A young woman entered the bar and took a seat.
"What can I get you hon?" Smiled Liz.
"A Witch's Brew." Answered the lady in a clear voice.
The bar suddenly became quiet. Those who were in the know now focused all of their attention on the young woman. Those not in the know also focused their attention on the young woman after noticing the shift in atmosphere.
"Are you sure you're ready for it? It's the strongest drink in my bar, and you aren't a witch yet." Said Liz.
"Yes, and I know all I need to know about it. The fact that I will be a lesbian forever. The consequences, everything." Said the young lady. "I want to be ready for the College's magic program by the beginning of second year."
"You don't need to rush, there's an excellent scholarship for it and no age limit. They have ways to make it convenient for even working adults to attend."
"It's fine, I'm ready now. Most importantly, I want to attend the special course alongside my girlfriend."
Liz smiled and nodded.
What is the Witch's Brew you ask? Let's start with some background.
Underneath modern magic law, it is normally illegal to transform a person without their consent. That goes double for mental transformations. The Town was a special case, viewed by the Magic Council as a necessary evil.
The exact details are a long story, but to make it short, those transformed by the Town's bars, powered by the local leyline, make the magic of the world stronger. It is also weakening the glamour left behind by the fairies, that prevent normal people from noticing magic even exists. Some of the transformed are even becoming new witches.
While the old rulers of magic were cruel tyrants, the current Magic Council is surprisingly idealistic, if still a bit ruthless. They envision a world where the power of magic is shared with everyone. Some transformation victims in the short-term are unfortunate, but that has been happening with or without the Magic Council's approval. Letting it happen under controlled circumstances is considered an acceptable price to create a future where the new balance of power will make it impossible for witches and mages to play God in other people's lives anymore.
With the most of the bars, becoming a witch was down to chance. Liz's Lesbian Bar was the only one with guaranteed results. Everyone who left her bar as a lesbian (and a few women who were naturally bisexual) was very slowly turning into an immortal witch.
This was a bit to the Magic Council's frustration. They couldn't actually figure out why her method was guaranteed when none of the other methods were. And since Liz's motives were a bit different from theirs, she didn't really care to try very hard figuring it out.
She has figured out a few things though. For example, some of Liz's customers are becoming witches faster than others. It usually takes a year or two, but a few changed in days, or very rarely, on their first visit. Liz theorized that it was based on a combination of factors. How young they were, how often they frequented her bar, how much they were changed if they were changed, how much the changed liked their new selves, how strong of a personality they had...
The most important factor seemed to be how interesting magic itself found them as a witch. Liz didn't know the details, but magic was alive, and while it wasn't sapient, it did have a personality.
So what does this have to do with the Witch's Brew?
The Witch's Brew is Liz's signature drink. The strongest in the bar, not in terms of alcohol percentage, but magic potency. It can transform the drinker into a witch in minutes. But the side-effects are the most uncontrolled.
If you become a witch the slow way via Liz's Lesbian Bar, it's permanent. You will be a lesbian witch forever, even if for some reason you decide that you no longer want to be a lesbian. Still, that is where the consequences end. Everything else can be adjusted and predicted.
If you take the Witch's Brew before you become a witch, you will change, even if you were originally a lesbian. Your looks, your personality and to a lesser degree, your history. The changes caused by Witch's Brew are difficult to predict. The only guarantee is that you will become a character that magic finds interesting.
Even Liz cannot control them. If any adjustments need to be made, it will take a couple years for the magic to settle down enough for any magic user, even of her skill, to do anything.
The Witch's Brew is for those who are already witches and people who are willing to risk extra change for magic right now.
Seeing the young woman's resolve, Liz clapped her hands twice. The air around the table seemed to bend, and then a small black cauldron appeared on the table, releasing a thick layer of fog. In it was ice and a green beverage. Liz ladled some of it out into a goblet.
"Enjoy!"