Page 89 of Monster's Baby

“Now, let’s start at the beginning, shall we?”Professor Reynolds leaned his elbows on his desk and rested his chin on his hands.“Siobhan, you shouted at me to stop drinking from my cup a moment too late.Not your fault, it lies entirely on me.You had warned me about the girl who was trying to dose me with a love potion.I must admit, I didn’t take you fully seriously at the time.And even if I was under a spell, I would have been able to assist in removing it.What I wasn’t expecting, was that she hadn’t made it correctly.”

He shook his head in exasperation.“It took me a while to figure it out, especially without access to my magic to run any tests.But from what I could figure out, the potion took effect by bringing me to what I longed for the most.”

“What was that, sir?”Aiden asked.

“It was a nostalgia potion,” I supplied helpfully.

“Ah, yes, that makes sense.You inadvertently caused it, actually.”

“What?”I gasped, shocked.“What do you mean?”

“You remind me of one of...Well...”He blushed.“My biggest regret was not speaking to her frankly when she decided on her path.I knew I had to be a teacher; it was all I’d ever dreamt of being.And she...Well, she wanted to work in a correctional facility.She had spirit, and was very certain of what was right and wrong.When you shouted at me, all I could think of was how similar you were to her.”

“You longed for her,” I whispered.“And so you were brought to her?”

“Yes and no.As you know, matter cannot be created or destroyed.Me going there meant that an equal exchange needed to take place.The physically closest person to her at the time was brought here.”

“The shapeshifter!”I gasped.

Professor Reynolds grimaced and nodded.“Unfortunately.He was in the warden’s office for a reprimand.When she got a look at me...”He winced.“She was so angry.”

“Hang on, why did it bring you to her?Why didn’t it bring her to you?”Aiden asked.

“The spell was put onme,” the professor explained patiently.“You said it was a nostalgia potion?Mixed with a love potion, you are placing the effect on yourself.”When he saw our confused expressions, he smiled slightly.“A love potion by itself is given to the person you want to make fall in love with you, right?Mix that with nostalgia, which is a self-effecting potion, and you reverse the direction.”

“Reverse the direction?”I asked.“But Emma didn’t fall further in love with you.”

“Maybe that’s not quite the right phrasing,” he acknowledged.“Instead of an outward effect, it was inward.It cut Emma out of the equation entirely and focused onmydesires, not hers.”

“I see,” I said.“What happened once you were in the warden’s office?”

“Well, she thought that Edgar was transforming into her in his spare time, since I was a face from her past.How could he possibly have known what I looked like otherwise?”

“Edgar?”Aiden asked.“The shapeshifter?”

“Yes.That’s when I realized how hard it was going to be to get home.Everyone thought I was Edgar in disguise.I tried to explain who I was, but without knowing how I got there, it seemed impossible to prove it.I suggested that they contact the school, but obviously they didn’t.I was put in solitary for three weeks.”

My hands covered my mouth involuntarily.“I’m so sorry!”I gasped.

He shrugged.“It gave me a lot of time to think.Eventually, when I didn’t change back, added to my ‘change’ in attitude, Niamh had me released from solitary and brought me back to her office for a series of interviews.She held herself at a distance.It was hard to see her like that.But then Grain saw me in the mess and recognized me.”

“Oh my gosh!”I exclaimed.“Grain was framed as a thief!”

“Yes, he told me.”The professor ran his hands through his hair.It had gotten long during his unexpected lockup.“His testimony regarding the events at the school was what tipped the scales in my favor, thankfully.A love potion, even prepared incorrectly, cursing a person to turn into a baby?”He shook his head.

“The general consensus was that the nostalgia potion triggered the curse, actually,” I said.“Sending you back to your youth.”

“A reasonable conclusion,” Professor Reynolds said.“Much more realistic than it transporting me off the island and replacing me with a shapeshifter, of all people!”He shook his head.

“Professor, we need—” I was cut off by a sharp rapping on the door.

“Come in,” the professor called out.

The door opened to reveal a young woman in the uniform of the magical jail.Her black hair was pulled back into a severe bun, but wisps had escaped to frame her pale face.

“Niamh!”Professor Reynolds said, half getting to his feet.

“Finn,” she replied, her voice hoarse.She flew across the room and threw herself into his arms, knocking him into his chair with an ominous creak.“You were transported to the jail.Why?”

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