"Are you sure you don't want to come with me? I'm sure I could magic up some kind of excuse for your mother…" Willow grinned and wiggled her fingers, small sparkles appearing between them.

Charlotte laughed, "No. I don't think that would be fair on her." She looked over to her mother, who was talking on her phone, but gave the girls a wave. "I'm gonna try and convince of her of what's going on."

"Well, I know Buffy's mother didn't believe she was a Slayer until a vampire attacked Joyce on her own front lawn. I hope your mother's more understanding."

The two hugged tightly, and Willow gasped. "Oh, I almost forgot to give you this." She reached into her backpack and pulled out a worn-looking book. "It's a magic book," she explained. "For beginners really. Just simple spells, transfiguring fruit to another kind, levitation, things like that. I managed to find a semi-decent magic shop on the way over"

Charlotte took the book gratefully. "Thank you, Willow. This is great. I wish you could teach me more yourself," she admitted.

"I know, I do too," Willow agreed. There was a blooming power in this young woman, one that Willow admired, and was excited to see where it led. "But you can always give me a call. And when we finally get a base set up, you can come and I can help you."

"Sounds like a plan." Charlotte smiled, then looked at her watch. "Oh, you're gonna be late for your flight, you better get going," she quickly said.

Willow nodded and the two embraced one more time before Willow picked up her suitcase and headed off through the terminal, giving one last wave over her shoulder before taking out her cellphone to call Buffy.

Walking back to her mother, Charlotte flipped through the pages of the book. Like Willow had said, it seemed pretty simple, though still fascinating.

"What's that, sweetie?" Annette asked, her eyebrows furrowed at the book in Charlotte's hand. "Something Willow gave you?"

Charlotte nodded, tapping the cover. "Just a book, Mum," she said, quickly putting it into her messenger bag.

"She was a nice young lady. Shame she couldn't stay longer." They began walking through the terminal. "Is she going to come this way any time soon?"

"No, but Willow did tell me about this school that she said had a great scholarship program."

"Well, that is always a good thing to get a head start on, Charlotte."

A couple days later, Charlotte sat on a more secluded area of the beach, her feet in the water as she read her new book intently. After a minute, she looked up, lifted her hand, and moved the water away from her feet, slowly raising it like a sheet of water in front of her.

"So you do have your powers back."

Charlotte jumped a little in surprise at Emma's voice. The three girls were carefully making their way over to her, avoiding any damp spots in the sand, Cleo holding a small box in her hand. She stood and went to them, grabbing her towel and drying off.

"I'm guessing Lewis told you?" She asked, looking away.

Cleo laughed. "Who else? He just told us what you told him."

"But you don't have a tail?" Rikki asked, her eyebrow raised.

Charlotte shook her head. "Nope, just my powers. Well, a little extra too. But I'm not a mermaid, but I am a witch, as well as a Slayer."

"Sounds like you've got a lot on your plate," Rikki said.

Charlotte smiled. "Nothing I can't handle," she said confidently. "What's in the box, Cleo?"

"Oh!" the brunette girl held the small box out to her. "It's a present. We asked Max to make it for you."

Charlotte furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, but took the box, opening it with slight apprehension. But inside the box was a silver locket, just like the ones that the others had, but with a small white-blue gem at the top.

"It's moonstone," Emma explained. "Max thought it would be the most appropriate."

A laugh escaped Charlotte's lips. "This is really sweet of you guys, thank you." She quickly put the necklace on. "How does it look?"

"It looks good on you," Cleo said approvingly.

Charlotte smiled, and touched the locket. Unlike Cleo's, which had always felt slightly off, this one seemed to fit her perfectly. "Actually, I think I might have something for you guys too." She glanced at the book again before putting it down. She put her hands out to the ocean and began levitating three small spheres of water over their heads.

"Um, Charlotte, what are you doing?" Cleo asked nervously.

"Don't worry, I think, even if I get this wrong, you'll just end up with tails."

"Get what wrong?" Rikki asked, her hands already poised into fists.

Charlotte said a couple words in Latin, and twisted her hand gently, causing the bubbles to pop, sprinkling the girls with water.

The three immediately recoiled from the water, Rikki groaning in annoyance, as they waited for their tails to appear.

But ten seconds passed, and their legs remained where they were.

"What did you do?" Emma asked, fear radiating her voice.

Charlotte beamed proudly. "I temporarily blocked the magic making your tails appear. Your powers should still work, though."

The three tested them, and they still had their powers.

"You can go in the ocean," Charlotte suggested with a grin. "The spell will last while I'm maintaining it."

Cleo, Emma, and Rikki looked at each other nervously, then walked up to the shoreline, at first too nervous to step into the surf.

Finally, Rikki gingerly took the first step into the water, walking until she was ankle deep in. She looked back at Cleo and Emma, a big smile on her face.

That was all the reassurance that they needed. Laughing, the two ran into the water, heedless of their clothes. After a few minutes of holding the spell, Charlotte sat down in the ocean, breathing a little heavily.

Emma walked over, sitting down next to her. "Are you okay?" she asked, putting her hand on Charlotte's shoulder.

Charlotte nodded. "Yeah, this spell is just a little draining," she explained. "I can't keep this spell up for long, Emma."

"Oh," the blonde girl murmured, looking at her legs in the water. "Sometimes I miss this," she said, indicating her wet skin. "I mean, being a mermaid is amazing, but I won't lie and say I don't miss being able to swim out in the open." She glanced at Charlotte. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"It's okay, Emma," Charlotte interrupted. "I'll always miss it, being a mermaid. But it's not who I was meant to be. I shouldn't have forced it. You guys were right to do what you did." Her head started to throb. "Emma," she whispered, "You might want to tell the others to get dry."

"Okay, just hold on. Guys!" Emma shouted, "Come here, Charlotte needs help!"

Rikki and Cleo quickly ran over, Rikki already working on drying them off. They helped her stand up and getting her to a dry rock to sit on.

"Are you alright, Charlotte?" Cleo asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit winded." Charlotte twisted her hand again. "There, you'll have your tails again."

"That was really nice of you to do that for us, Charlotte," Cleo said.

"You're welcome. I don't think I'll be doing it again for a while though. Still getting the hang of my magic."

Rikki sat down next to her, slinging an arm around Charlotte's shoulders. "That's okay. Didn't feel right not growing a tail anyway. Listen, we're all going to Emma's house next week for a sleepover, you know, for the full moon. You want to come?"

Charlotte nodded enthusiastically. "I'd love to. You guys want to go the café? I'm buying."

"That's an offer I won't refuse," Rikki agreed, Emma and Cleo quickly falling suit. The four girls picked up their things and made their way to the café.