Chapter 1: Preparations

"Max! Do you know where my journal is?"

"Journal? What journal, sweetie?" Max asks before he walks into my office. "I didn't know you had one."

"You know…the journal we unearthed before moving in here? Don't you remember reading it?"

"Oh yeah, now that you mention it, I do remember your journal. Isn't it somewhere among all these books?" my boyfriend says as he takes a peek into my library of law school textbooks.

"No, I already looked there. I think I really lost it," I exclaim in despair. "And I only just found it again when I was packing stuff last month!"

"I didn't know it was that important for you, Cody," Max tells me while he walks over to me and puts his arms around me as if he's trying to comfort me. "Maybe I should have bought you a new journal for birthday."

"Nah, it's okay, Max," I answer my boyfriend. Yesterday was my and my twin brother Zack's 23rd birthday, and we had a birthday/house-warming party here last night. "And by the way, the present you got me was way better than any journal ever could be," I add, knowing my eyes are twinkling.

"Heee, you're definitely right. I did give you a pretty nice present," my lover grins, clearly remembering what happened with his gift last night. "Too bad your parents stayed so long. If they hadn't I could have been able to hand out your gift earlier," he adds with another wink.

"Max!" I exclaim, trying to be mad at him for being so blatant. But when I turn around and look him in the eyes, I see he's showing me his puppy dog eyes again. The same puppy dog eyes I fell for years ago…and am still falling for it.

I sigh and lean in for a kiss with my Max.

But right when our lips are almost touching, Max's cellphone suddenly goes off. As soon as I hear his ringtone, I pull away from Max and jump up.

Max, on the other, doesn't seem to notice his ringtone or see me pulling away, because he's still leaning in for a passionate kiss with me. But since I'm not in the same spot as I was a few seconds ago, that kiss never happens.

Or it does happen…just not with me. Because as soon as Max's lips touch something, he starts making out…with my chair!

As funny as this is, I think I better stop Max from his kissing session with our piece of furniture. After all, his cellphone is still ringing and frankly I don't think my study chair can fully appreciate this gesture.

"Um, Maxie…I know we have very nice furniture, but don't you think making out with my chair is a bit too much?" I ask him, giving him a small tap on his shoulder.

Max finally realizes then that the object of his affection is not me, and immediately jumps away from the seat, his face growing redder at an incredibly fast pace.

"Man. I…I…I'm so stupid!" Max exclaims, while he grabs for the vibrating cellphone in his pants pocket.

"No, you're just funny, Maxie," I assure my boyfriend.

"Max Russo speaking…" he says into the phone. "Oh, hey, Dad!"

As soon as Max realizes that it's his dad calling, he motions to me he's going into another room to take this call. He always does that when his family calls his cellphone needing to discuss stuff concerning magic. Mainly he does this because he knows I'm just not that comfortable with his magic skills, even though I still remember many of the spells we used to study together back on the S.S. Tipton.

While I'm waiting for my man to return, I start up my computer. It's time for me to do some bookkeeping. I've always liked this doing at home for my mother, but I never imagined my own household would have such complex accounting needs —especially when my life partner is a wizard who brings in money magically. A complicated situation indeed! But hey, at least we never have to worry about money.

Of course that's the main reason why we're living in such a big expensive house. I've never been keen on using Max's magical money for anything major in our lives, seeing as how he's already paying my tuition for law school, but when I first saw our house a month ago, I fell in love with it instantly. So when Max bought it for us, I just couldn't object, and it does have a lot more space than our old apartment in downtown Boston.

"Cody…" I hear Max saying all of a sudden. I didn't even notice him returning, but now he's standing there at the door to my office, his face deathly pale.

"Max?! You're white as a ghost!" I hurry over to my guy to put my arms around him, ready to give him whatever comfort he needs. "Is something wrong? Is it your family?"

"No, that's not it. My dad just called to let me know that the Wizard Council is coming over for dinner."

"Oh no! Not again…" I sigh because I'm very much aware of what we have to go through to keep those homophobic bastards from taking away my Max's wizard powers.

"I know…I'm so sorry, Cody. I'm sorry I have to keep putting you through all of this," he says as he gives me a small kiss on the cheek.

"Don't be. It's not your fault that the stupid Wiz Council wants to control whom you should love. But our lives would be a whole lot easier if they weren't this judgmental."

"Yeah. But at least we're telling them off, aren't we, sweetie?"

"We are indeed, thanks to your brilliant plan!" I praise Max again. "I guess we better get moving. You said they're coming over for dinner, right?"

"Yeah, that's what Dad said. They'll be here around 6 PM. It seems they want to inspect our new house. Apparently that's a rule when a young wizard moves."

"Okay, that gives us enough time to prepare ourselves. I'll start on a gourmet meal for them. You can remove all evidence that points to us like you did last time." I delegate tasks between the two of us.

"Alright! And when I'm ready I'll transform you," Max answers and gives me a small peck.

"God…don't remind me!" I exclaim. "Come on, let's go!"

And so the both of us separate and go about own ways to make the house Cody-free before the Wizard Council arrives. While Max is magically making photos disappear in the living room, I head to the kitchen to do some magic of my own: cooking.

No, seriously…Max tells me all the time what a talented chef I am and how my cooking is more magical than anything he can do with his wand. Personally I think the real magic here is how much we love each other. But nevertheless, I have to concede that I am indeed a pretty good chef.

Of course I want to make something gourmet for our guests. A nice meal can go along way toward making a good impression and may even soften them a bit. Last time they were so impressed by my version of the famous 'Chicken Paolo' that they almost forgot to ask me any questions about my relationship with Max and my life in general. So yes, a good dinner is very important.

And that's why, this time, I'm making a Cody-version of the famous French dish 'Canard à l'Orange'. Actually it's the same meal I made for my parents and Zack when they came to visit us the first time in our new house. According to Zack, it was in fact one of the best dishes he had ever eaten. Honestly, I'll never get tired of people paying me such compliments!

People say time flies when you're having fun, and I guess it's true because before I know it, Max is in the kitchen, telling me it's time for the transformation. Luckily I've just finished cooking, so I don't have to do much more after I've been transformed. I really prefer cooking while I'm still my own person, to be honest.

I walk over to Max who is already holding the wand he inherited from his dad once be became the Family Wizard. He seems to be all set to perform the spell on me.

"Are you ready, Cody?" he asks.

"I don't think I'll ever be ready for this, Maxie," I reply, looking at the floor. "Did you manage to remove everything?"

"Yep, no sign of Cody to be seen anywhere in our house."

"You did remember to hide the painting of us? The one in the living room?"

"The one Alex painted of the two of us at the beach? The one that's life-size? No, Cody, I forgot about that picture," he says in a sarcastic tone, rolling his eyes. "Of course I remembered to make that one disappear, silly! Now come here, Cody, there's no need to be nervous. Everything is alright. We can do this, you can do this!"

"You're right. Just go for it," I reply while I close my eyes. I've seen much magic, but this I rather not see. I absolutely hate having to go through this. But I know I have to do this, for Max. No, for us! In fact, for every gay guy out there who's told he can't be with the one he loves because he's a guy. This is my way to protest against homophobia in the wizard world, and by extension the rest of the world.

And then Max waves his wand and utters magic words, "Tonight must go smoothly as a pearl. Turn my lover into a girl."

I hear a strange whooshing sound and feel like I'm being lifted up in the air. Bizarre things are happening within my body, as though I'm becoming someone else… And yes, it starts to hurt. Just what I was afraid of, after last time.

When I finally feel the floor under my feet again, I open my eyes to look at myself…to discover that I am indeed a female now. Even my clothes have been transformed. A few seconds ago I was wearing my casual sweater vest, dress shirt and jeans. Now all those have disappeared and are replaced by a teal-coloured Arturo Vitalli dress.

"It's over now?" I ask, noticing that my voice is now several some tones higher.

"Yah, you're the perfect girl now, Cody. You feel OK?"

"Not really, actually. You know this makes me feel uncomfortable. I definitely don't like being a girl."

"Don't worry, sweetie. You're way more attractive as a guy. I would never want you to be like this permanently," Max assures me as he puts his arm around my shoulder.

"Thanks, I know. Still I don't like being a girl," I said honestly, while running my hands over the unfamiliar bumps and curves of my new body. "Women's bodies are so complicated."

"Heee! Cody, you really are so gay!" my lover smirks. "But you're right, I have to admit I feel less attracted to you right now, but you still make a pretty cute girl. I don't exactly want to kiss you, though."

"Gee, thanks," I answer, pretending to be angry at my boyfriend. "But seriously, Max. You have to be more affectionate with me now. Last time you were almost afraid to touch me. And now we're supposed to have been dating for a few years."

"I know…I almost screwed up being so freaked out by you as a girl. But don't worry, I can handle it tonight," Max assures me. "I know how much is depending on this. We will get through this, Cody. We will get through this together!"

"Come on, we…" I start, trying to invite Max for a practice kiss. But before I can finish my sentence we hear our doorbell.

It must be the Wizard Council already. Very polite of them to use the front door this time, since last time they just popped in on us, almost giving me a heart attack.

"Go on, Max. Open the door and bring them over to the dinner table. I'll go check the 'Canard' to see if it's ready," I instruct Max, then take off to the kitchen.

And yes, my almost famous dish is indeed almost ready for consumption. It should be in the oven for about 10 more minutes and than it will be ready to be served. I guess that gives us time to have an aperitif. And I wouldn't be Cody if I hadn't whipped up a special cocktail for the occasion.

"Honey, where are you?" I hear Max calling out to me from the dining room.

I quickly pick up my cocktail tray and walk over to where Max is standing with four people who are apparently from the Wizard Council.

As soon as I enter the room, Max grabs my arm and walks me over to the group. I don't recognize any of them from the previous visit.

There's a guy dressed all in black, a guy who looks very insecure and a very old man with a very long beard. A beard that looks very fake if you ask me, which is weird since he certainly seems old enough to have grown such a long beard; why would anyone bother using a fake beard? But when it comes to weirdness, the fourth wizard beats them all. His face wears a constant smile, almost like it's burnt onto his face. It actually reminds me a bit of Jack Nicholson as the Joker in the 1989 Batman movie, directed by Tim Burton. Definitely strange company, these guys.

"Come, my love, I'll introduce you to everyone. This here is Professor Crumbs from WizTech," Max says, pointing to the old man.

"Next to him is Officer Lamp from the Emergency Wizards and Chancellor Tootietootie from the Wizard Education Department," he introduces the man in black and the insecure-looking guy.

"And this is Mr. Stuffleby, Wizard Guidance Counsellor," Max says, pointing to the Joker.

"And this here, gentlemen, is my girlfriend, Tyreesha Martin."

Author's Note: First chapter of my second story! Inspired by a conversation on the forum here between tiger002 and Elianna22, this story is a story connected to my Love To The Max. So if you want to know how Cody and Max Russo became a couple, you should go and read it!

For this first chapter I like to thank Elianna22 for editing and proofreading this chapter. She also thought of the spell Max used to transform Cody into a girl.

Also this story will be pretty short: most likely a threeshot. I hope you all liked it so far and will review this. It's always appreciated!