"So, Charlotte, what was your impression of this lesson?” asked Uncle with a cheery expression that failed to hide the tired look his eyes had.

“I think it went well. I believe they slowly realize that potions is more than just remembering a recipe.”

“Yes, that seems to be the case. If I had to point something out, it would be that you were too focused on Augustus, but considering the circumstances, it was probably reasonable. Merlin also showed a surprising talent, even though I believe that Morgana will probably outcompete the other two just because she works like a maniac. And if you really plan to give them individual tasks each time and her progress speed isn’t limited by her classmates, I’m sure she will surprise both of us. Augustus, on the other hand, will probably neglect everything besides dark magic. He has quite a talent for it. The control he has over his magic is truly admirable. At least for someone his age. Anyway, I won’t sit in on your next lessons. A weekly report should be enough. Anyway, have you made any progress towards your own recipe? Do you already have an idea what effect the potion should have?”

“I had some thoughts, but I had so many things on my mind…” I felt bad. It was as if I was disappointing uncle, who had spent so much time teaching me.

“Ohh, of that, I have heard. It’s fine, Charlotte. You shouldn’t forget to live as well. Just don’t wait too long. Stagnation is a trap many masters fell into, and it just becomes harder the longer you wait.” Ohh, how embarrassing. Well, I guess it was inevitable for gossip to spread. But I guess it's fine as long as I convince Will that coming to a dinner with my whole family present is a good idea. Well, I also had to convince myself of that as I remembered how those things could escalate.

“I will keep it in mind.”

“Great. If you need someone to talk to or if you have any questions, you can come to me. For both topics.” It could have been embarrassing, but I felt that Uncle genuinely just wanted to support me, and it made me feel happy instead. How nice it would have been if mother had loved him instead of Gregor.

After saying goodbye to Uncle Severin, I went to the bath. I wanted to feel extra clean for the date, so I planned to stay until dinner. To my horror, I detected that I was getting a pimple on the chin. A pimple that hadn’t been there since the last time I was in the bath. I tried not to panic. While it was not really great, I still had some tunic in my room and could take care of it within an hour. Just the thought of going to my second date with a pimple sends chills down my spine. So in a way, I decided that I was lucky to have noticed it now and quickly ran back to my room to get the tincture. While I was there, I also decided to take a few other bathing utensils with me. I rarely used them, as mother told me I should use them sparingly as they were expensive, but I think there was no better day to use them than now.

The next hour I spent inspecting my whole body in search of other pimples, but luckily the one on my chin was the only one. After this, I slowly began to prepare my bath. I chose the lavender oil not only because I liked the smell but also because it helped me relax a little. And if I wanted to be something during the date, it was to be relaxed. I don’t want to do something stupid because I am stressed out or nervous.

The next step was washing my hair. Mother would probably tell me I’m wasteful because I planned to use the Camomile and honey based shampoo she gifted me. She got it as a gift from a noble lady after divining something for her. I could immediately feel how my hair turned soft and fragrant as soon as I applied the shampoo. Then I slowly walked into the bath. Step by step I eased into the hot water. It felt like entering paradise. The soothing wamth of the water took away all the stress I had from teaching, or from my family. It was the best feeling in the world.

After washing out my hair, I started to relax. I didn’t even comment on the mermaid that was curiously ogling me. Instead, I thought about what Will might have planned for the date today. If I remember correctly, some couples liked to meet on the second-highest tower because of the phantastic view and the atmosphere there. But I told him that we should go to his favorite place, so unless I have a completely wrong picture of him, it is unlikely to be the tower. Maybe a place near the lake that isn’t so far away as the hill I like to go to? Maybe he also just loves his bedroom. It would be quite boring, and I would hope he would at least throw out his dormmates, but I guess I could live with that. At least his bed was comfy. He also promised me to make it up to me that he teased me with what his friends said about me. But I have no idea what he has planned. It was kind of exciting for it, and I couldn’t wait for the date to finally happen.

I spent the next few hours in the bath thinking about how the date could possibly go. Some things made me a little nervous, and I feared I could ruin everything if I acted… well like I normally react to something that stresses me out but in the end, that didn’t stop me from being optimistic that it would be an amazing date.

When I left the bath, I carefully patted myself dry with my towel and saw with satisfaction that there was no trace of the pimple left. My skin looked completely recovered and healthy. A bit pale, but I guess I can only offer pale or sunburn red. Maybe that would be a good idea for a potion recipe. A potion that automatically gives you some tan. I think no one has developed something similar so far.

Well, that is for later. Now I should hurry to get some dinner. It would be quite embarrassing if my stomach grumbled during the date.

When I arrived at the great hall, Will was already waiting for me. His friends were already sitting at a table, and after a quick kiss, he whispered to me that we should eat alone today. It felt like a prelude to our date, but I liked that he wanted to eat with me alone. I realized with satisfaction that, for a moment, after kissing me, he stayed close and almost unnoticeable sniffed. From his smile, I could tell that he liked the smell of my special deluxe bath. Absolutely worth it.

He looked a little shy after we sat down. I could see a few people looking at us, and even I got a little red. I only then realized that the kiss couldn’t have been more public, even though it was casual enough to be overlooked by most people, as it wasn’t really an uncommon occurrence among other students. But that, together with us sitting together, gave people some time to notice the oddity. So if someone doubted the rumors, now they are more or less confirmed. But while that was the reason I blushed a little, William apparently was a little shy to talk to me.

I thought it was a little strange, as he had never had problems before, but maybe it was something awkward to say. Well, in the end, he started by asking me about how my lesson went. While I thought it was nice that he was interested in what I did, I had something different in mind when he even made the effort to invite me to sit alone with him. But after that, he seemed to relax a little bit. I tried to find out where he would take me, but he still insisted that it had to be a surprise, as he also didn’t know where we were going on our first date until we reached the spot. In the end, dinner was over faster than expected, and he told me that he was looking forward to our date and that he would pick me up at my room.

Just when he went around the corner my mother stood next to me. I was a bit surprised by how sudden she appeared and suspected that she had observed us the whole dinner. But I didn’t pay attention to her or anyone else except Will so I didn’t notice.

“He looks good. You have a good taste, Charlotte. He looks almost like Gr…”

“He looks nothing like him. Never say that again. The red hair is the only thing they have alike.”

“Yes, yes. So should we look for the perfect dress for today?” At least mother knew when not to push an issue. But seriously. They had nothing in common. Will was nice, loyal, sometimes funny, good-looking, and most importantly, he cared for me, while Gregor was just a womanizing drunkard that couldn’t be trusted.

A few minutes later, we arrived at my room.

“So, do you already know where you will be going? Knowing that makes it easier to pick the right dress.”

“No mom, he is so secretive about it. I mean he just repeated it’s his favourite spot but why should I know what his favourite spot is. It’s just the second date.”

“Calm down, Charlotte, no need to be upset about it. It’s normal to need some time to get to know each other. So if you have no idea where you will be going, we definitely won’t pick the white dress. It will get dirty too fast, and you will look like a beggar after five minutes if you go outside. You told me you picked the sleeveless red dress for the first date, right?”

“Yes?”

“Good. Then I think a blue dress would be perfect, not the dark blue one but the light one. The one with the wide sleeves. Yes this one.” I pulled out all the blue dresses I thought Mom could mean and held them in front of me until Mother picked the one she thought was right. No, she picked the one that was perfect. I know I look super cute in that one. It was one of the three dresses that were in my preselection and I was glad that mother had picked one that I liked. It made me somehow more confident, that we came to the same conclusion. I quickly tried the dress on and spinned around a few times so that the long skirt spiraled around me. I loved doing that.

"Good, now we only need to take care of your hair. It’s a mess. Did you not comb it after bathing?” Well, I spent so much time in that super relaxing, probably super expensive, bath that I forgot time and was almost late for dinner, so yes, I forgot. Was it worth it? Probably yes.

“Come sit here; I will do it for you.” I felt like a little girl again, but I didn’t mind. Mother was better than me at taking care of my hair, and I was not ashamed of asking her on this special occasion.

“Charlotte, if you use the shampoo I gifted you, at least take care of your hair afterwards. Especially on a day like this. You don’t want your hair to look like a bird nestled in it, don’t you?” Okey, getting called out for it like that felt a little unpleasant, but just pretending to look ashamed was enough of an apology.

After a few minutes of silent combing, mother began to speak again. “You know, Charlotte, I’m really happy for you that you found someone. It felt like yesterday when I taught you how to read, and now you are almost an adult. Maybe it’s because of Percival’s entrance ceremony, but it just felt like it was a few days ago that you had yours, and then when I didn’t look after you for a few days, you tell me you have a boyfriend. I can’t believe how fast you grew up.” Oh, mom is getting nostalgic. Maybe I should have considered how she felt about all this. She probably expected me to stay here for the next decades.

“Mom, just because I have a boyfriend now doesn’t mean I will go away. Will needs more than an entire year before he finishes school, and I will probably never graduate. So don’t worry too much.”

“I don’t worry about you going. I worry about you not going, Charlotte. Seeing you grow up was one of the best things in my life, but becoming independent is also a part of life you have to eventually accept. And don’t worry about your graduation. If you gain the master rank in any subject, you theoretically have a higher standing than any normal graduate, so you only stay if you really want to.”

“What? Why did no one tell me beforehand? Was Uncle trying to trick me?” If that was true, I would use the shrinking potion on him and throw him into the public toilet.

“No one tried to trick you, Charlotte. Don’t always assume the worst. Like I said, you can stay as long as you want, but you don’t need to feel obligated to. And if you decide after some time that you want to come back, you are always welcome to. Especially if you take on a few of Severin's potions classes. He was praising you endlessly in the last few meetings.” I immediately hugged mother. I ignored the brush that was pressed into my chest, as she had no time to put it away. Somehow I always knew that they wouldn’t push me away, but long and lonely nights make you think the weirdest things, so it felt good to hear that. And uncle definitely didn’t deserve to be thrown into the toilet.

“Thanks mom.” I think it was a long time ago that saying it felt so genuine.

“Charlotte, you really worry yourself too much. And we can discuss these things at a later date. What I originally wanted to talk to you about was something else. You know, because it came as such a surprise. I mean you and William. I might have neglected to teach you a few things. You know there are a few things you should know before going on another date with William, and even if it's embarrassing, I want you to listen to me, okay?” Oh no. I could already guess where this was going. But I guess it was better than hoping what Lorain told me was true.

I weakly nodded before mom continued.

“So the most important thing is that no matter what you do, you need to feel comfortable and sure that what you do is something you want to do. I know you are probably curious about Will’s... body, and he is probably almost as curious about yours. And it's fine if you slowly test what you like and don’t like, but you should always make sure that you are not doing it because you feel pressured to do something.” Wow, that was unexpectedly unclear.

“Mom, I know that, but you know, what if I want something and don’t know how to do it and everything.” I didn’t know how I should tell her about the things Lorain told me, but I hoped she would understand me anyway.

“Okay, let’s not beat around the bush. I think we will sit here till tomorrow if we continue like that. So, to make it short, speak with him. Tell him what you want to do, and he will surely guide you. It might not be the most romantic way of doing things, and if you are sure something is fine, you can just do it, but if you are unsure, just ask. Everyone likes different things, and it takes some time to get to know each other’s preferences. But you probably want to know something more specific, right? Just ask me what you want to know. I know that the girls in this castle are the greatest gossip girls, and you surely have heard a thing or two.” I don’t know if that made the situation better or worse, but at least I could now openly ask.

“So you told me about sex, remember? But we never talked about what really comes before that or what one needs to do to get to the part. Lora… I mean, a friend told me that, well, do you really let him lick you down there, and do I need to do the same? Isn’t that, like, super weird and unhygienic, and I don’t know, it just sounds so weird?”

“Well, I guess when you bathe beforehand, it's not really unhygienic, so you don’t need to worry about that. But yes, those two things are quite common, to say the least. But don’t let yourself get pressured into it if you don’t feel like it. I also just tell you those things because it's better to know them than not know them, not because I expect you to do anything like that on your second date. You have all the time in the world, Charlotte.” Okay, that means Lorain, at least, didn’t lie to me. How would Will taste? How do I taste? Probably like lavender. I put almost the whole lavender oil bottle into the bath. Is it good that I taste and smell like that? What if it’s strange?

“What is worrying you?”

“How does it taste…? Is it something to look forward to?”

"Well, I wouldn’t really say it tastes good, but it's also not really terrible. And it also tastes slightly different each time. You don’t have to… swallow it if it tastes bad.”

“And would he like... you know … me?”

"Well, Gregor liked doing it, so I guess maybe women “taste” better, but I’m not really an expert on that topic.” Well, I guess it would be strange if she knew the answer to that. And I don’t know if Gregor is the best person to orient on.

“And the first time? I read somewhere that it might hurt?”

“What are you reading? No, don’t answer that; it's fine. It's something normal. So the first time… I guess it's different from person to person. In my case, it didn’t really hurt. It was a bit uncomfortable at first, but that was all. I think it's best if you do it when you are really relaxed. I’m sure that helps. Just don’t pressure yourself too much. I don’t know anyone who really thinks that the first time was the best time they had. If someday you really do it with Will or anyone else, you will probably do it many more times with him, and each time you get to know more about what he likes or what you like, and it will get better and better. The important thing is that you communicate with each other. Be open about what you like. Especially during the first time. Even if it’s not the best thing you will ever do, it’s not meant to be something you just endure.” Ups. I shouldn’t have told her about the books. But relaxing sounds good. The only question is: how can one relax in that situation? And does that mean sex is like studying? Well, I probably shouldn’t worry about that too much.

“Was that the last question?” Wasn’t it embarrassing enough, mom? Are you so eager to answer more questions? Besides, I need to process all this first.

“Yes I guess.”

“Good. But if you have any more questions, don’t hesitate to come to me. But I have a few things, I want to give you.” Mother pulled out two small vials. One with a blue liquid and one with a violet one.

“Those two are in case you want to do it but don’t want to have kids yet. The blue one is for you, but as I don’t really know if it would work differently on you, I also prepared the violet one. That one is for Will. The duration is around eight hours, and you can do whatever you want in that time. While I wanted to keep you safe from any social problems, I think even in your case, it would be best if you only thought about having kids if you are married.” Okey, that sounded somewhat reasonable. I mean, the only person I know who has a kid outside of marriage is Aunt Seraphina, and she is arguably the most brilliant witch alive and doesn’t care about what other people think about her. But even then, it was quite a scandal when Helena was born. At least from what I remember, which is admittedly not much. But it reminded me of another topic I needed to talk about.

“Mom, I have another topic we need to talk about. You know, I heard from Lorain that Will has some kind of deadline and that he needs to marry till then. But that deadline is not really that far away, and I’m really unsure of what I should do. I mean, officially, Will didn’t even tell me, so I don’t really know what his opinion on the matter is, but it just goes too fast, and also, I don’t even know if I can have kids, and it's part of a marriage, right? And what if his parents don’t like me and...?”

"Charlotte, calm down. You talk far too fast. So if I understood you correctly, Williams' parents want him to find someone to marry. Which is not unusual at his age. I guess half the boys in his grade have a deadline like that. But just because they have a “deadline” doesn’t mean that you have one. So when he really tells you about a deadline and you think you are not ready yet, I will write a letter to his parents. I’m sure they would do me the favor and give you more time. For the second part, I sadly don’t have an answer for you. I mean, I think, theoretically, you should be able to get pregnant, but I’m not sure if you should really risk that. I mean, you are quite sensible when it comes to blood loss, and giving birth could be quite risky for you. The next question is if your kid would be just a normal human or have a few of your traits. Which is not really a bad thing, but not knowing what the child needs carries its own set of problems. But if you really, really want it, I will do my best to find a way to help you. But you should definitely talk with Will about it before you decide on marrying or something else like that. An heir for the family is something most families value more than a mountain of gold.”

Okay, getting kids didn’t sound like a good idea. But what if Will definitely wants an heir? Would he leave me? Would he marry someone else? Well, maybe I can convince him that it’s not necessary to have an heir if he drinks enough of my tears, but I would need to solve the problem of a “steady” supply first.

“So, I guess we don’t have much time anymore. If you really want to talk more about these things, we should do it after your date and after you know more from Will himself, and not just from some gossip. For now, you should focus on relaxing before Will comes. And let me braid your hair. I think a crown braid would fit perfectly with your blue dress, and it will look more elegant than just your usual open hairstyle.”