Finnegan had fallen asleep on the floor with his arms loosely, but protectively, wrapped around the basket. It was almost 3 AM, and they still had not been able to think of anything that they could do.
This was a very unusual circumstance. From what the Elders could remember, this kind of spell had not been done before. However, the Kelly's were from a long line of witches from Ireland. Owen Kelly's mother could have had several of her spells passed down to her. If she attempted anything of this caliber, there was no evidence of it. There was no journal after the spell indicating whether she tried it, or what the results of it were. It's possible that many of the spells were transcribed into this Book by Owen's mother, but that she never worked them.
Owen was a wizard of considerable strength, and Minerva Kelly was talented in divination and a competent healer. Their son, Finnegan, would have a strong natural ability, but that he could perform this spell, alone, was purely remarkable.
Desmond sat in the living chair with his right foot resting on his left knee. His right elbow rested on the back of the chair, while his fingers stroked at his short beard and his left hand rested on the arm of the chair, tapping his pointer finger as he thought. Minerva and Owen had gone into the kitchen to brew some coffee and special teas to help keep everyone going. Celeste went in to help carry it all back. Dave sat leaning forward on the couch while the book lay open on the coffee table. Dave sat back and yawned, scratching his stomach and stretching one arm up into the air.
Patting his mouth after his yawn, Dave said, "You know, I've been wondering something."
"What's that," Desmond said, only moving his eyes to look at him, but remaining still otherwise.
"Well," Dave began, looking over at Finnegan's sleeping form on the carpet, "the spell says it will transform an object into the thing it represents to the caster. So, why a snake?"
"Hmm," Desmond said lowering his leg and arm and leaning forward, "That is interesting."
Celeste, Minerva and Owen returned from the kitchen, all carrying various refreshments.
"Would you like some coffee, Desmond? We also brought some sandwiches. How about you, Dave?" Minerva offered as Owen set down a tray on the coffee table next to the book. Celeste settled next to Dave on the couch. When they came in, Finn stirred.
"In a minute, thank you. Listen, Dave just brought up a very good point. Gather around. Hey, Finn? We need to ask you something." Finn sat up, slowly, and rubbed his eyes. While they waited for Finn to become more conscious, everyone else helped themselves to the refreshments. Finn finally managed to crawl himself closer to the couch and lean against the side of it while still sitting on the floor. His mom fixed him a mug of coffee and brought it to him. Gratefully, he took it and breathed in the caffeinated aroma.
Desmond was halfway through a sandwich when he finally decided Finn was awake enough to answer his question. "Finn? Why do you suppose your girlfriend turned into a snake? Why is that what she represents to you?"
The others nodded, but their mouths were either full or their noses were dipped in their mugs, so they responded with various versions of "mmm" and "mmhmm". Finn took a couple sips of his coffee and blinked his eyes open, rolling his eyes around in his head to adjust to waking.
"Um, Elise is..." He was still shaking the last few Z's from his mind. Taking another sip of his coffee, he continued, "I don't know why, but just they way she came into my life..." He suddenly remembered why they were all here in the living room in the wee hours of the morning. Elise was a snake, and they still hadn't managed to find a solution for it. "I started writing Elise a letter in a notebook while I was holding Dolores. I guess, while I was thinking about her, she seemed like a snake, the way she slowly crept into my life. I hadn't really noticed her before we got partnered up for a project. Then, the more I let her in, it felt like I was letting her coil around my life and giving her the power to strangle me with all the secrets I let her know, but I trust her not to." When he finished, Celeste let out a quiet, "Aww," and the romanticism wasn't lost on Minerva or Owen either. Their hands found each other, and they smiled into each other's eyes. Desmond sat back again, wiping the crumbs from his sandwich on his pants and licking his lips.
"I see. Well here's what I think." Everyone was alert now. The refreshments were kicking in. "We might be able to change her back," everyone grew hopeful, "but...there's a catch." Everyone's shoulders drooped again.
"Well, go on, Desmond, don't let us sit her in suspense," Celeste told him, setting her coffee on the table.
"It would only be a temporary change. Elise would have to level up her own power as a witch to keep the snake form suppressed. The snake will always be part of her, but she may even be able to switch between forms at will, if she can master it."
When he finished talking, everyone sat in silence for a moment, taking in his words. Finally, Owen asked, " How do you figure we can change her back?"
Minerva added, "And how do you know it won't last if she doesn't learn to suppress it?"
Celeste asked, "How long will she have before she changes back into a snake?" and Dave chimed in, "Yeah, and what if she can't level up?"
Finnegan pulled the basket closer to him, and peeked in the lid. Elise was coiled up, with her head pointing up from her center. Desmond motioned with both hands for everyone to settle so he could answer their questions.
"I can't be sure of any of it, but this is what I know. If we work the spell again, with Finn focusing on Elise to transform her back to girl-form, it should change her back, but since Finnegan has already associated her with a snake, and they are connected. She will always be a snake to him, and because he was the caster and she the object of the original spell, her snake-form will always be a part of her. Her form will always try to revert back to snake-form unless she can control it. I don't know how long she would have, but if I had to guess, with all of us working together, she might have about a week until our magic wears off."
They all sat, reflecting.
Finnegan was hopeful. Even if he had to have Elise as a half-girl-half-snake, at least he would have her. This entire situation was unbelievable, but he couldn't accept that his relationship with Elise would end before it truly began. He sat up, feeling determined. "What do we need to do?"
The others exchanged looks with each other, but they didn't have anything to say. All eyes were on Sage Desmond, now. He made eye contact with them, then nodded. "Ok," he finally said, "Here's what we're gonna do."