James looked at tiny Nicola in amazement, knowing she was really the size of an ant and he had made her that way. Part of him had enjoyed having this much power over his friend and it was pretty funny seeing her in this form but nonetheless he knew this was wrong.
"Well, I'd better try that reversal spell I guess" James admitted, suddenly realizing he was probably moments away from seeing his crush completely naked and at full size.
"Oh, that won't work for at least 72 hours." Meredith replied casually.
"What? So she's going to be the size of an ant for three days?!" James retorted in horror.
"It's not me who turned her into one" Meredith shrugged "I can sell you that book at a very reasonable price. Keep her safe in a jar with some air holes poked in the lid until Monday and you can restore her to her old self easily enough. Though why you would want to is a mystery."
"No, I don't want the book thanks. Way too much responsibility" the young man was visibly in a quandary "Can I come back here and restore her when she's ready? I'll pay you"
"It's on the house. Least I can do" Meredith smiled slightly unconvincingly.
"Thanks" James scratched his head "Just not sure what to do with her until then. And people will wonder where she is"
"Don't panic" Somehow just the tone of Meredith's voice seemed to calm and convince James "I can cast a spell which will make everyone forget your friends existence until she is normal sized again. And I even have a place you can go for something to keep her in. Somewhere she will be safe and comfortable."
Meredith seemed to make a card appear as if from nowhere and thrust it into James' hand. It was for a shop he hadn't heard of before even though it was only a few streets away.
"Thanks I really appreciate it" James smiled. Meredith nodded kindly in acknowledgement.
As James left the store with the ant sized Nicola in a jar the shopkeeper sorceress rolled her eyes and cackled to herself.
After a slightly awkward walk James and Nicola arrived at the small, unremarkable looking shop.
"Well, what do we have here?" the shopkeeper looked down at James holding the jar with a disinterested expression. The ant sized Nicola, though nothing more than a tan speck at this point, did her best to keep herself covered and stared angrily up at the two of them. James couldn't make out her facial expression, but he knew how awful spending three days the size of an ant would be for her. But he had no choice. And she had challenged him to transform her after dragging him into the creepy shop and breaking Meredith's stuff. This was her own fault. Kind of.
"This is... um..." James hesitated, unsure how much he should reveal, "...an interesting bug I found. I need something to... keep her in... for a few days" James stated. The shopkeeper shrugged.
"Meredith said you would help" James explained.
"Ah, one of Meredith's eh?" The burly man's eyes had lit up at the very mention of her name and he seemed far more accommodating now "Well you're welcome here then. Don't worry we'll certainly have something for her!"
After rummaging around a bit, the man handed James a box from under the counter. James looked at the image on the front.
It was a plastic ant farm.
"Just keep your friend in here. She'll be safe and happy."
A bit confused, but not really knowing what to say, James simply handed the man some money.
"Um, thanks." James called after the man who had already turned away. James hoped he had done the right thing as he made his way back to his apartment with tiny Nicola and her new home.