13 HP 6

As soon as I knocked on her apartment door, it swung open as if she had been eagerly anticipating my arrival. "Hey!" she exclaimed, flashing me a bright smile as our eyes met.

"Well hello there, I must say, you look stunning today." I compliment her.

She had chosen to dress in a knee-high yellow sundress, which showed off a tasteful amount of cleavage. Her curly dark hair was tied back with a matching yellow ribbon, while her black high-heels added a touch of elegance to her neat ensemble. Completing her stylish look, a black handbag rested on her left shoulder.

"Do I?" she asked, twirling around for effect. "Thank you." She said bending forward a bit, and for that moment, I couldn't control my eyes. My gesture, didn't escape her senses, but instead of resulting in anger, her demeanor shifted to a flirty one and after locking the door, she hugged and pressed against my left arm.

"So where to?" She asked with a coy smile on her face and I had to steel myself not to just say, 'My apartment'. The fact that I was constantly reading her thoughts didn't help a bit.

"Well, I thought we could go grab a coffee to the go, walk around the nearby park, then head toward the river, as I have a reservation near it in an Italian restaurant at seven." I had to tread it carefully with her, from her memories I knew the walk was within her comfort zone, but going to a fancy restaurant wasn't, so the one I chose wasn't the fanciest one, but still a well-known and respectable establishment.

"Am I dressed, well enough for the restaurant?" She voices her concerns, with a worried expression.

"You're perfect the way you are." I respond with a statement that had a dual implication, yet she remained oblivious to it.

My words brought her some comfort, and I empathized with her as she wasn't particularly outgoing. Despite enjoying dressing up attractively, her self-esteem wasn't high regardless of looking perfect in every aspect. She disliked it when people gawked at her, and to even her surprise, my gaze didn't bother her in the slightest. Instead, it sparked a desire within her to capture my attention even further, which I wholeheartedly enjoyed.

We grabbed a cup of coffee at The Coffee House, a well-known coffee shop from this era, and had a light walk in the nearby park. In our earlier talks, we never delved deeper into any topic, but now we had time. Our talks revolved around multiple subjects, while I skillfully dodged anything irrelevant to this era and anything that I knew would make her uncomfortable. In the end, she asked about my family and I told her how I was originally from Japan - well my world's Japan, but honestly, there's not a lot of difference. In the end, I told her the story of how my father fell in love with a Japanese girl and moved across the sea to be with her.

"My father fell in love with a Japanese girl who studied at the same university as him. After countless attempts at wooing her, he finally succeeded and they became a couple. From what my father told me they spent four beautiful years together before her family, more precisely her father, found out."

"Then what happened?" She asks fully engrossed in the story.

"What do you think happened? Her father didn't approve of an English man and she was forced to break off anything she had with my father or be disowned by him. Actually, now that I think about it, knowing my grandpa's personality, even if mom did choose to stay, he would never disown her. Well whatever, continuing on... As it was the last year of University, my mom begged her father to let her finish school, and under the strict rules that she would come home immediately upon finishing it, her parents allowed it." I take a deep breath and then continued. "She agreed and a full school year went by, with my father trying to get her back, to make her change her mind, but... he ultimately failed."

"Oh... You're here, so that's not the end of the story, is it?" She asks awkwardly.

"How could it be?" I ask with a chuckle. "After school was over, and after not seeing her for a few months my father asked around, and found out she moved back to Japan. My father decided, that this would be his last attempt at getting her back, he sold most of his belongings and used up all of his money to buy a plane ticket and a ring. Then he went after her." I say with a smile. "He knew the town she was from, but he didn't know where exactly she lived. He spent three whole weeks on the streets of Karuizawa, searching for her. He didn't want to give up, but his funds were nonexistent, and his visa was going to expire. So depressed and unsatisfied that he couldn't complete his only goal, he got a taxi and was on his way to the airport as he only had enough money to buy a plane ticket back to the UK. It must have been the universe's will because, that's when he spotted her exiting a grocery shop, solely by chance. He jumped out of the moving vehicle, and fell on his knees right before her, told her his story, and asked her to marry him." I chuckle as I get to the next part. "Understandably she said no, after three weeks on the streets he looked and smelled like crap, but his gesture did warm her heart. You see she was still in love with him, but because of her family she couldn't straight up say yes."

"Pff... I could imagine his expression."

"Yep, he was devastated, but it didn't end there. She gave him some money, and told him to get cleaned up and come over to her house tomorrow, and that he will have to talk this through with her family. Now you'll need to know something about my grandpa, he's a strict man with a gruff appearance, but deep down he has a gentle soul. He loved his daughter with all of his heart and would do anything to see her happy. From the outside perspective, it seems like he wore the pants in the family, but the actual power belonged to grandma. Once, they had a fight and grandpa was in the right, but grandma made him sleep on the sofa and stopped cooking altogether. It took only three days for grandpa to apologize, even if he wasn't in the wrong."

"Hah!" She let out a cute laugh.

"So back to the story... Dad was determined to be with mom, he went to a hotel, rented a room for a night, and cleaned up nicely, or so he said. The next day he went over to her house, but ultimately wasn't let in. He spent half the day in front of their door in a dogeza position" Seeing her giving me an expression which said 'A what?', I explained. "It's an Asian thing, you knee on the ground and bow to prostrate yourself while touching the ground with your head. It's extremely uncomfortable and used to show respect, deep apology or to express the desire for a favor." After she nods. I continue the original story. "So after half of a day in that position, it started raining and grandma finally felt sorry for him and let him in. To keep the story short, dad had a fight with grandpa, grandma choose to side with mom and dad, and without another choice grandpa finally had to agree to them being a thing. Dad moved to Japan. A wedding and a year later, I was born. The rest is history."

"Hey! Why did you speed through the ending?" She asks with a pout.

"I had to, or else I would be talking about it for at least an hour." I say with a chuckle.

Displeased by my words the cutest pout I've ever seen appeared on her face.

As we walked, Olivia began to open up slowly to me. She was still cautious about revealing too much from her past but still told me a few key events from her childhood. I knew she wasn't telling the whole story, but I choose to ignore it. We strolled through the park and eventually made our way to the riverside, where we picked a cozy spot to sit and watch the sunset.

"So Andy, you already told me about your job, but not the specifics? What are you going to teach and where?" She asked after a moment of silence.

"Hmm... I'm going to teach around twenty classes of gifted individuals in a private school."

"Fancy, but holy shit, isn't that a lot?" She asks surprised by the number.

"Not really, the private school has seven school years, and four houses, but not a lot of kids."

"Houses?" She asks confused.

"Think of them as sororities. When they start the school year, the freshmen are sorted into one of the four houses and get to live in their respective dorm."

"Ah! But then how is it twenty and not twenty-eight classes then?"

"Well the class I'm going to be teaching is an elective, and the children can choose it starting their third year."

"Oh... That makes sense. But it still seems a lot, I hope you won't be the only teacher for that subject." The wry smile on my face must have answered her question, but I still provide her with one.

"It's not that bad actually, each year has around 50 students, and my class being an elective makes the numbers manageable. Well, at least I hope it does." A depressed chuckle leaves my mouth.

"So what's the subject about? It must be your passion if you're planning on teaching it."

"Eh not really." I shrug. "The subject is interesting, but not on the top list of my most loved ones."

"Then why teach it?" She asks looking at me confused.

"The pay is good and I'll have access to one of the largest libraries in Britain?"

"Where can I sign?" She asks with a lot of enthusiasm.

"I'll ask around, but I can't promise anything." I chuckle. "Back to the topic, the subject is called Muggle Studies."

"Muggle?" She looks confused, not understanding the word.

"Ehh... It's an out-of-fashion word for mundane. Don't ask me why they still use it, I've got no idea."

"Pff... Maybe they want to be fancy about it. So what's it about?"

"Mostly the geopolitical situation of the world, history, and similar things."

"So it's basically History." She says giving me a deadpan look.

"In a nutshell." I agree with a nod. "But it does cover a bit of science and politics mixed in. I guess by your expression wouldn't be one of your favorite subjects?"

"Not a chance." She shakes her head and chuckles. "And I can't imagine the kids enjoying those topics, you'll have to be extra creative to make the class enjoyable."

"Already ahead of you."

As we continued on our walk-and-talk date, we eventually arrived at a restaurant that had a familiar feel to it. The atmosphere of the place was warm and welcoming. This restaurant did not have a strict dress code, nor was it too expensive, which made it the perfect spot for a casual date. Additionally, the restaurant had private booths, which allowed for a more intimate and comfortable dining experience.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, we were greeted by an attendant who confirmed my reservation and then escorted us to a private booth. The attendant handed us menus and informed us that a waiter would be arriving shortly to take their orders.

When it came time to order our meals, I decided to stick with the classic dish of lasagna, while my date, Olivia, opted for a pasta dish that caught her eye. We also ordered a bottle of wine to accompany our meals.

Throughout the date, I was keeping a close eye on Olivia's thoughts and feelings and was pleasantly surprised to find that she was having a genuinely enjoyable time in my company.

"Where did you find this place?" She asks between bites. "It has a really nice ambiance and the food is just heavenly." She says while vibrating happily.

"I have to agree with that statement. But I can't take credit for finding the place, I accidentally overheard people talking about it, and asked for details." I say with a shrug. Truthfully, I found this place in a stranger's memories, on one of my 'memory reading' walks.

"We should thank that random stranger."

"Definitively." I nod.

We continued to talk between bites and we had a geniality nice time, but all good things come to an end and as the date night came to a close, we arrived back at our apartments. We both stood before her door while she fumbled with her keys.

"You're such a gentleman for escorting me home." She says with a smile.

"Don't even mention it." I say, waving her off. "It's my job as a man to make sure you safely arrived home." I state trying to keep in the laugh. She bites her lips trying to keep in hers, but the moment we notice each other's strained faces, we burst out laughing.

"Huh..." Olivia catches her breath. "I had a wonderful evening Andy." She says and looks me deep in the eyes.

"Same, I hope we can repeat this sometime."

Her mind was racing like crazy and the only comprehensible thought I could pick up was: 'He better not say goodbye without giving me a kiss!'

I obliged the lady's unspoken desires and wrapped my arms around her hip and pulled her close, eliciting a surprised yelp as our lips met. Lost in the moment, she melted into my embrace and her thoughts came to a complete halt. Her full, cherry-flavored lips were alluring, and I had to restrain myself from going any further. As we parted, a rosy blush spread across her cheeks, and though internally she was overjoyed, she looked away shyly and bid me goodnight before disappearing into her apartment. Before I turned to unlock my own door, my heightened senses caught a muffled "Wow" from the other side of her door. A wide smile appeared on my face, as I entered my apartment and went for my favorite little trunk.

Knowing the system had skills for almost everything, you must understand my shock when it didn't unlock a kissing skill from my previous experience. Sighing at the loss of a potentially overpowered skill, I took a shower and fell asleep while reading the potions year one book.

The following morning, I was woken up by loud knocking. I grumbly extracted myself from the bed and couldn't be bothered to get dressed, so I just transfigurated my clothes to something presentable. I got out of my trunk and shrank it then equipped it before opening the front door. Presented before me was a plate of pancakes and behind them an eager girl going by the name of Olivia.

"Morning!" She exclaimed joyfully. "I made too many pancakes, so I brought over a few." She gives my disheveled hair and sleepy eyes a good look, then asks. "I didn't wake you up, did I?"

"Umm... Thanks?" I say scratching the side of my head. "And no, you didn't, I just didn't have my morning coffee yet. I'm not really a morning person and I'm useless without it." We stand there in an awkward silence before she pushes the plate into my hand, which wakes me up a bit and I ask. "Sorry, where are my manners? Would you like to come in?"

"Sorry, I already made plans. One of the girls from work is leaving the country and were giving her a goodbye party."

"Oh, well next time then, have a nice day, and thanks for the pancakes, I'll enjoy them." I say with a smile.

"I'll be back late in the afternoon; you can bring back the plate then. See you later Andy!" She says waving and walking down the hallway while giving me a nice little morning wake-up show with her behind. For a good measure, I had to give her mind a quick look, and I couldn't help but smile at her thoughts.

I closed the door, set the plate aside, and grabbed some syrup from the trunk to enjoy my tasty breakfast. From my knowledge of the girl's memories, I knew she was a pretty good cook, but the taste of these pancakes surprised me. Not only were they sweet, but the vanilla and touch of lemon made for a refreshing and filling breakfast.

My plans for the day were to learn how to Apparate, as on Monday, I was planning to visit Knockturn Alley. Without delay, I propped up two books I had on the subject and consumed them in one sitting.

Apparition, the wizarding way of teleportation, was a multistep spell. First, you had to focus on a location from your memories. You didn't need to know the precise spatial coordinates, as the spell actually pulled them out of the world for you. You only needed to know where the place was and how it looked. If the surrounding area changed too much, the spell required more willpower and mana to cast, while at the same time becoming quite dangerous for the caster.

The second part of the spell created a small spatial tunnel, connecting your current location and the location you attempted to teleport to. The hole in reality created by the spell was so small that only a strand of hair could fit through it. That's where the last step of the spell came into function. It changed your body into a gaseous form and warped it through the gap in reality, grabbed onto the other side, and pulled your body through it.

The process was complex, overly so, and without enough practice, extremely dangerous. The spell didn't require a chant or wand movements, as it was an internal and external spell at the same time, making it even harder to learn for beginners. The books went into detail on how the spell should feel, and what to look out for while attempting an Apparition. The spell required the user's three D's: destination, determination, and deliberation. If any of the D's were insufficient, the caster could get splinched, or in mundane terms, forget something on the other side.

There were horror stories in the books about how a few wizards lost their lives while attempting to learn the spell, leaving behind only their heads and teleporting the rest of their bodies to the chosen location. Learning from their mistakes, I'll have to be extremely careful.

However, there were quite a few limitations to the spell. The longer the distance of the apparition, the more mentally challenging and mana-intense the process became, while at the same time increasing the chances of splinching by a large margin. The spell couldn't be used to teleport to warded locations, as that could result in one of two outcomes. The ward could be a simple defensive one, which would bounce you back, or it could have some offensive capabilities that would disturb the apparition process and never allow it to reassemble your body, killing you in the process. The spell wasn't perfect, and I had future plans on improving it as soon as I learned how to create spells.

It took quite some time, research, and watching the patterns my mana made in my body before I even attempted my first Apparition. I was nervous, but the destination I chose was only a few feet away from me. I took a deep breath, and while hoping everything would be fine, cast the spell, and ripped my first hole in reality.