Neutral Magic

Disclaimer: I do not own the Worst Witch or Weirdsister College series or any characters associated with them. No money is being made from this story.

Chapter 7: A Night on the Town

Mildred pressed a series of computer keys then watched as the results of her program were collated on the monitor screen. She was in her laboratory, unusually working on a Saturday evening as she finished the complex calculations that were to provide a risk assessment for the procedure she hoped would save her former Potion teacher's life.

Mildred frowned as she took in the figures. The risk of starting an uncontrollable chain reaction was small, less than one in a hundred, but still too large for her peace of mind and now she had a very difficult decision to make. Was saving Miss Hardbroom worth taking the admittedly small risk of unleashing wholesale disaster on the world?

The young witch suddenly shivered and looked behind her. Over the last few months she had felt several times that someone was watching her in her laboratory, but as always the room was deserted. Even if someone invisible had been there or someone partially dematerialised into an intangible state her magical senses would have detected that.

She shook her head, feeling irritated with herself. It was no wonder she kept imagining things, working alone in an empty room for hours on end. What she really needed was a research assistant or a postgraduate student but finding a suitable one wasn't easy. The highly mathematical theory she specialised in was something not many witches or wizards had either an interest in or aptitude for. None of the handful of students who had taken Advanced Magical Theory last year had proven suitable but Mildred still hoped she would find a research student among this year's larger cohort.

Mildred quickly checked her watch and then muttered a curse under her breath. It has just gone six and she and Enid were supposed to be leaving for the Atomic Nightclub at half past, giving her less than half an hour to get ready. She folded her arms and promptly vanished in a flicker of light.

She reappeared in a moderately sized and sparsely furnished sitting room. Enid, who had been sitting on the small but comfortable looking sofa, jumped up as her friend materialised. She was already dressed for their evening out, with her hair and make up done and wearing a very attractive red dress with matching heels.

"Millie!" Enid exclaimed. "What happened, I was starting to think you weren't coming."

"Sorry!" Mildred apologised. "I got lost in my work and forgot the time. I need to shower and get ready."

"You'd better hurry!" Enid advised her, as Mildred dashed towards her bedroom.

Stripping off her clothes, Mildred put on a bathrobe and headed towards the bathroom for a quick shower. Fifteen minutes later she was mostly ready and was sitting in front of her dressing table, putting the finishing touches to her make up for the evening.

After applying her lipstick, Mildred stood up and slipped her feet into a pair of very high black stiletto heels. Stepping back she studied herself in the mirror. The dress she had chosen was black and low cut with a skirt just above mid thigh, revealing but also very stylish.

Placing her hands on her hips, Mildred wriggled provocatively and then giggled, feeling a little ashamed of her adolescent behaviour. But there was no denying she looked really good tonight, something she certainly intended to take full advantage of.

Mildred was just checking she had everything she needed in her shoulder bag when Enid entered the room and whistled appreciatively at her friend's appearance.

"Wow, you look great, Millie! But we'd better hurry now."

"Yeah, let's go," Mildred agreed, taking her friend's arm. "Hopefully we can find ourselves a couple of hot guys tonight!"

Laughing, the two friends made their way out of their flat and began the fifteen-minute walk to the club, talking about mostly inconsequential things and avoiding the discussion of anything serious. The question of what to do about Miss Hardbroom was still hanging in the air between them, but they didn't want to spoil their evening out by getting into that just then.

Arriving at the club they found Cas Crowfeather waiting for them outside, wearing a stylish but relatively modest dark blue dress. Remembering her promise to Enid a few days ago, Mildred nodded politely at her former friend but the tension between them was still obvious.

"I need to visit the loo," Enid told them as they entered, raising her voice to be heard over the pounding music. "I'll see you two in a bit."

She quickly headed off, leaving Mildred alone with Cas and feeling a bit awkward.

"Come on, let's get a drink," Cas suggested. "I'll buy the first round."

Skirting round the small dance floor they made their way to the bar where the Canadian witch got herself a martini and Mildred a rum and coke. Carrying their drinks carefully they went to one of the small sofas dotted around the dance floor and sat down.

There was no sign of Enid reappearing and Mildred suspected she had left the two of them alone deliberately, hoping some time together would help to heal the breach between the former friends. Despite knowing Enid meant well, Mildred felt a bit annoyed by her friend's manipulation. Sipping her drink she watched the gyrating figures on the dance floor, assessing some of the young men and taking note of which ones seemed alone.

"Checking out the talent, are you?" Cas asked with a grin. "There doesn't seem much here that looks promising as boyfriend material."

Mildred snorted. "The last thing I want is a boyfriend!"

"Then why are you so interested?"

"Because I like sex," Mildred replied with a shrug.

Cas Crowfeather regarded the young English witch thoughtfully. It was obvious she'd understood what Mildred's plans were for the evening, and equally obvious she didn't really approve.

"Who doesn't like sex?" Cas tried to keep her tone light, giving a rather unconvincing laugh. "But this doesn't seem like you, Millie. I mean I've had my share of one-night stands but they were heat of the moment kind of things. This seems a lot more calculating."

"So you disapprove?"

"I guess it's not my place to," Cas admitted with a sigh. "But I can't help wondering if this is really about revenge!"

"What the hell do you mean, Cas?" Mildred demanded angrily.

The Canadian witch frowned as she turned on the small sofa to face Mildred, her expression now very serious.

"You were betrayed by Ben Stemson and Nick Hobbes, Millie. And from what you let slip during our three years at college, I'm pretty sure some guy hurt you just before you came to Weirdsister. I can't help thinking you shag random guys and then dump them to get your own back, to revenge yourself on the entire male sex."

Mildred did not reply at once. She gulped down the rest of her rum and coke, her hand shaking. When she did speak her tone was cold and brittle.

"If you've quite finished psychoanalysing me Cas, I want to go and dance. Keep an eye on my bag, will you?"

Standing up, Mildred returned her empty glass to the bar. Edging onto the crowded dance floor she began moving in time to the music, soon losing herself in the relentless driving rhythm.

Inside, Mildred was still seething at the Canadian's accusation. Desperate not to think about those words and to ignore the suspicion that they held more than a little truth she concentrated on the music, immersing herself in the timeless ecstasy of the dance.

She soon became aware though of someone dancing near her and obviously checking her out. Despite the flashing strobe lights that illuminated the dance floor, she quickly managed to size up the young man who seemed interested.

He looked to be in his mid twenties, dressed in a tee shirt and rather frayed looking jeans and was well built and very tall, nearly half a head taller than Mildred in her heels. Although not especially handsome there was a rather dangerous and brutal air about him she found exciting.

The music abruptly ended and the DJ switched to a slower song intended for couples. Before Mildred could even think of protesting the young man had grabbed her around the waist and they started slowly revolving to the music.

Her new dance partner clearly didn't believe in wasting time as Mildred soon felt his hands moving down to caress and squeeze her bottom. The mild arousal she was already feeling from the combination of dancing and the alcohol she had consumed flared into intense desire and pressing closer, she wound her arms around his neck and lifted her lips to his. The intensity of the kiss took her by surprise as his tongue roughly plundered her mouth. Moaning softly, she met it just as forcefully with her own, unwilling to let him dominate her. After nearly a minute they pulled apart, both panting heavily.

"Let's go somewhere private." His voice was deep and despite his rather rough appearance he was obviously quite well educated, but Mildred was uninterested in his background. She wanted him and wanted him now.

"Okay!" She agreed quickly. "I'll just get my bag."

Leading the way off the dance floor, Mildred went back to where Cas was sitting and retrieved her shoulder bag. The young man hung back, looking at Cas rather warily.

"Millie!" Cas whispered urgently. "I don't think you should go off with that guy. He looks like trouble."

"I'll be fine," Mildred assured her. "I'll see you later, Cas."

Mildred quickly led the way to the Ladies toilets, hoping there would be no one there at this time in the evening.

"What's your name, babe?" He asked as they made their way out of the main part of the club.

Mildred regarded him quizzically. "Do we need to know each other's names to have fun?"

"I guess not," he admitted. "A woman of mystery, are you?"

Mildred just grinned at him. "If you like!"

As she had expected the Ladies toilets were deserted. Muttering a contraceptive spell under her breath she led her companion to one of the unoccupied cubicles. After quickly bolting the door he sank down onto the toilet seat and pulled Mildred onto his lap, and as they came together in a confused blur of tangled limbs and clashing tongues she quickly forgot everything else and surrendered herself to mindless physical pleasure.

Mildred extricated herself from his embrace after the second time, when it was obvious he would not be able to perform again for a while. As she straitened her dress and pulled her knickers back on, Mildred felt a sense of gloating triumph as she observed her latest conquest. His hands were shaking as tucked himself back in his jeans and pulled up the zip and she couldn't help smiling disdainfully. How pathetic men were once their lust had been exhausted!

Unlocking the cubicle door, she walked over the row of washbasins and peered at herself in the mirror. After wiping away the scarlet smudges where her lipstick had smeared, Mildred took a compact out of her shoulder bag and started fixing her make up. She was just redoing her lipstick when she noticed in the mirror he was standing just behind her.

"Hey babe!" He growled softly. "Why don't we meet up again sometime?"

Inwardly, Mildred was exultant. They were usually desperate for more and this one had proved to be no exception. This was going to be just satisfying as she had hoped.

"What would be the point of that?" She asked with a shrug, as she returned the lipstick to her shoulder bag.

"The point?" He repeated, frowning. "Didn't you have fun?"

"Of course I did," she replied. "We both got off, didn't we? But we've both gotten what we wanted so I see no reason to meet up again."

Mildred turned to walk away, then cried out in pain as he seized her upper arm in a crushing grip and pulled her round to face him.

"You little trollop!" He snarled. "You think you can just use me then toss me aside like rubbish? I'll…"

His voice suddenly trailed off and he released Mildred's arm, his expression going blank as he fell under the thrall of the compulsion spell she had quickly placed on him.

"You fool!" Mildred hissed at him. "Did you think I was just a helpless female you can abuse? When I snap my fingers you will go home and as soon as you leave this club you will forget me and all the events of this evening. Do you understand?"

"I understand." His voice was dull and expressionless.

Mildred snapped her fingers and he immediately turned around and walked out of the room. She leaned back against the wall, rubbing her arm, which was already starting to bruise. The triumph she had felt earlier had evaporated and now she felt depressed and deflated and for a moment she wondered why.

Grudgingly. Mildred admitted the truth to herself. She felt depressed not because of the violence against her but because she had removed his memory of her and he would not feel humiliated by the way she had used him. Cas had been right; these escapades were not primarily about sex but about revenge.

Suddenly Mildred felt utterly disgusted by herself and the way she had been acting over the last few years. It wasn't so much all the casual sex that bothered her but the motivation behind it. Because a few young men had hurt her in the past, she had been punishing all young men in retribution. She had been making an entire group of people pay for the crimes of just a few of them. What sort of twisted immoral person did that make her?

Mildred didn't really know a lot about religion. Her family was not religious and given the hostility that has often existed between magic and religion it was not a subject that was discussed much at witch schools like Cackles. But she had received some haphazard religious instruction at junior school and one passage of scripture suddenly came back to her with devastating force.

What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his own soul?

Mildred's research accomplishments had made her respected and admired throughout the magical community. She had won prizes and awards and was one of the most celebrated witches in the world. Yet somehow on the way to all that she had lost her real self.

A few days ago she had felt uneasy that she had somehow lost something important but had been uncertain what it was. Now it was only too clear. The truth was she had lost her faith. Not faith in any religious sense but rather faith in the nature of things. As a child and young teenager Mildred had possessed an unshakeable conviction, held more by instinct that any rational argument, that however dark and twisted the world often seemed it was fundamentally a good place and that good was always stronger than evil. With all the personal troubles she had experienced as she grew into adulthood, she had allowed herself to lose that conviction and become bitter and cynical.

As she left the Ladies toilets, Mildred wondered if there was any way back for her. Was it possible for her to regain that innocent trust that her younger self had possessed? Well she could at least try. Faith she realised wasn't so much a quality you had as a choice you made whether consciously or not, a commitment to trust that you lived your life by. She could begin by going ahead with her plan to help Miss Hardbroom and trusting everything would work out. And she could try to rebuild her friendship with Cas. The Canadian witch's actions that day before Graduation had been drastic and perhaps even a bit mad, but had probably worked out for the best anyway. However difficult her life was now, Mildred was sure it would have been much worse if she had been crazy enough to actually marry Nick Hobbes. Mildred suddenly realised just how much she had missed Cas's friendship over the past few years.

Walking round the edge of the dance floor, Mildred made her way to the sofa where Cas was still sitting. The Canadian witch got to her feet as she approached.

"Millie, are you okay?"

Mildred nodded, unconsciously rubbing her bruised arm. "Yeah, I think so."

Cas stared at the bruised arm, looking worried. "What happened?"

"The guy I was with turned out to be a bit of a creep," Mildred confessed with a sigh. "I suppose you're going to say I told you so?"

"I'm just glad you're all right," Cas told her. "Does that arm hurt?"

"A bit," Mildred admitted.

Cas reached out and touched the bruised area, muttering a spell. The discomfort instantly vanished and looking down Mildred saw the bruises were rapidly disappearing.

"Thanks Cas!"

The Canadian witch nodded. "You're sure you're okay Millie?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Mildred assured her. "It's a good thing I'm a witch though, or I might have been in real trouble. I could really do with another drink right now."

"Come on," Cas said and led the way to the bar.

Cas got Mildred another rum and coke and another martini for herself, insisting on paying despite Mildred's protests that it was her turn. Instead of returning to the sofa they perched on a couple of the bar stools and as they sipped their drinks, Mildred decided to try to start repairing the breach in their friendship.

"Cas?" She began hesitantly.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Well, I was wondering if we could meet up for lunch sometime, just the two of us," Mildred suggested. "We could reminisce about our time at Weirdsister, as well as catch up on what's happened since we left college."

From the expression on the young Canadian's face it was plain she understood exactly what this offer implied, and equally clear how happy and relieved she was to be offered this olive branch.

"I'd really like that!"

"Me too!" Mildred agreed. "How about next Thursday, about one?"

Cas nodded. "Sounds good to me. I guess it would be easiest if you came to London. I think I'll try and book us a table at La Gavroche."

Mildred's eyes widened in surprise at the mention of the famous French restaurant. "That's very classy. And expensive!"

The Canadian witch smiled mischievously. "That's why you're paying!"

"Oh thanks a lot!" Mildred laughed. "Do you think I'm made of money?"

"Well you're the world famous lecturer and researcher. I'm just a mere healer."

"I don't think that actually counts for much," Mildred said a little ruefully. "Academics aren't really paid a huge amount, although I do earn a bit extra from lecture tours. But I don't mind paying on Thursday. It'll be my treat!"

Cas grinned. "Thanks Millie, I'm really looking forward to it."

"So am I," Mildred admitted and then decided it was best not to talk about this too much but just let things develop at their own pace. "Hey, I wonder where Enid's got to?"

"I did see her earlier," Cas said frowning. "She was talking to some guy she'd met so maybe they've gone off somewhere together."

"Then I hope she has better luck than I did," Mildred sighed, taking another sip of her drink.

"I thought he looked quite a decent sort of guy," Cas replied. "Although I guess you can never tell for sure."

Mildred grimaced. "Well you seem to be a better judge of these things than I am."

She took another sip of her rum and coke, staring down at the floor as she silently berated herself for her folly, but then looked up at a sudden exclamation from her friend.

"Hey there she is. And he's still with her!"

Mildred looked where Cas was pointing and gasped. Enid was heading towards them, skirting around the dance floor but she was not alone. A young man was with her, someone Mildred knew but had never expected to see again. Someone she had never wanted to see again.

"Charlie!" She whispered disbelievingly.

Charlie Blossom had not changed all that much in the eight years since Mildred had last seen him. The young wizard was rather taller than he had been and better built, but his face was much the same. As he approached them with Enid, Mildred felt a simmering rage building inside her.

"Hey Millie!" Enid exclaimed as she joined them at the bar. "Look who I ran into. It's Charlie, Charlie Blossom!"

"So I see!" Mildred replied quietly as she slid off her stool and stood up. "Hello Charlie!"

"Hi Millie!" The young wizard's smile was as friendly and infectious as ever and something in Mildred snapped.

Striding forward, she slapped Charlie Blossom hard across the face.

"You lying bastard! How dare you even speak to me again?"

All the people nearby turned to stare in astonishment at this unfolding drama. Completely heedless of the fact that about half the club was now watching her, Mildred suddenly vanished in a flash of light.

A/N I'm really sorry this chapter has taken so long. It's a pivotal chapter in the story and I found it hard going, especially as Real Life in the form of work and other commitments kept getting in the way.