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 11: A Romantic Interlude

Mildred woke slowly, her mind still fuzzy from sleep and gradually became conscious of some significant differences from the way her morning usually began. For a start she was not wearing any nightclothes and the bed she was lying in felt rather different from her own. The other difference was the warm and very masculine body she was entangled with.

Mildred sat up with a start and opened her eyes. She let out a tiny gasp as she found herself staring into the sleeping face of Charlie Blossom, and the events of the previous night came flooding back to her.

Her dinner date with Charlie had started awkwardly. She had arrived at his flat just a few moments before eight and the discomfort they both shared over the situation had been almost palpable. After some halfhearted attempt at conversation Charlie had started to serve dinner. It was obvious he had gone out of his way to impress her; the starter was duck liver pate on toast, accompanied by a delicious Mosel Riesling.

The conversation as they ate had been rather stilted but it was not just the difficulty of finding safe topics to talk about after everything that had happened between them; they were both aware of a burgeoning sexual tension.

After finishing the starter, Charlie had gotten up to bring in the main course. Mildred had risen to her feet as well, offering to help, but Charlie had refused, assuring her he could manage. But when he touched her arm everything had just spiralled out of control and a second later they were kissing furiously. Before she could really think about what was happening they had practically torn each other's clothes off and were coupling on the floor like animals. It had been the most intense sexual experience of Mildred's entire life.

When they finally managed to disentangle themselves they wandered naked through to the kitchen, only to find the joint of lamb that Charlie was cooking had been burned to a crisp. They were both feeling so exhilarated that they had just laughed at the situation, and after finding some cold chicken in the fridge had wolfed that down, accompanied by champagne. Then instead of serving the dessert he had prepared, Charlie picked up Mildred as though she weighed nothing and carried her through to his bedroom, where he had made love to her for several hours until they both fell into an exhausted sleep.

Well, so much for keeping things professional!" Mildred thought ruefully.

Her common sense was telling her she ought to get up now, but instead she snuggled closer to the young wizard. Despite the rather promiscuous lifestyle Mildred had led over the last few years it was a long time since she had last spend the night with a man. That was something she had always felt was far more intimate than the sexual act itself and therefore something she had always avoided; the last thing she had wanted was to become emotionally involved with anyone again. But being close to Charlie like this just felt so natural that she couldn't tear herself away.

After a few minutes she felt her partner begin to stir.

"Millie?" Charlie voice was a little hoarse with sleep. "Are you awake?"

Mildred did not answer. Instead she just snuggled closer.

"Well you obviously are," Charlie commented with a chuckle. "Don't you think we ought to get up?"

"Not sure I can after last night," Mildred replied. "I came so many times I think I've gone completely numb."

"Oh really?" He sounded sceptical and pinched her arm. "Feel that?"

"Nope, never felt it," Mildred lied.

"Then how about this?"

Mildred yelped in surprise as the palm of Charlie's hand collided rather violently with her behind. She sat up abruptly, glaring at him indignantly and rubbing her stinging bottom.

"What was that for?"

Folding his hands behind his head, the young wizard grinned up at her. "I wanted to find out if you really had gone numb!"

"You brute!" Mildred pouted, but then her expression suddenly changed. "Oh God, I want you, Charlie!"

She leaned down and kissed him. Charlie pulled her on top of him and then rolled over, pinning Mildred beneath him. He was obviously in a playful mood as he set about teasing the young witch mercilessly. The next few minutes passed very pleasantly, but Mildred soon found herself wanting more than just foreplay.

"No more teasing," she demanded, her voice thick with passion. She tugged on the young wizard, trying to pull him closer and join them more intimately. "I need you now, Charlie!"

But instead of entering her he sat up and got off the bed, walking over to a chest of drawers and taking out a pair of boxer shorts.

"What are you doing?" Mildred demanded as she sat up, her lust-addled brain struggling to make sense of what was happening. "Come back here!"

"Sorry Millie!" He gave her a rather wicked grin as he pulled the boxers on. "I need some breakfast first."

"But you can't!" Mildred complained as he walked towards the door. "You can't get me all worked up like this then leave me hanging. It's just not fair!"

"Life isn't fair," Charlie informed her, then blew her a kiss. "See you at breakfast, sweetheart!"

"Beast!" Mildred threw a pillow at the closing door then huffed indignantly. "Bloody men!"

Mildred glared balefully at the door, her body aching with frustrated desire. For a moment she considered taking care of that herself, but a quick glance at the clock on Charlie's bedside table changed her mind. It was half past seven and she had a Second Year lecture to give at nine.

With a sigh she got out of bed and then wondered what to do. Her clothes and shoulder bag were still in Charlie's sitting room where she had abandoned them during their first heated encounter. She wondered if it was altogether proper to wander around Charlie's flat stark naked in search of them, but then told herself she was being silly; he had already seen everything anyway.

After recovering her things, Mildred managed to find the bathroom and had a quick shower. Towelling herself dry she contemplated her clothes; a black evening dress and five inch stiletto heels were not what she would usually wear so early in the day and for a moment she considered magically transforming them into something more suitable, but then decided she really couldn't be bothered. After quickly dressing, Mildred tidied her hair and put on some light make up, then went in search of the kitchen and breakfast.

"You made it at last," Charlie said with a grin as she entered the small kitchen. "Sit down and help yourself to some toast."

Taking one of the chairs round the kitchen table, Mildred poured herself a cup of tea and spread jam on some toast. She did her best not to stare at Charlie too much. He was still wearing only a pair of boxers and she had to fight down a sudden impulse to jump him right there and then.

"I can't stay too long," she told him. "I've got a lecture at nine, then I have to work on getting ready for Miss Hardbroom on Thursday."

""How's that going?" Charlie asked as took another piece of toast.

Mildred shrugged, taking a bite of her toast and chewing slowly before she replied.

"I've got the spell all worked out. What I need to do now is find a way of containing the neutral magic it's going to produce."

Charlie looked rather concerned. "Can you do it in time?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I can." Mildred reassured him. "If my theoretical work is right, then it should actually be fairly straightforward."

"And if it's wrong?"

Mildred took a sip of her tea before she replied.

"Then we're thoroughly screwed!" She shrugged casually. "But we have to take that risk. It's a gamble but one worth taking."

"Let's hope your right!" Charlie muttered.

Mildred finished her toast and gulped down the rest of her tea, then got to her feet.

"Well I'd better get going now."

Charlie stood up as well and Mildred let out a tiny gasp of surprise as he snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her close.

"Don't go yet!" He begged her. "I think we have some unfinished business from earlier."

Mildred glared at him. "You didn't seem to think it was that urgent."

"I was hungry," Charlie informed her with a grin. "I'm not now!"

"Oh I see!" Mildred retorted. "So now you've finished stuffing yourself you expect me to just forget the way you left me hanging and shag you? Well maybe I'm not in the mood anymore."

"I'm sure I can fix that!"

"Can you now," Mildred snorted. "How exactly?"

The young wizard's grin became positively wicked. "It seemed to rather turn you on when I slapped your behind. Maybe a good spanking will get you in the mood again."

Mildred blushed furiously. She was rather disturbed to realise that she didn't find the suggestion entirely unappealing, but she had no intention of ever admitting it and decided the best response was defiance.

"You'll have to catch me first!"

"But I've got you already!" Charlie tightened his arms around her waist. "I don't think you can wriggle free, and you couldn't run fast in those shoes anyway."

Mildred just smirked at him.

"Then it's a good job I have another way of escaping you!"

Charlie let out a surprised exclamation as Mildred vanished in a flash of light. He looked around him in bewilderment as her disembodies laughter echoed eerily round the small kitchen.

"Where are you?"

"I'm right here!" Mildred's voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere. "I'm just invisible and intangible."

"Not fair!" Charlie complained. "You know I can't do that!"

Mildred suddenly appeared again, now sitting on the kitchen table and grinning.

"Life isn't fair!" She threw Charlie's own words from earlier back at him. "But if it worries you, you should practise more."

"Very funny!" Charlie muttered.

They both knew that although Charlie was a talented wizard, he lacked the raw magical power needed for that sort of enchantment.

"I really do have to go now." Hopping off the table, Mildred kissed his cheek. "I'll see you on Thursday."

"Can't I see you before then?" He asked. "Why not come to dinner again tomorrow night? I didn't actually get a chance to properly impress you with my cooking skills"

Mildred smirked at him. "Don't worry, you impressed me with some other skills instead! Do you think we could get through all three courses without shagging on the carpet?"

"I'm sure we could manage," Charlie told her. "We can always do that after."

"You're incorrigible!" Mildred shook her head but she was smiling. "Okay then, I'll see you tomorrow evening about eight."

Folding her arms. Mildred vanished in a flicker of light.

She reappeared in her sitting room. Enid was sitting on the sofa reading a magazine but jumped up when her friend appeared.

"Well well, the prodigal returns!"

Mildred grimaced, realising from her friend's expression that she was going to be teased unmercifully.

"Hello Enid."

"Had a good night, did you?" Her friend asked, smirking.

Mildred shrugged, trying to look casual. "It was okay."

"I see." Enid gave her a rather calculating look. "So I suppose you won't be seeing Charlie again?"

"Well, actually I will." Mildred admitted reluctantly. "We're having dinner again tomorrow evening."

"Really?" Enid sniggered. "Normally you never date the same guy twice. Either the sex was amazing or you're in love!"

"I am not in love!" Mildred shouted furiously.

Both of then jumped when a mug on the coffee table suddenly exploded into tiny fragments. Mildred took a deep breath, trying to get her emotions under control. One of the drawbacks of being such a powerful witch was that her magic could sometimes manifest itself spontaneously, usually in a destructive manner. Mildred suspected that was one of the reasons she had been so accident prone when younger. As an adult she had much more control but her magical strength was also much greater and strong emotions occasionally resulted in magical accidents.

"No need to get upset," Enid said, with a wary look at her friend. "One might almost think you really are in love, judging by how fiercely you deny it."

Mildred stared at her, torn by conflicting emotions. Her mind was desperately trying to deny what her heart was telling her.

"I can't be in love with Charlie again," she whispered. "I just can't!"

"Again?" Enid shook her head, giving Mildred a pitying look. "Millie, I don't think you ever really stopped!"

"You're right!" With sudden devastating clarity Mildred realised the truth of her friend's words and it horrified her. "I do still love him!"

Abruptly sitting on the sofa, Mildred buried her head in her hands.

"Oh shit, shit, shit!"

"Millie!" Enid sat beside her and put an arm around her friend's shoulders. "Most people think being in love is something to be happy about."

Mildred did not reply. All she could think about was the pain that romantic love had brought her in the past. Ben Stemson and Nick Hobbes had both betrayed her. Charlie might not have actually betrayed her, in fact that debacle was really more her fault than his, but the hurt had been the same. She couldn't go through all that again.

"I can't deal with this now," Mildred declared suddenly. "I've got a Second Year lecture in twenty minutes."

Getting to her feet, Mildred hurried in to her bedroom to get changed. Enid followed, watching from the doorway as her friend changed into a black top and beige skirt, and swapped her black stilettos for a pair of white pumps with a slightly lower heel. Sitting in front of her dressing table, Mildred quickly brushed her hair again and then put on a bit more make up, redoing her lipstick and adding some mascara and a touch of blusher and eye shadow.

"Do I look okay?" Mildred asked anxiously. "I didn't really have the time to do my eyes properly."

"You look fine." Enid assured her.

Mildred gave her friend a grateful smile then jumped off her stool and started hurriedly searching through all the folders and papers on her rather messy desk.

"Where the hell are my Second Year lecture notes?"

Enid shrugged. "Sorry, I've no idea."

"Oh I remember now," Mildred exclaimed. "I left them in my lab on Friday. Well, I'll just stop off at the lab first."

She folded her arms, preparing to dematerialise, bur Enid reached out and grabbed her shoulder.

"Hang on Millie, we've got to talk about you and Charlie. You can't keep pretending it's not important."

"I know that!" Mildred gave her friend a rather bleak smile. "I don't have time now but we will discuss it tonight."

"Promise?"

"I promise!" Mildred nodded and then chuckled ruefully. "I know you won't let me get away with it for long!"

Enid grinned and let go of her friend's shoulder and Mildred promptly vanished in a flicker of light.

She reappeared in her lab and walked quickly towards her desk. Her lecture notes were lying in front of the computer terminal, right next to her lab journal.

"That's odd!" The young witch thought to herself. "I'm sure I locked my journal in the drawer."

Mildred felt rather alarmed, wondering if someone was trying to poach on her research. She doubted any of the students would have the ability to bypass her security spells, but other researchers in her field were another matter. The one who immediately sprang to mind was Andy Starfinder. He had started lecturing at Weirdsister just as she began here as an undergraduate, but had left after only four years to continue his research at a magical university in Germany. They met sometimes at conferences and although he was polite enough, Mildred could sense his resentment that a girl he taught as a student, and whose intellectual ability he had once openly disparaged, was already surpassing him in his own field.

She shook her head suddenly, feeling a little appalled by her paranoia. She and Starfinder might not exactly be friends, but he was a well-respected researcher and it was absurd to think he was trying to steal her work.

"I must be going nuts!" She muttered. "Probably I did leave it out and just assumed I'd put it away."

Dismissing the matter from her mind, Mildred put her journal in the drawer and locked it, adding several protective spells as an extra precaution. Picking up her notes, she left the lab and headed at a brisk pace towards the Lecture Theatre.