innocents despite her anger over the Elders' decision to forbid her from being with Leo, the Elders sent Leo back. The Elders said that Piper showed great courage in protecting innocents even when she had the love of her life taken away. The Elders however, allowed Piper and Leo to continue seeing each other on the condition that their relationship would not interfere with their jobs.

Leo and Piper were finally married by the ghost of her grandmother Penny in a special ceremony. The sisters' father Victor, Phoebe's half-demon boyfriend Cole Turner and Detective Darryl Morris attended the wedding, and the Elders sent Patty back to Earth for the day to attend the wedding as a gift. Their marriage has produced three children; Wyatt Matthew Halliwell, Christopher Halliwell and Melinda Halliwell.

But this was not to be the end of their struggles to have a relationship and have a magical life as well. Leo had to leave Piper and his son for a short time to be an Elder, but worked around it. After Leo had killed an Elder who was trying to capture his son Wyatt Matthew Halliwell, Leo ended up seeing floating green heads and then, unfortunately for him, ended up killing another innocent Elder called Zola.

Leo tried to get over this but was ultimately turned into an Avatar who corrupted the girls to create Utopia but this went wrong. After this is Season 8 (Veya Con Leo's) Piper learns that the Angel of Death was after Leo and so in an attempt to stop Death taking him a spell was cast and every man in the world was turned into Leo. But this back fired and Piper had to call down the Angel Of Destiny who said that she would take Leo and when the Ultimate Battle had been fought Leo would be returned to them. So with the help of a demon Leo was frozen and taken from Piper but he is later returned to her after the final battle.

Piper's most notable relationships:

Name	Relationship	Season	Notes
Jeremy Burnes	Ex Boyfriend	Season 1 (Something Wicca This Way Comes)	Jeremy was a warlock who used Piper so he can get to her and her sisters to steal their powers. They had dated for 6 months before the start of the series.
Mark	Fling	Season 1 (Dead Man Dating)	Piper falls for the ghost of a recently murdered man named Mark.
Leo Wyatt	Husband	Entire Series Run	Leo first crossed paths with Piper as a Whitelighter disguised as a handyman during the first season. She finds out about his true identity when a Darklighter almost killed him in Season 1x21 "Love Hurts." They are married in Season 3. Piper and Leo faced a lot of obstacles along the way (ex: Elders forbidding their relationship, Angel of Destiny taking Leo, Prue crashing their wedding) and always wondered if they were meant to be together. They attempt marriage counseling to fix their marital problems (Season 5x18, Season 8x07). They separate during Season 6 when Leo becomes a full-time Elder. In Season 7, Leo becomes obsessed with defending his family from harm, and becomes an Avatar in the process. Afterward, the Elders send him on a path of self discovery which ultimately causes him to fall from grace to be with Piper and his family. In Season 8, Leo was taken away from Piper by the Angel of Destiny, who reveals to Piper that Leo's loss will motivate her and her sisters to fight the Ultimate Power (Billie and Christy).
Josh	Dated	Season 1	A Berkley graduate student whom Piper began dating later in the first season.
Dan Gordon	Ex Boyfriend	Season 2	In the second season, Piper began developing a crush on her next door neighbor, Dan Gordon. Dan was somewhat insecure when it came to Leo, always wondering why he's around Piper. He even had his brother check Leo's army records during World War II. Piper ends their relationship with Dan after realizing that her heart belongs to Leo. He finds out that she's a witch during the Season 2 Finale after Piper wishes for Dan to move on from their relationship, causing him to age. Piper later reverses the wish, returning him to his normal age and removing his knowledge of her being a Charmed One.
Greg	Dated	Season 6 (Chris-Crossed, I Dream of Phoebe), Season 8 (The Last Temptation of Christy)	After Piper and Leo's separation during the sixth season, Piper began dating again, most notably Greg the fireman. Their relationship ends when Chris tells Greg that Piper and Leo are back together (6x15 "I Dream of Phoebe"). Greg later runs into Piper (8x15 "The Last Temptation of Christy"), literally, and tries to win her back. Piper rejects his feelings by revealing to him that Leo is coming back.

Professional life

Piper originally worked as an accountant for a small bank in San Francisco before quitting her job to pursue her dream of being a professional chef. A few months later, Piper landed a job as a new chef under the tutelage of Chef Moore at a high quality restaurant Quake. Only a week or two pass before Piper's boss leaves Quake and she is promptly promoted to restaurant manager, a job that has her constantly working double shifts and makes her unhappy.

After quitting Quake, Piper opens P3, a nightclub named as a tribute to the Power of Three and Prue, Piper, and Phoebe. P3 is made popular by the appearance of Dishwalla, a hit group whose manager is in league with Masselin, a demon who feeds off of souls he keeps trapped inside of him. The Charmed Ones defeat Masselin and the manager is arrested on kidnapping charges, but P3 is established as a successful club. P3 closes briefly after Prue's death, though it reopens when Piper moves on and accepts Paige as her sister. P3 is open for at least 7 years, though in the series finale we learn that Piper finally becomes a chef in her own restaurant, as she'd always dreamed. Not much is said about what happened to P3 after Piper becomes a chef again.

Death count

During the run of the series and her life as a Charmed One, Piper is shown to have clinically "died" 12 times. These are her most notable deaths:

Episode	Episode Name	Cause Of Death	Revival
1x22	Deja Vu All Over Again	Killed by an energy ball thrown by demon Rodriguez.	After time was reset.
3x09	Coyote Piper	Killed by Prue in order to get a spirit out of her body.	An alchemist revived her.
3x22	All Hell Breaks Loose	Killed by a crazy Wiccan practitioner, because she thought Piper was evil.	After time was reset.
4x17	Saving Private Leo	killed(stabbed) by Leo's ex army mates and turned into a spirit	Leo come to her side to heal her just in time
7x05	Styx Feet Under	The Angel of Death killed her and gave her the job of collecting souls.	The Angel of Death returned to doing his job.

External links

• Piper Halliwell at the Internet Movie Datebase
• Piper Halliwell at the Charmed Wiki

See also

• List of women warriors in folklore, literature, and popular culture