Authors Note: this was the result of me really liking things like nagas and alraune and other monsters. As well as me kind of curious about what would happen if someone was transformed (as often happens in these stories) but carried on as normal. Basically asking the question of 'what happens if they're not embarrassed about what they've become?'.

Fair Warning though, this was done with very little planning or prep on my part, i just banged this out without setting up a plot at all. So fair warning.

Enjoy.

Mark Simms was a rather typical teenage boy, with a mop of red hair, a freckled face, a mind full of skateboards and video games. He loved Star Wars, hated Star Trek and played some Dungeons and Dragons in secret (though he would never, ever admit it to anyone) and didn't have any clue how to talk to girls.

He liked cheeseburgers more than pizza, but wouldn't turn either down, especially if it had a large Dr.Pepper to go with it, and some fries.

He wore his clothes until the stains made them stiff, or until they were soaked from rain, and worried little about his future, more worried about his place on the Call of Duty leader boards and how sick his kick flips were.

Mark's family also held a little secret...his sister, mother and grandmother were all witches, powerful ones at that, and his little sister, now only ten to Mark's fifteen, would wield great power when she came of age.

And Mark couldn't be more proud of them...nor more indifferent, unlike his father. Upon discovering the magic in his sister's blood, their dad had split. His name was Sam, and a spell was currently on him to prevent him from telling anyone what he saw, and good riddance to him; Mark didn't miss him at all!

Magic was definitely 'a thing' in his life, but the wonder and awe of it all had worn off, due to very strict rules in the house about the usage of magic.

Magic was not to be used for anything frivolous, a rule that had been ingrained into his mother by his grandmother, and now his sister was having it beaten into her head as well.

His little sister was named Katie, and was a redhead like her brother, though lacking in the freckle department: but Mark was certain they would grow in.

So Mark was ALMOST a typical teenage boy.

It was a Friday evening in the end of April when 'almost typical' stopped being an adequate description.

Mark was laying on his bed, staring at his phone, where a text from Stacey Charles; his girlfriend waited. Downstairs he could smell pizza, home-made pizza, being cooked by his mom: extra cheese and pepperoni. It should be finished soon, but first he had to deal with this text from Stacey.

"Hey, Mark we on for this weekend?" the message read.

Mark sighed and frowned at the message; Stacey was portrait pretty. Blonde hair, blue eyes, lithe and being given gifts by puberty hand over fist, when she finished filling out she would be a real beauty.

However beauty was only skin deep and Stacey was less shallow than a puddle on a sunny day. Mark had learned that she was dating a basketball player at the school AND Mark as well. The only thing was, the basket baller had learned that Stacey was two-timing him and had dropped her, so she had just stuck with Mark. She had been saying that the guy had taken some swings at her.

Weird thing was, Mark hadn't seen the guy since then...and Stacey was giving him some creepy vibes. The police were checking things out and Mark had found himself interrogated by the police, but couldn't offer them any advice.

Trevor had been missing for a week now, and the investigation was still ongoing.

After turning the entire mess over in his mind a few times, he tapped a response into the keypad.

"Hey Stace, you remember what's his name...Trevor Alves? Yeah I figured out you were dating us both. So no, we're not."

satisfied he waited and sure enough, a text came back.

"WHAT? No, Mark that's a lie, who told you that!?"

Mark frowned and stabbed the keypad

"Like, everyone. I'm not as stupid as you think I am. Don't message me again; it's over." he had barely even pressed send before a vicious, biting response erupted onto the screen.

"YOU BASTARD! YOU SHOULD BE FUCKING GRATEFUL I EVEN LOOK AT YOU! YOU'RE GOING TO REGRET THIS!"

"pff," he rolled his eyes and tapped the block button, "Whatever. Fuck off."

Dropping the phone on his bedside table, he laid on his back, feeling relieved; as if an enormous weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

"MARK!" the redhead heard his mother call, "Dinner!"

Mark grinned and swung his feet off the bed, but as he stood a terrible pain exploded into both ankles, and the boy collapsed, air rushing from his lungs.

The redhead tried desperately to scream, to rise and call for help, but the pain was paralyzing, a numb, molten burning feeling in both feet and ankles, and it was slowly creeping up.

Looking down, trying to understand anything that was happening, Mark's eyes witnessed his socks simply burn away, revealing an amalgamated mass of flesh, no toes or ankles: just a roiling mass of skin, with a tiny ring of scales starting to appear.

The poor redhead's pants tore, revealing that his legs were starting to fuse together, as the scales moved up in the wake of the horrifying crushing, twisting of his body. He tried to shriek, to scream, tears running down his face...but all the poor redhead could manage was painful, shallow breathing.

Then the door cracked, opening to reveal a godsend...Katie his little sister, looking bored. "Hey, Mark Mom wants you to-" Katie froze as she saw her brother mutating and writhing in pain.

Writhing, twisting in pain, his flesh warping and mutating, the poor boy looked up at his sister and managed a bare whisper: "K-Katie...help"

Katie managed a nice, proper scream, before Mark's vision went mercifully black.

He awoke to thankful numbness, resting on the ugly purple couch and the sound of his mother yelling angrily into the phone while Katie gently stroked his forehead with a cool cloth.

The terrible burning had thankfully passed, and though he had no idea what had happened, the redhead was too exhausted to care at the moment, bathing in the relief, and the cool air that trickled across his sweat-soaked skin. He idly noted he should be more concerned about laying naked in front of his sister...but the gratitude he felt towards her, for soaking his head with that cloth and for calling for mom was overwhelming his modesty.

His mom slammed the phone and let out an enraged huff, making Katie jump in surprise while Mark glanced at her in a drunken way, wearing a weary expression. Gloria wore a look of frustration that melted into pity as she studied her eldest, sprawled out on the couch in a haphazard fashion.

"That was Stacey" Gloria, his mother, spat the word like an insult, "She says she'll never change you back"

Mark slowly pulled himself up, until he felt an alien sagging on his chest, but failed to feel his feet touching down on the carpet.

"Change me...," mark's eyes traced down his form...to a large pair of breasts that sat heavy on his...umm...her chest, and beyond that, a long red...snake...tail?

Mark's breath sped as his eyes struggled to comprehend what they were seeing: two heavy, large breasts sitting on his chest, and exploding out from his hips was a thick, long, red-scaled serpent tail, spilling off of the end of the couch. It felt incredibly powerful, and responded in a fashion somewhat similar to how his legs would have.

Mark struggled, reaching up to the top of the couch to pull himself upwards, but a new alien sensation battered the transformed boy's senses, as he felt a second left hand gripping the top of the couch, located just beneath the first one.

Not wanting to, but knowing he had to, Mark glanced up and saw his fears confirmed: a second arm emerging from beneath the first one, and a quick inspection to the right concluded that in addition to a snake tail, he was also now adorned with an extra set of limbs.

His eyes squeezed shut as he tried to settle his breathing.

"Mark-" Gloria whispered taking a step forward, but was halted when her former son's upper right arm lifted; index finger raised in the universal sign of 'one moment'.

Gloria was always very proud of her son's ability to adapt to new situations. When her husband discovered that she had magic, he hadn't taken it well as it flew in the face of his strong religious views, but Mark's birth had served as a salve, tacking on a few years as he had been given a normal, non-magical child. However Katie's birth five years later had broken it, as the girl showed a powerful aptitude for spell casting. Sam had insisted that Gloria give her up for adoption, as it rattled him; a magical child that he was in part responsible for.

Unable to reconcile, Sam had tried to take Mark with him, but the brave little boy had refused to be separated from his sister. The spell Gloria cast on her ex was an unfortunate necessity, preventing him from telling the world about her magical powers, and dragging their son away. Mark had been firm and strong, especially for his age as his father walked out of his life and never blamed his sister or mother for it.

However would this be too much? Even Mark's adaptability had its limitations.

Mark's eyes opened again, and though the redhead currently see it, Gloria could see her beautiful child's once blue eyes had become solid green with a black serpentine slit in the middle, and his normally short red hair was now luscious waves of deep scarlet, spilling down past his shoulders. Once more, he glanced at the four arms, then down at the long, red tail before swinging himself up into a sitting position.

A less dramatic change was that the transformation had left mark with a very feminine, curvaceous and human backside, and a quick glance downwards revealed no genitalia...though whatever was down there was likely hidden behind a curtain of scales, giving the new serpent-person a limited amount of natural modesty.

"...okay," she said

after a moment's pause in her new voice, one that was like honey to listen to, it made the half-snake wince she continued, "Explain."

"I'll...I'll get you a shirt." Katie offered quickly, "You gotta be cold. Right?"

Mark glanced at his sibling, and her worried, anxious look. Katie so desperately wanted to help, but had no idea how to help. A shirt was her way of trying to do that.

So, Mark gave her a little smile and nodded

"Yeah, that'd be great Kates." her voice just oozed sex, a natural sensuousness that made Mark shudder slightly, but fortunately Katie missed it and eagerly ran upstairs.

Turning back, Mark regarded his mother with an even and understanding look. Mom didn't cause this, but he still needed answers. He gave a gesture with his lower right arm.

"Go ahead"

Gloria collected her thoughts and controlled her anger,

"I found Stacey's bitchy message, " she explained with a voice flavoured with anger, "She wanted to turn you into a snake, i don't know why-"

"We're studying snakes in school," mumbled Mark weakly, "That's probably why..."

"It was the first thing she was thinking of" the transformed boy's mother nodded in agreement, "I was able to halt the change by casting another spell on you. I was trying to make you turn back into human, brute forcing her magic off of you"

Mark shook his head, not entirely understanding.

"I don't...I don't get it...why not block the spell? Or- Or undo it?"

"Because, it had already taken hold of you, and only someone who is exceptionally powerful could have undone her spell. She is powerful, gifted and I'm not, I'm just...average." Gloria's face twisted in anger and she glared at her hands, as if silently cursing some unseen weakness, "Dammit I knew I shouldn't have trusted that little bitch."

It is very difficult to sense magic in any real way, the only reliable fashion is to see it cast, which is why most spell casters kept to their families, or to be already very powerful. Some, according to his mom, would try to add blood or body parts from magical creatures in an attempt to increase their magical strength and grant themselves the ability to sense magic in others. Results varied.

"So...why four arms?" Mark asked keenly aware of his mother's sense of helplessness, and wanted to keep her distracted.

"It's...well it's because the two spells fought and tried to come out to an acceptable compromise. The 'human' spell knows that humans have four limbs, and the snake spell wanted to ensure at least part of you was snake...so this satisfied both ends of the spell: a human part with four limbs and a snake lower part."

In spite of himself, Mark gave a weak chuckle.

"So magic isn't very smart is it? However..why a girl?" He gestured with all four limbs to his full, perky cups.

"I couldn't turn you into a boy, you already were one...I didn't know what would happen if I tried to change you into a human boy since you were still mostly one...and I didn't know what else to do. I just wanted to try to stop it. Mark I-" her eyes filled with tears as anger gave way to despair, "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry, I wasn't strong enough, I-"

The four-armed half-snake engulfed her mother in a tight hug, as Gloria broke down, sobbing into the shoulder of her transformed child. She felt so helpless, angry and frustrated: her own magic unable to stand up to an especially gifted (and shallow) teenager's. It was humiliating! And she wasn't able to protect her son who had done everything a mother could be proud of, the best she could do was twist him into this...parody of humanity. Neither an animal, nor a human.

Mark wanted to scream, he wanted to smash and hit things. He wanted to beat Stacey into a bloody pulp, he wanted to...he wanted to cry, and could feel wetness in his eyes. However he refused to, not while his mom was here...she needed him to be strong, for her.

"Hey..."

It was an uncertain Katie, looking up at the pair with a worried look and holding up a white t-shirt for her transformed brother. It wasn't the largest shirt, but right now nothing would probably fit right. Just one more thing that Stacey had done, one more petty hurt.

Katie was trying to help, wanting to help...he had to show her that she had helped, that they could get through this, that he wouldn't let it tear him down. Breaking the embrace, the chesty serpent graciously accepted the offered shirt.

"Thanks kiddo," and Mark examined it momentarily, "Alright I'll just..." and he slipped it over his head, shifting underneath until his head popped out the top.

"There, now I'll just..." Mark's words trailed off as he saw his shirt somewhat...shimmer, and then grow, the tight squeezing that his new breasts were causing relaxed as the shirt billowed outwards, forming a second set of sleeves beneath the first, before the shirt came to rest where his new hips were located.

"M-Mom?" stammered the upset snake girl, while his flustered mother stared at the shirt for several moments.

"Mark...honey...I think you have magic."

To his credit, Mark didn't faint, not this time.

"I..." the smell of the pizza reached his nostrils, and with some awkward wiggling, he managed to point himself in the direction of the kitchen.

"...I'll have a freak out later, I need food first"

It was mid afternoon the following day, and the still female, still snake, Mark sat in his room, staring out the window.

Her room.

Mark was struggling to accept the fact...her...she...female.

Dinner had come before anything else that evening, but Mom's delicious extra cheese and pepperoni pizza certainly helped lift his...lift her spirits, and though she was now a four-armed snake girl, at least she wasn't a hungry four-armed snake girl.

She had devoured nearly the entire pizza herself, though fortunately Mom had made two, and between the three of them, they devoured both of them, plus desert and a few sandwiches.

Spell casters always have bigger appetites, but Mark was now a spell caster with a new massive body, one that demanded immense amounts of food. Even now...she felt a gnawing in her belly.

Following that, Gloria had tried to undo the spells now woven through Mark's being...but it was impossible.

The magic used to create her new body was chaotic, and Gloria couldn't tell where her spells began and that bitch's Stacey's ended. They were so tangled and wound up together, that it would take years to undo, if it was even at all possible.

When Mark had asked if it was possible, Gloria had responded with an optimistic 'maybe' with an expression that said 'no'. Mark didn't call her on her lie...Gloria was only trying to spare Mark that bombshell until she could handle it.

The spells that had crafted Mark's body had a second issue; when Gloria's spell had impacted Mark's new body, the magic already present broke the spell down, releasing the raw magic into Mark's body.

A few further experiments with various low-level spells; from transformation to one weak fireball (with plenty of buckets of water, and one very nervous sister nearby as safety precautions) confirmed that mark now had some kind of weak shield that could rapidly break down magic thrown at it. Perhaps with some training, Mark would learn to empower it to create a very powerful shield.

The irony was not lost on the new snake girl; Stacey's very attempt to destroy her life had been a key component in creating a protection against future attempts.

After that, the family was too exhausted, emotionally and physically, to continue, and so they retired to bed.

Climbing the stairs had been a novel experience, as the muscle memory for walking served the same basic function for slithering, but Mark found that her hips now gave an exaggerated sway with each fluid movement.

Mark hadn't even cared that her bed was too small for her new body and had flopped into it. Soon enough, the entire bed had trembled and sparkled, and swelled into a strange, large round-shaped bed, more than large enough to accommodate her massive frame.

This morning had been unique, awakening buried in heavy blankets, she had stared at the ceiling listening to the rapid thumping of her heart before she realized that there was something off about it. Some examination had determined that her lower body now had a second heart...which made sense due to her size.

That made Mark wonder how many other backup organs she had: extra lungs? Extra stomach? Extra kidneys?

Out of reflex, she had flopped out of bed and slowly slithered to her wardrobe, retrieving a pair of pants before she knew what she was doing, but the magic that was adapting her surroundings to her body kicked in quickly, shrinking and changing the pants into a denim skirt, long enough to offer her some modesty, but not long enough to interfere with...umm...slithering.

Curious by this change, Mark had started to experiment; grabbing different articles of clothing to see what would happen.

Pants became skirts, shirts gained extra arm holes, while underwear became bras...very large bras that her back was now very thankful for. Shoes and Socks however did not change at all, suggesting that her new body had no use for them at all which made sense; she had no legs or feet anymore.

The bra's as opposed to any sort of panty made sense too: she had no real use for underwear as her body provided the necessary coverings, though Mark had thus far been too shy to experiment beyond confirming the existence of a kind of scale veil that hid a very human-looking vagina. Mark was no expert...but it all looked in order.

"...are you okay?" asked Katie softly, entering into the room and sitting next to her sibling. The transformed girl glanced at her sibling and managed a pained smile. Her eyes, the redhead had discovered, had also changed: now a brilliant emerald with a slitted pupil and her mouth now sported a pair of fangs that poked down slightly from her top lip, which took a bit of practice to get used to.

"yeah I'm okay kiddo, just...a lot to take in."

she nodded and hugged her new very big sister tightly

"what are you gonna do?"

Mark looked at her sister for a moment then back out the window,

"I dunno kid. I really don't know."

she frowned and cuddled her sister closer, Mark responded by wrapping one of her lower arms around the ten year old protectively

"You gonna go ask that mean girl to turn you back?"

Mark shot a glance at her sister then looked out her window.

Could she? As far as Stacey knew, Mark was just some talking snake now...and would probably make this as humiliating, demeaning and dehumanizing as possible. Even then she probably wouldn't change her back and...oh no, what about Trevor? He had disappeared after his breakup with that witch and...

Mark felt anger welling up in her heart, a blistering burning anger. Stacey was expecting defeat, humiliation and shame, she would likely still never change her back! She was probably laughing her ass off over this, expecting Mark to stay hidden away forever in disgrace, regret and shame.

"...Hell no. I'm going to go to school." she nodded her head firmly, "I'm going to school."

Katie sat back in surprise, looking up at her elder sister.

"You heard me: I'm going to school, if she expects me to stay here hiding or go crawling to her, she's in for a rude surprise." Stated Mark with more muster than she actually felt, but it was blistered by angry...a lot of anger.

"Are you sure?" asked Gloria from the door, and the snake girl turned to face her mom, who stood at the doorway wearing a worried expression, an apron over top of her work clothes.

Gloria worked as a lawyer, not an easy job for a single mom with two kids, but she managed it with grace and style.

"People will stare, they'll ask questions."

Mark nodded uncertainly, but there was bravery in her eyes...more bravery than most would have in this bizarre situation. Once more Gloria felt pride in her eldest; facing this strange and frightening situation head-on, but she hoped that bravery wasn't being bolstered by bullheadedness.

"Yeah I know, and I'll tell 'em the truth: Stacey turned me into a naga with her magic." The newly-minted 'naga' declared. Katie gave her sibling a confused frown, wrinkling her nose as she asked: "naga?"

"Yeah, naga." The girl slithered across the room to a bookshelf that had to be moved to the far wall, due to the new sprawling size of Mark's bed.

It was loaded with geeky books: Harry Potter, Warcraft, and multiple shelves of Dungeons and Dragons, from core books to monster manuals. It was one of these manuals that mark selected, flipping through it until she found what she was looking for, and presented it to her mother and sister to study.

On the page was a snarling, green-skinned snake man, with hate-filled eyes, holding a sword and a knife.

"They don't' look very nice..." mumbled Katie, and Gloria agreed, quickly glancing at the rest of the text-filled page.

"It says here that they're evil, are you sure Mark?"

The transformed girl gave a shrug,

"I am what I am, y'know? I can't say I'm a human; 'cause I'm not. I can't say that I'm a snake 'cause I'm not really that either. I'm somewhere in between...a naga" she gestured to the book with both right arms.

"Besides, just 'cause that guys evil, doesn't mean I am. I mean look," and she held up all her arms, "I have four hands! That's gotta count for something."

Katie giggled but Gloria still looked apprehensive.

"What about your arms, or the magic...what if they ask if Katie has magic, or me?"

The tip of Mark's tail tapped against the ground as she rolled the questions around in her head, looking for a good answer.

"Well...I'll say that when she changed me, my own weird magic kicked in...yeah...it stopped her from makin' me into a snake totally, then I'll use your explanation. I'll say that the magic was all weird and confused and left me with four arms." the snake girl looked to her mother,

"They already think I'm a weirdo, so adding magic won't be that off. And if anyone asks if Katie or you have magic, I'll just say no."

Gloria looked unconvinced,

"What if they go to check?"

To respond, Mark slammed two of her fists into her open palm, resulting in a loud 'crack' that made Katie yelp and jump in surprise quickly.

"Mark..." Gloria admonished while the snake girl cuddled her sister, who had calmed from the uncharacteristic show of violence,

"I don't think that's a good idea. It's dangerous, you could get hurt or worse, taken away by some lab to be studied."

Mark looked exasperated and rounded on her mother,

"Well what do you expect me to do," she demanded in frustration, "Hide out here for the rest of my life," the redheaded naga slumped, "I can't do that mom...I can't. I won't, I won't let her scare me."

A mischievous grin parted her lips,

"Besides, I think that this will scare her more than me; if people find out she's been transforming people then we may find out what happened to Trevor."

There was an undeniable logic to that; so many witches and wizards and the like relied on a combination of clever spell casting, public skepticism and shame to keep their punishments under wraps.

However something like this would blow the lid off of magic in a huge way, it would certainly expose Stacey as a witch, but...

Did she have the right to tear the blindfold off the eyes of the public? Did the innocent magic users of the world deserve to have their tenuous shield of anonymity stolen from them?

"I...I need to call your Grandma. I'm sorry Mark, I can't make this decision on my own"

"However Mom!" the snake girl lunged forward desperately, only to be met by her mother's harsh frown.

"It's not just your life here Mark, it's not even just mine and Katie's either. There is a whole community of magic users you're endangering out there. This may be a simple question to you, but it's not for me."

Gloria saw the frustrated look on her child's face and felt a stab of pity.

"Mark...I know it's not easy I-"

"Just go!" the naga spat angrily, whipping about and leaning against the windowsill, "Get out"

"Mark," pleaded Gloria, "Please-"

"GO!"

Gloria recognized that this battle was lost, and gently took Katie's hand, but the little girl touched her big sister's upper arm.

"I'd be okay with it Mark..." and in spite of her anger, the red-scaled snake girl gave a thin smile.

"Thanks Kiddo..."

then the pair then left the room, leaving one frustrated and depressed naga

Downstairs, Katie looked at her mother, who picked up the phone and nervously stared at it.

"...Mark's right" the little girl stated softly, "She can't stay here..."

So young, and yet so insightful...of course Gloria knew that both of her children were absolutely right, and that's what made her hate Stacey Charles even more.

that blonde haired bitch had stolen any chance of a normal life away from her son, stripping him of his humanity, his gender! Gloria's own attempts to protect that had only been successful by the most liberal definition.

Now, her son...her newest daughter, had only two choices. Either hide away in shame, as if she was some sort of family shame or freak, and protect the magic users of the world...including the vile Stacey Charles.

Or.

Go out, and blow the cover of every wizard and witch in the world, reveal that magic is real and cause history itself to be questioned...but also reveal Stacey's wickedness to the world.

However how many innocent spell casters would suffer? Their home would become a media circus, Katie would be harassed at school, Gloria could lose her job...they could lose the house and be out on the street, all because of the actions of one petty witch.

There was no good answer, and for that, Gloria resented Stacey Charles, resented her for stealing that away from her family.

"It's...complicated honey" even as she said it, the words sounded weak and lame to Gloria, an excuse. However it was the truth, no matter how cruel or cold that was, the weight of her own child and that child's happiness against the secrecy that had bound and protected witches and wizards for centuries!

However to a ten year old, it was the simplest question in the world; should her new sister stay hidden away or actually go out in live, in spite of the dangers? Well the answer was obvious. How Gloria envied that simplistic view.

"I can't...I have to call grandma, I need to talk to her before I make a decision" then Gloria turned away to make the call.

Katie, frustrated, turned and ran back upstairs, red hair bouncing and eyes firm, at the very least, she would show solidarity with her new, and very brave, sister.

Gloria heard the other end of the line pick up, and the aged sound of her mother, Ashley Simms. Ashley had been a teacher, of magic mostly but also in school: fourth grade, and in spite of that she was beloved by her students. She managed to turn the harshest bullies into angels...all without a single spell, well...none that altered their personalities at least.

The elderly Miss Simms was a firm believer that magic was a gift, not a crutch and it was a belief she had instilled in her daughter and was attempting to do the same in her grand daughter.

"Hello?" came that ever pleasant and slightly curious chirp, the sound alone was enough to make Gloria feel slightly at ease.

"Mom...it's me." Gloria sat at the dinner table, fidgeting with her fingers,

"Gloria?" came the surprised and pleased response, "How are you doing girl? How is Mark and Katie?" Unlike many other spell casters, Ashley Simms never looked down on her non-magical grand children, they were equally precious to her and always got the same love and affection, the same spoiling and same rules. It was she who had stepped in when Sam had abandoned Gloria and the kids due to their magic.

It was the eldest Miss Simms who had helped instill a sense of bravery and honor into Mark, she taught him to be Katie's knight, her protector. When the divorce between two parents threatened to split their children apart, Ashley had used magic and the lack thereof to bring the two together. Her wisdom and experience had seen Gloria through many stormy nights, and now more than ever...Gloria needed the sage wisdom of her mother.

"It's about Mark actually....something terrible has happened."

In her mind's eye, Gloria pictured her mother sitting up in her recliner, and turning down the weather channel, eyes looking out the glass patio window, and mouth turning into an uncharacteristic frown.

"Tell me, what's happened Gloria?"

That jovial tone turned serious, not threatening but acknowledging the gravity of the situation, her complete and total attention now devoted to her only daughter.

"There's a witch, named Stacey Charles. She's very powerful and...Mark was dating her"

On the other end of the line, Ashley Simms lips thinned into a hard line as she studied the chipmunks outside, scurrying up and down the tree in her back yard, harassing the birds that came for the feeders.

"I worry that I know where this is going Gloria..."

The witch in question rubbed her forehead in stress, nodding though her mother could not see it.

"It is. Mark broke up with her and...God, she tried to turn Mark into a snake."

Ashley held a pregnant pause, digesting that piece of information, and setting it and her emotions aside.

"You said 'tried', I'm assuming there is at least some level of failure involved then?"

Gloria gave a quick nod, staring at the white table top, while drumming her fingers against the wood.

"Yes. I was able to partially stop it, i panicked and...and I cast a 'turn into girl' spell on him. It was the only thing I could think of. Stacey is so powerful in the craft and I-"

"Shh" soothed the Simms family Matriarch, "In that situation you did the right thing, don't worry girl, I may have very well done the same in your situation"

Ashley let that information sink in to her daughter, that compliment and validation would go far in calming her obviously frustrated and understandably upset child.

"Go on, I'm assuming that there have been some sort of complication?"

the elderly witch had to keep her daughter on task, focused on the story and not her own feelings of anxiety.

"Yes, the spells mixed. I wasn't strong enough...I.." a cracking sob escaped Gloria, tears cutting molten trails down her cheeks, "Mom I wasn't strong enough to save him. He's...He's this four-armed half woman, half snake thing!"

Ashley processed that, while her daughter sobbed on the phone, tears pool on the table as the younger witch hung her head in grief and sorrow. Ashley allowed her to cry for several minutes, to get some of her stress out, so they could have a proper conversation.

"Gloria," Ashley scolded, "You did fine. It is a fair step up from being a snake," the elder woman paused to gather her thoughts,

"How is Mark taking it?"

Gloria wiped her tears away, taking a broken, stuttering breath.

"As well as can be expected, considering the situation." she swallowed another sob; crying now would not help the situation, at all.

"She also has magic...I tried to cast a spell to undo what I could, but her own magic came out and it-it..ATE the spell!"

That caused the Simms family matriarch to pause, that much magic was impressive. Though there could be any number of reasons for it, the grandmother wouldn't know exactly what was causing this until she had a chance to examine her new granddaughter.

"That is impressive...the transformation must have unlocked some latent magical powers. I will help her be trained Gloria, don't worry but...wow, that's quite something"

Gloria's mother was taking this in stride, with a strange calm, rationality that reminded Gloria so much of Mark. However if only that was the biggest bombshell she had to drop....

"However...he, I mean, she wants to go to school."

There, she had said it, the problem and all the issues surrounding it, yet Ashley's response was not quite what Gloria had expected.

"I see, nice to see her head is still working then, a good education will serve her well, especially with her magical potential. Though she won't be doing much track and field," noted the elder Simms woman, "Well...then again, maybe long distance running or sprinting. Snakes are usually pretty good at that sort of thing."

Gloria was stunned, staring at the table where her earlier tears had made a small pool. Did she hear that right? Ashley wasn't taking this at all seriously! Didn't she understand the gravity of this situation? The weight?

"Mom!" protested the young mother, "Don't' you get it? Mark wants to go to school! That would blow magic out into the open, nobody who practices it would be safe! Katie...me, you! Everyone would be exposed!" Gloria all but shrieked.

"Calm down dearie," scolded the older witch, "I heard you quite fine. The fact of the matter is that the great masquerade has done more harm to us than good. Sure it was helpful at the beginning, in times of superstition and when religion had a stronger hold. However times are changing, and now the great masquerade has done little but hurt the victims of wicked magical practitioners.

However the masquerade couldn't hold forever anyways, not with the internet and cellphones...it gets harder and harder to hold it every year, while each new generation of spell casters become more flippant. This Stacey girl? The one who transformed Mark? She is a perfect example, she probably doesn't think Mark would ever be so bold as to just go back to school."

The aging witch leaned forward, not that Gloria could see, but she felt the subconscious need to do so, to drive home her point.

"Gloria, Mark is a very brave young man...woman, whatever. She's brave and smart, and you should be proud of her flexibility and strength in handling this."

Gloria rubbed her forehead in frustration.

"I know, I am but-"

"Ah ah ah!" interrupted Ashley, "You listen to me, alright? You have the perfect opportunity hear to tear the masquerade apart and leave this Stacey character vulnerable and exposed, while showing the world that good and bad witches and wizards exist. Stacey has voluntarily cast herself as the villain in this little drama...but then there is you, and Katie. You saved your child with your magic, the act of a good witch. This is exactly what the world needs to see."

Ashley's old wooden chair creaked as the elderly witch sat back, crossing one arm under the other,

"Besides...if this Stacey isn't stopped, then she'll just keep doing what she's doing"

Gloria chewed her lip; there was definitely truth to that, what with the disappearance of Trevor. It was likely that Stacey transformed him into something else too.

"Gloria...you're strong, and you've raised strong children," reminded Ashley, "You know that you can't keep Mark locked up, that's not even a sustainable plan. Let her go to school, I'll come down if you need and stay for a while to help everything transition smoothly.

However you must let her live. She's strong, she's smart...there will be bumps in the road, but she'll overcome them; she always has."

Gloria heard her children laugh from upstairs, and in spite of herself; smiled.

"You're right..thanks Mom. When will you be able to come down?"

"This evening, i just need to pack a few things before I head out."

Gloria gave a nod.

"Alright, I'll set up the guest room. Thanks again Mom...I don't know what I'd do without you."

the elderly witch laughed

"You'd do the right thing of course, as you always do. Now, I'll talk to you when I get there, alright?"

the younger witch smiled and nodded

"Alright...alright, I'll see you when you get here. Bye."

After hanging up, there was a strange sense of calm and certainty...she could do this. Her kids could do this...it wouldn't be easy, not by any stretch of the imagination,

However she had raised them both to be smart and strong...and they would be. She had already seen how quickly they were adapting to this new and unusual situation...no, they would be strong.

Now, she had to talk to Mark, and by the sounds of it; Katie had calmed her down, though the redheaded mother knew she'd have to apologize to her new serpentine child, and explain the situation.

Mm...Mark wasn't a good name for a girl...if they were going to do this, Mark would need a new name, something that was more appropriate. Maybe Sandy? Or Lisa or Carla or..hmm...

The mother wondered to herself as she climbed the stairs.

"Amanda?" chirped Katie from the doorway, "Time to get up!" and was rewarded with a muffled groan from the mass of covers that made up the naga's bed.

It was Monday morning, early Monday morning: roughly 6 AM. The Simms kids were overjoyed when their grandmother had shown up Saturday evening.

Ashley had proven nothing but supportive of her new grand daughter, banishing Mark's fears away with a tight hug and a meal that only grandmother's can make.

She was supportive of Mark's decision, but expressed concern over the redhead's name, a topic that the naga had been very careful not to broach, since she had no idea what to call herself!

"Amanda" Gloria had suggested, as the family of magic users (and one half-snake) dug into a delicious selection of pies and ice creams, "Amanda Catherine Simms", it was the name that Mark would have received had he been born a girl. The name felt...alien on the tongue, but it was more appropriate now than 'Mark', (and way more appropriate than Katie's suggestion of 'Kaa').

Afterwords, the newly dubbed 'Amanda' was taken through a series of tests by Ashley, as she was a more powerful and experienced spellcaster than her daughter. She confirmed that Amanda's new body was almost certainly here to stay.

The magics that now encompassed her were powerful but more than that: tightly wound, and were the only things holding her body together. The Simms family matriarch probed the red-scaled naga's new magical defenses: concluding that the shield was a natural response to the conflicting spells that now bound Amanda's body together.

The shield used ambient magic in the air around Amanda to construct a natural barrier to attempt to defend against any spell that would undo the transformation and thereby potentially kill the new snake girl.

When Amanda asked why undoing the spell would kill her, Ashley had explained that it would cause her body to separate where the serpent half met the human half, killing both parts of her in a matter of minutes.

"Magic," Ashley reminded her grand daughter, "Is like a football player: powerful but stupid." In spite of the seriousness of the situation, Amanda laughed at the metaphor.

The nature of the shield, in that it broke down a segment of the spell hurled at it into raw magic for Amanda to use, made gauging the new witch's power very difficult. There was no doubt that she did have magic now, but measuring the strength of which would be difficult, due to the shield siphoning magic for Amanda's use.

For now, the shield was probably enough to protect the red haired naga against most low and mid level magic spells, and Ashley promised to come up with a proper curriculum once she had a better grasp of Amanda's power levels.

They broke for lunch, naturally a big one, and once more the grandmother marveled at just how much food the red haired serpent girl could pack away: attacking every meal like a woman starved, eating as much as a whole family would in a single sitting.

Seeing this, the grandmother made a mental note to start sending her daughter a regular food allowance, the family already spent a lot on food and even Gloria's income as a lawyer wasn't going to be able to handle the fresh burden of the growing naga.

Afterwords, came a fresh set of tests, but these weren't magical...but rather physical, though the Simms family was limited in what they could test, due to the fact that all the tests had to be performed indoors for privacy reasons. First was examining the scales with increasingly more punishing strikes, starting with a slap and moving onwards. The result was...impressive: the scales were tough and even a very nervous Gloria smacking the tail with a hammer did little more than dirty them. Amanda confirmed that she knew something was hitting her tail, but it didn't hurt.

It was a relief for the family, as it meant that day-to-day wear and tear posed no threat to their new daughter and sister, and that anyone seeking to punish Amanda for the crime of looking different would have to go the extra mile to do any real damage.

However.

The human half of the snake girl had no special defenses, she was somewhat tougher but not much more than an average human, meaning that the red scaled tail would have to be used as a shield. Fortunately, Amanda's reflexes had taken a jump out of the human range, though just how fast she the naga had become was difficult to ascertain without proper equipment.

"These results are far from scientific" Lamented Ashley, watching Amanda and Katie watch tv: the younger sister sitting neatly in the elder's coils, "We will need to find both a vet and a doctor who would be willing to examine her and run a proper series of tests."

Gloria fidgeted nervously, stressed at the idea though realizing that her mother was entirely correct: this was an entirely new life form after all, and she had no way to know if and when Amanda would get sick and what it would look like.

"How should I go about that? I'm not comfortable with dragging Amanda to just any old doctor"

Ashley just smiled a mischievous grin, one eye sparkling.

"Let me worry about that dearie, you just worry about the kids. Get them ready for school tomorrow, alright?"

Understandably, Gloria looked apprehensive, shooting a glance at her children, watching My Little Pony on netflix.

"Are you sure it's a good idea? Amanda would be in so much danger I-"

"Shhh," urged the elder woman, "Amanda cannot live all cooped up in here, it would kill her slowly and surely. She needs to live, to flourish and if you try keeping her here, she'll just end up resenting you. This is for the good of everyone involved...even that horrid Stacey character. She'll learn that actions have consequences, a lesson she seems sorely lacking."

Dinner was massive, with lasagna as the main course. Amanda seemed to be gravitating towards meat and dairy, and away from vegetables, though she was able to eat them: the serpent girl was clearly favouring meat over her greens.

Nobody commented on it, though the reasoning was obvious: snakes were exclusive carnivores, and humans were omnivores...so naturally, Amanda would lean more towards meats as that's what her body now required.

Gloria made a mental note regarding this for their lunches tomorrow.

The children then headed to bed, with Ashley marveling at the changes that had already gripped the Simms home to accommodate Amanda's new body: theorizing that it was the shield again acting to ensure its host's safety, of course that was only a theory but it was a good one and the only one they had at the moment.

Then the two adults retired to the living room to discuss what to do next.

Now it was morning, with Katie calling for her new sister...who reluctantly dragged herself out of bed and slithered towards the bathroom to get ready for the day.

Breakfast was sizeable: cereal, pancakes, bacon and eggs and orange juice, with two large lunches packed for the pair: naturally Amanda's was slightly larger and heavier on meat in the three sandwiches, plus some chicken and a few sugary snacks.

"I've put a protective spell on Katie, should she get in trouble it will alert us," explained Ashley as they piled into the car.

Her size and length meant that Amanda would ride in the back seat, her tail taking up the entire floor, perhaps it was time for Ashely to invest in a van...

"I've also given her a bracelet with a recall enchantment on it, and I marked your house as the return point. If she gets in very serious trouble, she can trigger the bracelet and be safely tugged back home"

Gloria looked relieved at that, but Katie rolled her young eyes,

"You're both going overboard on this!" the young girl scolded, "I'm going to be fine! I'm more worried about you, 'Manda..."

The naga gave a fanged grin,

"I'll be fine! I'm big, scary and strong! Plus I have that shield and Mom and Grandma will be with me for a bit too"

Katie gave a hesitant nod, worried about her elder sister...but there wasn't much that could be done now.

"You're gonna be the coolest kid around!" boasted the redhead loudly, "You get a snake for a sister! How cool is that! You can take me in for show and tell and threaten anyone that bullies you that I'll eat you!"

That seemed to cheer Katie up a bit, and the pair chatted happily all the way to Katie's school.

"hey...remember," grinned Amanda as her sister unbuckled, "You got the coolest sister, so don't worry about me, alright?"

Katie smiled, and then planted a sweet little kiss on the naga's cheek,

"Thanks 'Manda...you're the best" before dashing out to join her friends in the yard.

Amanda looked...touched, smiling in an introspective way as she stroked her cheek, though her and Katie had always been close, Katie had never done anything like that before. It was...nice.

That floating feeling remained, until they pulled into Amanda's high school, and the four-armed naga felt fear fluttering in her chest.

"The first step is always the hardest," Grandma Simms stated softly, looking back at her new granddaughter.

"It's even harder when you don't have legs" Amanda responded meekly.

"You know...this wasn't a good idea, let's go." Gloria went to turn the ignition, but was stopped by a stern protest from the young serpent.

"No, if I run away now, I'll never stop running...I-I gotta do this" Amanda stated with as much bravery as she could muster.

Ashley opened her door, and walked around to Amanda's door, opening it, then reached in and offered her scaled grandchild a hand.

"Come on, we'll be with you every step of the way."

Amanda took a breath, and slithered out from the car, and into the light of morning and the surprised gaze of her school.

She could hear the confusion and whispers as the three made their way over the concrete and towards the front doors of her school. The concrete didn't bother her scales at all as she slithered, making the transformed girl relieved that she wouldn't have to come up with any sort of shoe replacement to prevent wear and tear on her scales.

As they reached the door, Ashley opened it for her grand daughter, though they had practiced going through doors at home. Due to her length, it required a bit of ceremony: holding the door open as her tail passed through and coiled on the other side, before releasing and slithering on wards, this made doors a wee bit of a hassle, but it was just one more new challenge presented by Amanda's new body.

As the trio entered the office, they spied the secretary putting a phone back into its cradle, while looking in worry and confusion at the four-armed naga, with the fangs poking out from beneath her top lip and the long slithering tail, the middle aged woman looked positively spooked.

"Hi," Gloria greeted in her friendliest voice, "I'm here to change some details about my son? Mark Anthony Simms, due to a magical incident he's been changed into this young lady here: Amanda Catherine Simms, now we-"

That's when the wail of police sirens filtered in through the open window, and the colour flushed from Amanda's face.

"Oh...shit"