Being an empty vessel, magic will always take you very hard, I think, and leave something of itself behind for a time, like dregs at the bottom. But at the same time, it can’t really get at the core of you. You can be filled up and emptied out, but the pot does not become its contents. Does that make sense?” “A little, I suppose,” said Gerta. It sounded rather dreadful when put like that. Was she going to spend her life wandering around being filled up with other people’s enchantments?

