Chapter IV

Of Magic and Wizards and frog-cups

Ileana knocked on Edwards's door. It swung open and Eddy beckoned her in.

"Now that we are here, I can show you." Eddy said walking over to his desk and picking up another long stick, except this one was thin and had no number on it.

"Show me what?"

"Magic."

"Oh really?"

"Oh, really."

"Well go ahead, turn me into a frog."

"Actually, I would get into a lot of trouble if I did that. But I can turn this cup into a frog." He said picking up a wooden cup.

"Sure, turn that ugly cup into a frog."

Edward waved his thin stick at the cup and muttering under his breath words Ileana couldn't hear, and if she could she wouldn't understand.

A puff of smoke centered on the cup and when it cleared a wooden cup sat on the table, but this time had a frogs head on the rim. The frog opened its mouth and said.

"Croak."

"I was never very good at transfiguration. My best subject is flying and potions." Eddy said blushing in embarrassment.

Ileana just gapped at the cup.

"Okay, so that was not just some illusion…unless that is a toy."

Ileana touched the head of the frog, it was wet and slimy, and Croaked in annoyance at her dry fingers.

"Okay, No illusion."

"Of course I'm no illusion."

Came a raspy voice that couldn't seem to decide whether to be a deep or a high raspy voice.

Ileana looked at the cup. "The frog speaks." She told Eddy as she sat down on the bed with a thump.

"Impossible." He said peering at the cup.

"Not impossible, only improbable. You wished it so anyways."

He said looking at Ileana.

"No I didn't. I didn't do anything!"

"Of course you did. You've always wished you could talk to animals. So somewhere in the back of your mind, you wished it so. Though I do wish you could have done a better job transfiguring me." The frog-cup turned to Eddy and seemed to shiver on the table. "Do you think you could retry?" He asked.

"I think that if did, you'd be fried. I got an F in transfiguration you know."

"Most unseemly, I will have to make do until you can take me to someone who is skilled in that art form. Maybe I can be something else besides a frog as well."

"What are you?"

Ileana asked shivering

"I'm a frog-cup at the moment, although I was known as Merlin in my days. I think you caught my wandering spirit while doing your charm, and trapped me in this…this…form."

"Merlin, as in," Eddy asked gasping for breath as the words rushed out of his mouth. "The Merlin who helped Arthur in Camelot, The Merlin who got trapped under a hill by the lady of the Lake?"

"Well, Unfortunately I got myself trapped there…in a way. Okay yes, yes I am, and yes she did. Most unfortunate that was."

"Oh dear, I'm terribly sorry." Eddy said and fainted.

Ileana got some water from the bathroom and dumped it on Eddy's head.

So of course Eddy woke up spluttering.

"It's not that bad Eddy!" She said to him after he dried off with his wand and cleaned up the mess on the floor.

"Ileana," He screamed "I just imprisoned one of the most famous wizards in a cup with a frogs head! and now I own a frog-cup with Merlin's spirit trapped inside!"

"Actually, no you didn't." Said Merlin the frog-cup "Your sister, what was her name, Ileana did. And you don't own my form, erm…this frog-cup, by the laws of magic Ileana does."

"I what?"

"Well, like I said, you wished you could talk to animals and at the time you must have been thinking of me…seeing I'm here at the moment."

"Oh my, I'm terribly sorry."

"No worry's, I don't see exactly how you did it. But this is much nicer than wandering about like a ghost that no one could see; for you see I was in my spirit form.

It gets tiring just sitting under my hill waiting for my body to be found and reawakened, over thousands of years. So you see you did me, in fact a favor, though I would like a new form as soon as possible."

"As soon as possible…" Ileana repeated dazed. "Alright, this is some kind of weird dream."

Ileana pinched herself, when she didn't wake up she ran to her room and shut the door. Fell on the bed and stared at the ceiling her head aching. She closed her eyes and picked up her pillow. Thrusting her face into the soft goose feathered pillow, she screamed. A few minutes after she stopped, she was fast asleep.