“Do you have anything else you want to tell me or ask me, or should we do something more enjoyable?” Should I tell him about the family dinner now? But we already talked about so much today, and I don’t want to ruin the date any further.

“You have something more; I can see it in your face. What is bothering you?” He isn’t leaving me a choice now, right? But I don’t want to talk about something serious again. I just want to enjoy the date.

“Don’t worry, Charly. Just say it. We have time. And whatever it is, we can still enjoy our date afterwards.”

“Fine. You win. My family wants to meet you. Not as a student, but you know, as my boyfriend.” I hope he doesn’t feel forced to accept it, or worse, think that if he accepts that, he won’t be getting out of our relationship because my family would do something to him if it didn’t work. I didn’t want to be with him if he felt forced; I wanted him to be with me because of me and no one else.

“Is that really something that worries you? I thought your mother knew already. What is the big deal if I meet her?”

“Not just my mom. Percival, Uncle Gregor, Uncle Severin, even Aunt Seraphina and Helena will be there.”

“You mean a dinner with all founders? That is indeed… Well, from a student’s point of view, I would say it’s overwhelming, but I guess I should try to not see them like that, right? Were you worried that I didn’t want to go to the dinner?”

“Not exactly, it’s just that my family can be a bit… unique. And I don’t particularly like Gregor. Oh, but you have to meet Mom and Pev beforehand. I don’t want to let them wait for a whole week to finally meet you.”

“They can’t be that bad. I mean, every family is a bit crazy, and I’m sure we will have an amazing evening with them. And Professor Lionheart will surely…”

“You don’t know him!” I didn’t want to hear him praise my uncle. He might be a decent teacher and the world's strongest wizard, but he is a terrible husband and even worse father. And I can’t forgive him for what he did.

“Do you want to tell me about him or about what happened? Because currently, I don’t understand it.” I didn’t want to talk about it. It would ruin my mood for the rest of the evening. But I also couldn’t do nothing.

“Just know that…” I rolled up the sleeve on my left arm and showed him the deep scar that was like a small canyon on my arm. “This is his fault. But I don’t want to talk about it. Not now.”

“Okay. But if you ever want to talk about it, know that I will be willing to listen.” He gave me a kiss, but I wasn’t really in the mood. He seemed to notice it as he changed the topic instead.

“My brother, Henry, also wants to meet you. Well, I told him quite late about you because I was ill and all, but he is quite eager to meet you. He has also seen how you beat up Daisy and Tom and was quite impressed, and I think he wants you to teach him how you did it.”

“I didn’t beat them up. I just disarmed them. But I will be happy to meet him. I mean, I can’t exactly teach him how I did it because… well, they were quite slow, and being fast is not something you can just learn.” He smiled at my answer as if he expected it.

“Just one thing. I didn’t tell him about your… unique constitution. And I’m sure if you tell him, he will tell mom and dad, but I would prefer it if I could tell them myself. So maybe wait a little before telling him about it. Just show him what you did and let him try. Maybe it will humble him a bit, as he has become quite a handful since he became one of the best fighters in his year.”

“Okay. I won’t tell him.” I could understand his feelings on the matter. It was a bit similar to when I wanted Mom to hear about Will from me instead of through some rumors. Another thing was that I was sure that his parents wouldn’t be amused to learn about it, and I wasn’t so naive that I would believe that they would just let Will do what he wanted, even though Will told me that if I didn’t want him to take over the family business, he could just tell them that.

“Good, then I will meet your mother tomorrow, and you will meet my brother in two days. How does that sound?”

“Sounds good, I guess. I mean, it feels much more official now than just a few hours ago, and it feels as if we are rushing it, but I guess I’m fine with it. How about you?”

“Not really. I mean, just because we introduce our family to each other doesn’t mean we have to instantly marry, right? And just because we talk about a possible future together doesn’t mean we have to decide everything right now. But in my opinion, it is better to talk about those things earlier rather than later. My dad always says, "Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today,” and I think he is right. At least most of the time. And if anything, it just means we are serious about it, right?”

That sounded like a good motto. A motto that would perfectly fit mother. But I immediately remembered that he still hadn’t told me about the deadline his parents had given him. Wasn’t that something you shouldn’t put off until tomorrow? But I guess I started so many difficult topics today that it is his turn if he wants to talk about it. I mean, it's not my deadline. At least not until he tells me about it. Is that the reason he doesn’t tell me?

“Do you hear that?” I asked him because I heard something akin to a gush of wind blowing through the trees, but unlike normal wind, it was getting louder and louder and sounded almost rythmically.

“No. What do you… Wait do you see that? What is that? Is that… a dragon?” I could hear the tension in his voice and immediately turned my eyes where he pointed them.

I squinted my eyes because I was blinded by the magical candlelight Will had summoned for our date, and my eyes weren’t so good at blending it out, but even then, I immediately saw what he meant. A black dragon that was slowly flapping its wings was getting closer and closer to the castle.

The closer he got the more I realized just how big the dragon was. Its head had to be big enough to eat the biggest carriage I had seen with one bite and its wings were so large that each beat of them cause the trees below them to cry out as if in a storm. Red eyes, glowing like fiery orbs, pierced the darkness, visible from miles away.

“We should hurry inside and warn the founders.” said Will, who hastily waved his wand to turn off the lights before grabbing my arm, pulling me towards the castle.

As we ran, the dragon got closer, and I thought about just taking Will and running at my top speed, but after my eyes got used to the dark again, I could see a small silhouette atop the dragon’s head. The silhouette of a woman whose hair was windswept because of the dragon’s speed. Even without seeing her clearly, I could feel a regality from the woman; I had only felt it from the founders when they had an official meeting with an outsider.

“There is a woman on the dragon's head.” I said and stopped Will from running.

“That can’t be. The only person known to have tamed a true dragon that is still alive is Kate Winter, and she is supposed to be in Greece right now.”

“But if it’s not her, who else could have tamed a dragon. A black dragon of that size at that. It has to be her. But why would she be here?” I could feel my heart beating faster. Kate Winter was somewhat of an idol to me. She came from a small family, but now she commands as much authority as an entire ancient family. In a way, she was on par with the founders in that regard. And she had chosen a way that didn’t involve high-level magic to do that.

“How would I know? Your mother is a founder, not mine.” He was right about that, but they weren’t particularly interested in sharing anything with me since the whole war thing started.

“But they don’t tell me everything. We should still keep running. What if Kate is here to create trouble? What if Gregor did something stupid again and she wants revenge now?” I said, racking my brain, why Kate Winter would be here, and even seeing her landing a few hundred meters outside from the castle with her behemoth of a dragon didn’t stop me from running towards the castle entrance that was only a few steps away.

“Even he wouldn’t be so stupid, Charlotte.” Said the tired voice of my uncle, who came out of the castle, followed by my mother, aunt, Gregor, and the wizard I had hoped to never see again. Edward. The first head boy of Toadwitz, favourite student of Aunt Seraphina, and my first embarrassing crush.

 

His charming smile and his kempt and stylish hair let me forget a moment when we were running from a dragon just seconds ago. He looked even better than the last time I saw him. Wait, why am I thinking about something like that? I have Will, and Will looks ten times… okay, no need to lie. Edward looked absolutely perfect, but that didn’t matter. Not to me, at least. Not anymore.

“Hello Uncle, Mom, ahm… have you seen that big black dragon that just landed in front of our home? Ahm. Is that Kate Winter?” What was I saying? I was already sure that it was Kate Winter. Stupid Edward, why did he have to appear right now?

“How could one overlook an adult, stygian hellfire dragon. That thing is enormous.” I could hear the thrilled voice of Gregor, who didn’t look at me but at the dragon with more battle lust than I would have liked.

“Charlotte, I’m sorry you have to learn about it like that. I didn’t know you would have your date outside. I hope it's going well. But please go inside now. You will hear the rest tomorrow, like everyone else.” I could see her smile at Will while saying it. I hope it doesn’t bother him too much.

I looked at Will, then at the Dragon, and then at the founders and Edward, and decided that if I had to choose between them, then Will would take priority today, even though I knew I wouldn’t get them out of my mind. I mean, Kate Winter is here. I want to talk to her if possible. Maybe she will stay for a few days.

Just when I was about to leave with Will, I heard Edward’s voice.

“Good Night, Charlotte. Don’t cause any trouble.”

I could feel a vein on my head pulsating. That arrogant, stupid ass. He might look good, but he is annoying as hell. I’m not a little child anymore, which causes trouble everywhere I go.

We were halfway to my room when I realized that I was quite literally stomping through the castle while pulling my boyfriend along to my room. The moment I noticed, I stopped stomping and returned to a normal pace.

“Sorry, Will. I didn’t want to act like that. Did you have anything else planned for the date?” I asked, sounding a little more deflated than I intended to. Why did the stupid dragon have to arrive during the time I was on a date? Why did I have to see Edward while I was on a date? Am I cursed or something like that?

“You don’t need to be. It’s just that I feel that I’m missing a lot of context right now. Were you angry that you couldn’t meet Kate Winter, or was it something else?”

"No, it’s nothing like that. I mean, I would have liked to meet her. But it's something else. I will tell you later, okay? I just want to enjoy the evening with you. No more problematic talks, no more dragons, just the two of us. Is that fine with you?”

He looked at me with a soft smile before giving me a soft kiss. “I would like nothing more than that.”

“Good, then we go to my room. You can even sleep there with me if you want.” I could see his face blushing when I realized how this could be interpreted.

“I didn’t mean it like that.” I wasn’t ready for that. Not yet. No matter what other girls my age did. No matter what mom thought I would do. “Just normal sleeping. I mean, you sleep, and I can lie next to you if you want. You know what? Forget I said anything.”

“Charly, calm down. I know you didn’t mean it like that. Just let’s go to your room.” I considered pointing out that his blush indicated otherwise, but decided against it. We were almost at my room anyway.

The moment Archimedes opened the door, I realized that a few dresses and other pieces of clothing were still lying around in my room.

“Normally, my room is more orderly. Almost spotless. Believe me.” I tried to explain myself as I hurriedly tried to throw my clothes into my wardrobe. I could feel my face blush a little as I put away a pair of panties.

“You have seen my dorm, so I guess this much is nothing. Do you need help?”

“No!” It was one thing for him to see me put away my panties, but an entirely different thing if he had to put them away for me.

After around two minutes, my room looked almost presentable. Just my desk still looked like I was just taking a break from work, but that was fine.

“So, this is my humble home. Do you want snacks? I think I still have beefjerky somewhere.”

“No, I’m fine. Wow, so many books. Is that a cauldron in the corner? Do you brew potions in here as well?” I felt kind of embarrassed at him walking around and commenting on everything he saw, but I guess I didn’t have anything in my room to really be embarrassed about.

“What is this jar with the tear label on it for? Is it a potion ingredient? But what kind of potion would need so many tears that you need such a large jar for them?” Okay, I did have something to be embarrassed about in my room. How do I explain that to him. Maybe I shouldn’t Maybe I can just distract him. I mean in my opinion we cuddled far to less anyway. It would also keep my thoughts from straying away so it was two birds with one stone.

“Do you want to discuss my furniture or do you want to... mmm, sit down and talk a bit?” I said and pointed towards my bed. I had a small sofa, but my bed was more comfortable, even though it wasn’t as big as the ones other students had. It was as if theirs were made for two people, while mine was just large enough for me to roll around one time. I didn’t use it as much, but I still liked lying down there if I had to think about a problem. Usually, academic ones, because the bed was close to the desk in case I had a sudden enlightenment. The bath was used for all other problems.

“Talk?” he teased me. Well, at least this time, I really meant something like that. But I couldn’t just say that, right? So I guess a little teasing was the price I needed to be willing to pay. Would it be too much to ask for a massage? It would surely help me calm down.