Danny looked at the screenshot again. It was more like a screenshot of a screenshot of a screenshot. The text was blurred in some places because of all the artifacting. And other spots it had been blurred intentionally, a name had been blacked out at some point along the way.

The image was of a couple social-media posts, from about sixteen months ago. The identity of whoever had posted them had been removed. Danny had been searching for the original posts online but had come up empty. His best guess was they'd been deleted, and all that remained now was the screenshot he'd found in a forum where people shared conspiracy theories.

Friday February 26
I swear I don't know if I'm going crazy, or if I'm the only one who's sane! There's some crazy shit going on at school this week and it doesn't make any sense at all? So there's this guy, he's in some of my classes? His name's #### Eckhart. He's one of the 'popular' guys - attractive, cool, big into sports, the usual stuff. He's also an asshole, he picks on people, mouths off, gets in fights sometimes. Basically just a complete dick. Only here's the thing. On Tuesday, he disappeared! I mean like, nobody else remembers he ever existed?! And the same day he vanished, a new girl showed up. Becky Eckhart! Only everyone says she's always been here? She's a tomboy and a loner, no friends, whatever. She's really quiet. Everyone says I'm crazy but I swear she wasn't here before! I know this sounds insane but I swear she used to be ####! I mean they're the same age & same last name & everything! I even followed Becky home today and she lives in the same fucking house as he did! Why am I the only one who can see this?! I don't understand! :(
Wednesday March 10
Ok so I've been watching 'Becky' for almost 2 weeks now. Last week she started hanging out with Tanya and Cindy, two girls that #### used to tease a bunch. The tiny one Cindy, she was new this semester, and #### used to really make fun of her. Seems suspicious to me right? New kid shows up, gets picked on a bunch, then the guy who's picking on her vanishes & like magic he gets 'replaced' by a girl?! And now they're all friends? It's fucking crazy. Get this, though! So today after school, I talked to Becky. I asked her straight up if she used to be #### and she gave me this shocked look, like her face was all 'holy shit how do you know that?!' kinda thing! She wouldn't give me an answer but that just confirms it! I don't know how this happened but I'm sure Tanya and Cindy are involved. I'm gonna keep digging. Somehow I'm the only one who knows there's weird shit going on, and I'm gonna get to the bottom of it! Tomorrow I'm gonna talk to Tanya and Cindy and see what they have to say.

Danny re-read the posts one more time. It was unbelievable. But it was exactly the sort of thing he was interested in. The sort of thing he wanted to believe in. He needed to know more.

The past week he'd been digging and searching, and he'd finally managed to track down the girl the posts were about. Becky, or Rebecca Eckhart. He'd found her social media feed and through that, he'd also found her two best friends, Tanya Fleming and Cindy Talbot. All three were still in high-school, though they'd be graduating grade twelve at the end of this month.

He'd scrolled back through all the pictures the three girls had posted over the past year. He knew people would think he was weird or whatever, a twenty-one year old guy seemingly obsessed with these three high-school girls. But it wasn't sexual or anything. It was the idea of magic that fascinated him.

That being said, all three of them were attractive. Tanya had the whole hot-athletic-girl look going on. Becky wasn't a tomboy any more, she was wearing skirts and make-up and looking really damn good. Cindy was the odd one. She was cute, but she looked too young to be graduating grade twelve. She looked more like she should be in grade nine. Either she was some kind of kid genius, or there was something unusual going on with her. Maybe more magic, Danny thought.

Danny had especially studied Becky's pictures. If she'd really been a guy up till sixteen months ago, then it had to be magic because there's no way conventional HRT or even surgery could do that. He knew, he'd looked into it.

Yesterday, he'd decided to try contacting the girls directly. He had an account on the social media site under another name. Zoe was sort of his online alter-ego. She used an anime catgirl as her profile pic, and followed a handful of trans and lesbian accounts, but she didn't actually post much. Mostly Danny just used the account so he could search content on the site.

Using his Zoe account, he'd sent a private message to Becky, but she'd promptly blocked him. Then he'd tried messaging Tanya last night, and this morning he found he'd been blocked by her too. He figured, maybe the third try would be lucky.

He picked up his phone and opened the app, then he started composing a private message to Cindy.

>>Zoe_Z: Hello Cindy. Sorry to bother you like this, but I came across a rumour that involves you, and I'm just too curious to ignore it. I promise I'm not trying to be creepy or weird, and I'm not looking to exploit you or anything. I just want to learn more. Thank you.

• • • • •

Cindy was laying on her bed. Her math homework was next to her, but she was ignoring it. Mo had curled up ontop of the textbook and fallen asleep, and Cindy wasn't going to argue with the wisdom of a big black cat.

She was bored though, and a bit lonely. It was the middle of June, around eight o'clock on a Friday night, and all of her friends were busy.

Tanya and Becky were out on a date together. Jess and Kara were out together too. Sam and Nikki were home, but lately Sam was too tired to do much of anything, between teaching at the university and overseeing stuff at the spa since it opened a month or so ago. And Nikki was spending most of her time playing 'housewife' to Sam, while she waited for the construction to finish up on the winery.

For now, Cindy was amusing herself with a little fireball spell. Just a small one, no bigger than her fist. She'd conjured it up about ten or twelve minutes ago, and since then she'd just been tossing it up in the air then catching it when it came back down.

It probably looked dangerous, as she was laying on her back and if she missed it, the thing would hit her. But she was more worried about accidentally tossing it high enough to hit the ceiling. She'd originally been trying to keep score, but had quickly given up on that. If she focused hard enough on trying to count her successful catches, she'd lose track of the fireball. Again.

She tossed the little fireball up once more, and was immediately distracted as her phone buzzed with an incoming alert. She looked to the right where her phone was sitting on the bedside table, and the fireball came back down and hit her square in the chest.

There was a flare of magic and the smell of burnt fabric, but Cindy was unhurt. The protective amulet she was wearing under her top was more than capable of blocking the effects of a little bit of fire.

"Crap," she sighed. Although she was fine, this was the second top she'd destroyed tonight. There was now a golfball-sized hole burned through the front of it, right in the middle just above her bra. Luckily after the first one got ruined, she'd put on an older top to continue her 'game'.

She sat up and grabbed her phone, hoping the interruption was worth it. As soon as she saw the text, she started grinning.

Finally! Becky and Tanya had both been messaged by this 'Zoe' person, Cindy was wondering why they'd taken so long to try contacting her.

Sitting crosslegged on her bed, she started tapping out a response.

• • • • •

After he'd sent the message, Danny got himself a beer and turned on the tv. He figured, odds were his text wouldn't even be seen till tomorrow morning. And then there was a good chance he'd just be blocked again, and then he'd be back to square one.

He lived alone, in a tiny basement apartment in an older neighbourhood, in the poorer part of town. It was about a thirty or forty minute drive east of Toronto, not that he had a car.

His work wasn't anything interesting or important either. He worked on an assembly line, where for eight hours a day he watched a machine stick plastic widgets onto metal frames. He put more widgets in the machine when it ran out, and if the machine got jammed, he unjammed it.

There were some guys at work who acted friendly, they tried now and then to get Danny to join them after their shift. They'd go bowling Tuesday nights, and Friday nights they went out drinking. He'd gone with them them a couple times, but never really felt like he fit in. He always felt really uncomfortable around them while they'd be talking about girls. A few of the guys were even married, but they didn't seem to have any more respect for women than the single guys.

So here he was, alone on a Friday night, drinking a beer and watching some cooking contest reality show on the tv. Correction, he was watching some cooking contest reality show rerun on the tv.

It really wasn't much of a life, which was part of the reason he was so fascinated by the idea of magic being out there somewhere.

He'd barely got started on his beer, when his phone pinged with a 'new message' alert. Danny frowned and checked, then stared. He couldn't believe it. Cindy actually wrote him back!

>>Cindy_T: Hi Zoe! What kinda rumour? What is it you want to know more about?

Suddenly the tv and the beer were both forgotten, as Danny was fully focused on his phone, quickly tapping out a reply.

>>Zoe_Z: So this is going to sound crazy, but I heard there was some magic going on at your school. Not like illusion or stage magic, but actual reality-bending magic. And I heard you might be involved?

• • • • •

Cindy was watching her phone, waiting for the reply. She knew it was coming. She'd used a variation of the clairvoyance spell, sort of a wide-range 'searching' spell, to track Zoe down.

Now she was using the conventional scrying spell to watch. She could see Zoe in their basement apartment. They looked like a guy to Cindy, but with the name Zoe, she didn't want to make assumptions. Finally Zoe sent the message, and a couple seconds later it was on Cindy's screen.

She grinned. This was exactly what she needed, to turn a lonely boring Friday night into some fun.

She quickly tapped out another reply.

• • • • •

Danny barely had to wait a minute before another message came in.

>>Cindy_T: You think I can do magic huh? If that were true, then isn't it kinda dangerous or risky, to be contacting me and stuff?

Danny hesitated at that. She wasn't being threatening, she wasn't confirming or denying anything, but she was pointing out that if this stuff was real, there could be some danger. He thought it over, then decided it was worth it.

>>Zoe_Z: I guess? But I'm willing to take a chance. I just have to know.

The reply was even quicker this time.

>>Cindy_T: Fair enuf. I'm curious about stuff too, so I can relate. Hey btw Zoe, what are your pronouns? Mine are she/her, ftr.

Danny frowned a little. No-one had ever asked him that before. He hesitated. His 'Zoe' account was set up to present as a girl. If Cindy had looked at the account profile she'd have seen that already. Or maybe she was just being polite and didn't want to make assumptions.

He decided to keep playing the part for now, to keep being 'Zoe' while he was messaging her.

>>Zoe_Z: Yeah same here, she/her. So what about this magic stuff? Can you tell me about it?

>>Cindy_T: Ok Zoe. We can talk, but I'd rather do it in person. How'd you like to come visit? I'm not doing anything tonight, and I'm guessing neither are you? I mean, no offence but you're PMing strangers on a Friday nite, you're either bored or drunk, but probably not doing much else.

Danny frowned. She wanted to meet in person? That was the last thing he'd expected. He knew strong tough guys who didn't like to meet online people, yet this small teen girl was offering to meet a complete stranger?

If he had a car or something, he'd actually consider it. But he was sure Cindy was somewhere down in Niagara, and even by car that was at least a two-hour drive. He'd have to rely on busses and the train. It would probably take three or four hours, and that was assuming they were still running now. They tended to stop after rush-hour.

And then there was the whole fake name thing... He'd have to admit he wasn't really 'Zoe' and he was sure that would end the conversation instantly.

>>Zoe_Z: I'd take you up on that, but I don't have any way to get there tonight. IIRC you're around Niagara somewhere? I'm a ways east of Toronto.

Once again the reply came back quickly.

>>Cindy_T: Oh that's no problem. I can arrange transportation. So do you wanna come visit?

Danny frowned again, staring at the screen. She'd arrange transportation? How would she do that? He knew from her feed that she had a car, but if she was planning to drive out here, it'd still take her two hours or so. And he wasn't about to give her his address.

He was still trying to figure out how to respond, when she sent him another message.

>>Cindy_T: Just say 'yes', and I'll do the rest! ;)

Danny hesitated. He was desperate to know more, and if what he'd read in that screenshot was true then this might be his only chance. He still had no idea though what Cindy was planning to do. There was a little growing nervousness in him as he replied.

>>Zoe_Z: Yes?

>>Cindy_T: Cool! Ok just sit back and relax, it'll just take a sec!

Danny wondered to himself what would just take a second? He started to tap out the question, when suddenly everything around him seemed to fade out then back in again. There was a sensation of falling, just for a split second, and then his behind sank into a soft duvet and mattress. He was now sitting at the foot of a large bed, in a large bedroom.

He jumped to his feet, feeling dizzy and disoriented. Infront of him, past the foot of the bed, were large bay windows looking out onto a wood balcony, and about five or six meters beyond that was a thick stand of trees. There was a door to the right of the windows that opened out onto the balcony. The door was open, but there was also a screen door, allowing fresh air and the smell of the woods outside to fill the room.

A small voice behind him said, "Hi Zoe! I'm Cindy."

Danny spun around, and there she was. She looked even younger in person. She was sitting crosslegged on the bed, she'd been behind him when he'd arrived here. Cindy was wearing a long dark grey short-sleeve top and some short black leggings. She was barefoot. And oddly, there was a large hole burned through the front of her top, in the middle of her chest. He suspected that was recent, there was still a faint smell of smoke in the air.

Beside her on the bed were some school books, and ontop of one of them was a large black cat. It was curled up, but its eyes were open, watching him. Looking past the girl and the cat, past the bed on the right, Danny could see a short hallway.

He stared at Cindy. His heart was racing a bit and his eyes were wide. "How...how'd I get here?"

The small blonde giggled a little, "Magic, duh! I teleported you here. That's what you wanted to know about, right?"

Danny took a step back. Suddenly everything was just a little too real. And now he realized why this tiny young girl wasn't worried about meeting strangers off the internet. If she could pluck him out of his home like that, without him even telling her where he lived, what else was she capable of...

His mouth had gone a bit dry as he gulped, "Where are we?"

"This is my room." Cindy shrugged. "Or do you mean, like big-picture? We live on a vineyard in Welland. I dunno how far that is from where you were. A hundred kilometres maybe? I know we're south and west of where you were, across the lake."

Danny just nodded slowly. He knew where Welland was. It was a long trip by car or train because you had to go around the lake, but in a straight line it was only about fifty or sixty kilometres. His heart was still racing, as he stared at the girl.

After another few moments of silence, Cindy asked "So Zoe, you're here, what did you want to know about magic?"

Danny hesitated. Then he frowned, as he realized she was still calling him Zoe. Even though she could obviously see he was a guy. "Uh... You don't think it's weird, calling me 'Zoe'?"

Cindy shrugged, "That's your name, isn't it?"

"But... I look like a guy?"

She shrugged again, "You said your pronouns were she/her." The girl smiled a little, "Zoe, is that why you're interested in magic? You're looking for a way to change how you look?"

Danny's eyes widened and he felt his face going red. "Uh... no... I mean... I'm just really curious..."

Cindy was still smiling, "It's ok to admit it, Zoe. I'm not making any promises, but if there was something I could do to help, something magical, then the best way to find out is to just ask."

Danny gulped again. She was reading him pretty easily. And this was exactly what he'd been searching for. He wanted to find real magic, and now here it was. This kid had just teleported him out of his home, across Lake Ontario and into her bedroom, and she was just smiling and acting like it was no big deal.

He realized he was sweating a bit, even his hands were sweaty. He stuffed his phone into his back pocket and tried to subtly wipe his hands on his jeans. He asked nervously, "If there was something you could do with magic... some way to change how I look... How would that work? Like, what about stuff like ID and that sort of thing?"

Still smiling at him, Cindy replied, "So the easy stuff is just like, changing your body. That's honestly really simple. New ID can be conjured up, but that's actually a little harder."

He nodded slowly, eyes still wide, as it sank in. Changing someone's body was really simple? That was...a little scary, he realized.

Cindy added, "But! It's still up to you to deal with like, family, friends, work, all that sorta thing. So like, that can get awkward, obviously."

She continued, "Theres some other magic that's like, way more intense. Beyond what I can do, unfortunately. I could hook you up with people though. I'm talking about, rewriting your whole past and changing reality and stuff. But that's a big deal and not the sort of thing they do lightly. So I can't really promise that. Just changing your body though... I could do that right now, if it was the sort of thing you wanted. If you asked for it."

Danny gulped again. He didn't have any friends, and hadn't seen his family in about three years. And he didn't care about work. He realized, he could just disappear from all of that and he wouldn't miss any of it. They probably wouldn't miss him either, for that matter. If he could get new ID along with the body of his dreams, he could start fresh somewhere else.

"What... What do I have to do?" He asked nervously. "You're right, I want this. Please. What do I have to do, what does it cost, how do I get this?"

"Just so we're clear," Cindy asked, "You're asking me to change your body so it matches the name and pronouns you told me, right? Sorry for being blunt, but you want to be a girl?"

Danny blushed brightly but nodded. His voice was almost a whisper, as he admitted it. "Yes... That's what I want."

Cindy asked softly, "And you're looking for magic, instead of going through the traditional process, because...?"

He sighed. "I can't afford hormones, or surgery, or hair removal, or any of that stuff..."

Cindy nodded, "Fair enough. Ok Zoe, I'll help you." She got up off the bed, saying "Just a sec." as she went down the little hallway.

Danny moved to the side to watch where she was going. He realized there were two doorways off the side of the hall. Cindy went into the first one. A light came on in there for just a few seconds, then went out again.

Cindy emerged holding a large white terry bathrobe. She then said, "Come here, Zoe?" as she moved to the second doorway.

Danny followed, and saw the first doorway led to a large walk-in closet. The second was a good-sized ensuite bathroom.

Cindy turned on the light and handed him the robe, "Get changed in there. It's just easier if you're not wearing any constricting clothing, y'know?"

His heart skipped a beat. "We're doing this now? Right now?"

"Sure?" she shrugged. "Unless you're having second-thoughts?"

Danny shook his head and stepped into the washroom, closing the door behind him. It took him less than ten seconds to kick off his shoes and scramble out of his clothes. He left it all in a pile on the floor for now, and quickly wrapped the robe around himself.

When he emerged from the bathroom, he was feeling a mix of fear and excitement. Cindy was waiting by the bed. She motioned, "Have a seat on the bed, and try to relax, ok?"

Danny sat on the edge of the bed. "How does this actually work? Like... How will you know what to do? Like, what exact changes and stuff?"

Cindy smiled, "It's actually a really clever spell. I can't take credit for it, my friends came up with it. You just visualize how you want to look, what changes you want, and the spell works off of that. So you don't have to worry about me getting something wrong."

Danny nodded, "Oh... Yeah that's smart..." He then asked, "Does it hurt? How long does it take?"

"It's like, a few seconds to cast, and pretty well instant." Cindy replied. "And painless of course."

She then added, "So before we start, I just have to give you one warning I guess. So you're gonna be visualizing how you want to look, what your ideal body is? I just wanna make it clear, that whatever you're visualizing, is gonna be your new body. So like, remember to keep it realistic, and be reasonable? Like don't do anything too crazy."

"Right... Ok..." Danny gulped, but smiled. Whatever he pictured, would be his new body...

"So I just close my eyes and focus?"

"Yep." Cindy nodded. "Ready?"

His heart was racing again, but Danny nodded, "Ready."

He closed his eyes and started to visualize his online alter-ego Zoe. That was the body of his dreams. Imagining being her was pretty easy, Danny had done it a million times before.

There was no chanting, and no flashy effects. Or if there were, he couldn't see them with his eyes closed. The only indication anything had happened was when he felt a slight shift in the robe he was wearing, and then there was a bit of pressure and discomfort from his lower back.

Then Cindy asked, her voice sounding a little amused, "Ok... So this is your idea of 'reasonable and realistic', huh?"