Fall turned to winter, then spring. Abigail spent much of her time holed up in her room, learning languages and making potions. Every Saturday, she spent as much time as she could with Sam and Sebastian; it wasn't enough to justify keeping her in the band, though. The boys became a synthpop duo over the winter, and dedicated their first EP to Abigail. Sebastian made a habit of stopping by every Saturday with breakfast, since he didn't always have a chance to see her otherwise.

Every Sunday, she made dinner for her parents, and they caught up over a bottle of wine, just as she'd promised. Sometimes, Sam and Sebastian would come for dinner as well, and they'd all stand around the kitchen, eating and drinking and chatting, since there weren't enough seats for everyone. Pierre and Caroline slowly got used to the new status quo, and they both admired how hard their daughter was working, even though she wasn't working on what they'd hoped she would.

Finally, the day Abigail had been looking forward to had arrived: The day she'd perform her first magic spell. She filled her backpack with quartz and amethyst, just as the wizard had instructed, and headed off to the tower.

When she got there, she saw Rasmodius reading a book, and a fluffy white cat sleeping on the table. "Good morning. Awww, cute kitty!" She reached out and pet the cat. "What's she doing here?"

"He," Rasmodius said simply. "That's Linus."

"Why did you name him that? Is it because he's all fluffy like the wild man?"

"I did not name him, and he is the wild man." Rasmodius muttered quietly and pointed a finger. In a flash of light, the cat turned into the wild man Linus. "My friend Linus is going to help us today."

Abigail jumped back. "Linus! Hi!"

"Hello, Abigail."

"You know Rasmodius?"

"Yeah, we're friends. I see him all the time when I'm out foraging, and we get to talking...he's a good guy."

"Likewise, sir!" Rasmodius patted Linus on the back. "Thanks again for agreeing to help today." He turned to Abigail. "Today, you're going to learn two spells. The first is a transformation hex. It is easy. It's remarkably, terrifyingly easy, in fact. Do you know why so many curses involve turning people into animals?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Because it's easy and effective." He cleared his throat. "The second spell you will learn today is an undoing spell. It is the single most important spell that you will learn in your entire magic career. At first, you will read it from a book. But by the end of the week, I expect that you will have written it down, one hundred times. I want you to know this spell as well as you know the alphabet, your address, as well as you know your own name."

Abigail nodded.

Rasmodius continued. "Before we begin, I will be casting the Hex of Permission on you. This means that you cannot perform any spell, hex, or charm on a person-except the undoing spell-without permission from that person. In addition, you will not be able to hex yourself."

Again, Rasmodius muttered. His words sounded foreign to Linus, but Abigail recognized them as the Old Fair Tongue. Abigail heard the sound of a door slamming, of chains rattling, and of a lock closing.

"Now, we may begin." He opened a small book. "Abigail, here. After you ask Linus for permission, you will read this spell. The blank in there is for the wizard to substitute the name of whichever animal they're turning the target into."

"Cool, can I turn Linus into a frog?"

Linus looked at Rasmodius and shrugged. "I gue-"

"NO!" Rasmodius scowled. "You may not. Changing someone from a human to a frog, and from a frog to a human, is very uncomfortable. Being a frog is uncomfortable and strenuous, with the constant need for water and warmth."

"I'm sorry," Abigail said. "I didn't know."

"That's alright. But no frogs. We'll be turning Linus here into a cat. Being a cat is easy, and the transformation feels quite comfortable both ways. As you read the spell, you will begin to feel power swell up in your chest, similar to when you eat a gem. When you finish the spell, you will feel the power leaving your body through your arm."

"Oh, like when I knocked Haley over that one time at the Feast of the Winter Star! That's what that was!"

"When you what…?"

"She was my secret gift-giver back in high school. She gave me one of those bark collars that you put on loud dogs."

Rasmodius tried not to laugh, and ended up snorting.

Abigail gave him a tight-lipped smile. "Yeah, actually pretty funny now that I think about it, but also downright mean. And everyone laughed at me. Anyway. After that, I was mad at her, and I wished more than anything that she'd just fall into the punch. As she walked by the punch, my arm started feeling weird and hot, so I shook it out. She tripped over her own feet and fell right into the punch!"

"I should have put that permission hex on you the day you were born," Rasmodius said, chuckling softly.

"Honestly?" Abigail asked. "Yeah, probably so. At least I have it now, right?"

Rasmodius sighed. "Yes. Please ask Linus for permission, then begin the hex."

Abigail spent all day transforming Linus into a cat, then back into a human. She memorized the transformation hex easily, but the undoing spell was long; not only that, it was in Archaic Northern Dwarvish. As the day wore on, she began to trip over her words. She ate all the gems in her backpack.

Late that afternoon, she was tired and woozy. She couldn't get through the undoing spell without losing her place. Rasmodius changed Linus from a cat to a human one last time.

"Linus, thank you for your help."

"My pleasure," he answered. "Thank you for the tuna."

"You're welcome. You may stay here and eat dinner while I take Abigail home."

Abigail yawned. "Oh, you're walking me home?"

"No," Rasmodius answered. "Come with me to the Circle of Summoning. We'll un-summon ourselves from this place, and put you directly in your kitchen."

Abigail walked over and took the wizard's arm. In a flash of light, they were in the kitchen. Caroline jumped back.

"Abigail! What did you DO?!"

"She did nothing," Rasmodius explained. "I brought her here because she is too tired to walk home. For a beginning magic user, casting spells is very draining. She will likely sleep through most of the day tomorrow. Do not wake her, and do not be alarmed. I expect her back at my tower when she wakes up."

"Goodnight, Mom," Abigail mumbled. She gave Caroline a hug. "Goodnight, Rasmomo...Rasmund...Razza...sir."

"It's only four in the afternoon," Caroline said.

"Okay…" Her voice trailed off as she wandered down the hall. Abigail fell face-first into bed. She stayed there, fully clothed and fast asleep, until 4:00 the next afternoon.