When Lightning Struck

Chapter 4 - Fledglings

Part 13 - Minute Monster

"I was wondrin' where the lot of you had got off to." They were a good ten minutes late for Care of Magical Creatures and their teacher seemed more amused than anything. "Now tha' you're all here we can get started. This-" He pulled out what appeared to be a small brown hair ball- "is a Flufglow. They come in five colors: the brown males and the white, green, black, or silver females." He released the male Flufglow, which then started to flit around lazily. "They imprint on a human Mother as soon as they're hatched and stay with them until they die. These males are downright borin' unless they've chosen you as their Mother, but the females are more int'restin'. And more dangerous for that matter. The males have a M.O.M. rating of X, and the females are ranked according to color: white is XX, green is XXX, black is XXXX, and silver is XXXXX. Of course, they're only dangerous if you put their Mother in danger. They can speak with their Mother and other Flufglow telepathically, so they don't make mistakes about that. They wouldn't be classified as 'creatures' except that they can only communicate with their Mother and their own kind. As a special treat I've brought you all a nest of Flufglow eggs that are due to hatch today- one for each of you." He motioned to a crate of straw beside him. "All of you come gather 'round."

The class gathered around the nest, a clutch of eggs colored in the five colors of the Flufglow, each egg somehow a different shade. They were absolutely still in their bed of straw until one, an iridescent black thing, started vibrating. Soon all the eggs were quivering and out came a brilliantly white Flufglow. She was absolutely tiny, a ball of fluff with two round black eyes and a long, thin tail. She flitted slowly around the circle and Meega felt her brush her mind before going on. Finally she wrapped her tail around Dean's finger and started glowing with white light.

"That's what they do when they imprint," Hagrid said, smiling at the joy on Dean's face. Soon another one was out- a dully brown male. He repeated the procedure, attaching himself to Millicent before starting to glow. They came out faster now, so she could only note a few. The one who had started the vibrating attaching herself to Neville. A jade green wrapped her tail around Draco. A harshly colored silver for Harry. An ebony colored black for Ron. An emerald green for Hermione. A jet black for Mione...

Then she felt, not a simple bushing of the Flufglow mind, but one connect. A softly colored silver flitted towards her and wrapped her tail around Meega's finger as if she'd never let go and started to glow, filling Meega's mind so completely that she didn't even notice when the last few Flufglow found their Mothers. After a while her tiny Flufglow dimmed her light and removed herself from her Mother to float near her.

"Your Flufglow will tell you exactly what they need, but I want you to bring them t' class the next few weeks at least. Tha's all for t'day."

Meega and her friends wandered off towards the pitch where Mione, Meega, Harry, and Ron summoned their brooms and Hermione and Neville took seats in the stands.

"Put down the brooms, put your right hand over yours, and say 'up' to retrieve your broom," Harry instructed. The girls complied and both brooms shot directly into their hands. They didn't fear flying. They had dreamed of it for years.

"Now mount them." The girls grinned at each other, then swung their right legs over their brooms, gripping them firmly.

Harry looked at their grips, correcting them. "That's very good, Mione, but you want to do that a little lower." Mione nodded and scooted her grip down the broom handle. When he saw Meega's grip, however, he laughed. "That's not it at all, Mia. You lead with your left hand?"

"Yes..."

"Well, then. For one thing you don't lace your fingers together, but place them one above the other. Also, you don't spread your wrists so much. Like this." He adjusted her grip, careful not to touch her broom, then grinned at her. "Of course, Malfoy's was worse."

Meega sighed. "If that's the best you can say for my grip then it must be awful."

Harry looked amused. "Pretty much."

Meega sighed, shifting slightly and managing to mess up her grip again.

"No, like this." Harry shifted her grip again and this time Meega managed to keep it that way.

"Let's see if I can remember it now," Meega said, releasing her broom and stepping off to the side. "UP!" The broom leapt into her hand and she mounted it, almost getting her grip right. She scowled at it and corrected her grip, muttering, "Close enough for government work."

Harry still looked amused. "Why don't we kick off now? Don't go to high."

Meega nodded and kicked off, though Mione beat her by a portion of a second. She went higher than she intended to, about fifty feet, and made a vexed noise, remembering that she was supposed to lean forward slightly to go back down. Except she leaned forward to far and went into a dive, hurtling towards the ground, fear and the whistling of the wind blocking out sound so that she only vaguely heard Harry's frantic shouts for her to pull up and put no meaning to them. It registered right before she hit the ground and she pulled up, tumbling sideways and breaking her left arm with an audible crack. Her friends rushed over to her, babbling worriedly. She rolled over off her arm with a groan and looked up at the cluster of faces above her. "Ouch."

Hermione gave her a disapproving look. "I should think so."

"Not my arm... not only that, anyway. It's bright and you people are loud."

"It's cloudy."

Meega glared at Ron. "It's bright."

Mione sighed. "Again?"

"It's been bright all day, but now it's bothering my head. Again."

Part 14 - A Name

Meega slipped quietly back into the Slytherin commons room late that night, her tiny Flufglow glowing softly to light her path. She stroked the soft furred child with a gentle finger, smiling as the low luminescence brightened. Sighing, she sunk into a chair, remembering the rest of her day.

*~*~*Flashback*~*~*

Meega had hurried up to the hospital wing, using the directions she was given. Madam Pomfrey had mended the bone in minutes, given her something for her headache, and checked out her eyes when she mentioned that she had them very frequently, then strengthened her glasses, also charming them so that they wouldn't have a glare. As soon as she was free from the hospital wing Meega went back out to the Quidditch pitch. She worked carefully, talking to her tiny Flufglow as she flew, and by dinner time she was greatly improved, enough so that she would be able to actually progress when Harry was working with her.

::You're doing very well, Mother,:: her Flufglow said encouragingly.

::I wish you wouldn't call me "Mother,":: Meega answered irritably.

::What should I call you then? You are my mother, after all.::

::Um... Kassan. Japanese for Mother, or Mom, rather. Mother would be Okassama, then the next in formality is Okassan. Kassan is the least formal form of the word.::

::Than why not Okassama?::

::I just like Kassan. I suppose you could call me Okassama... what do I call you?::

::Whatever you wish, Okassama.::

::Hmm... how about Assina?::

::It's a lovely name, Okassama.::

After that she had hurried to put her broom away, then gone to dinner. Draco was showing off his "superior" green- the top in Slytherin, except for hers.

Meega had smirked at his little jade colored ball of fluff before turning a purposefully arrogant expression towards Draco. Heaven, she loved acting. "Well, Draco, that's a lovely little green you have there. XXX, isn't she? I must say, Assina puts her to shame." She looked over her shoulder at her little girl. ::Come out, sweety.:: Assina obediently flitted out from behind her, her glow almost non-existent. ::Don't be shy, loveling.::

::Yes, Okassama,:: Assina replied, brightening considerably.

"So, what did you name yours?"

"Salzari."

Meega snorted. "Figures."

After dinner Meega had slipped off to the Gryffindor common room. There were three blacks, which were odd to see glowing, and the only other silver in the clutch. Harry had named her Lily after his mother, and had managed to convince her to call him "Father" instead of "Mother." It had been amusing to watch the silvers play together and when Meega had finally slipped off to talk to Mione it was already very late. Their talk had only been idle chatter, mostly about Assina and Mione's Bazakaban.

*~*~*End Flashback*~*~*

::We've had a good day together, haven't we, Assina?::

::Yes, Okassama. We have. I love you.::

::Hai, Assina. Ai Shiteru.::

::What does that mean, Okassama?::

::More of my sketchy Japanese. Hai means yes, as Iie means no, and Ai Shiteru means I love you.::

::Ai Shiteru, Okassama.::

Part 15 - A Slip of the Tongue

"Meega Kyl-Derc, pay attention!"

Meega winced as Professor McGonagall's voice cut through her thoughts. She had been at Hogwarts for almost two weeks, now, and she was already getting bored with her classes. Especially Transfiguration. She never took notes in any class and never had, and that was a most of what they did in Transfiguration. "Sorry, Professor."

"I asked you for the incantation to transform an inanimate object into an animal!"

"That would be Animalis Vivus, Professor."

Professor McGonagall looked slightly put out. Apparently Meega wasn't supposed to know the answer, as she hadn't been paying attention. Well, it hadn't been that hard to figure out that Professor McGonagall pretty much re-stated what was in the book for their lessons. Most teachers did. "Thank you, Miss Kyl-Derc. Now, as I was saying..."

Meega zoned out again. This had to be the longest class ever. If she hadn't been zapped then she'd be taking American Government this year. It was a Junior/Senior class, but her family almost always got the classes they wanted no matter what. The teachers liked them, the councilor liked them, and she was pretty sure that the administration was slightly scared of her mother. She'd also be in Math Analysis, which was a product of their screwed up math system a few years back and used the Advanced Mathematics book. She'd taken Algebra 1 in eighth grade. Math was fun, and Science. She would have had Biology, too, like all the other Sophomores. She had a passion for genetics, as well as nuclear physics and astronomy, but she wouldn't really have been able to stand dissecting something. Then there was Geography, the regular tenth grade Social Studies class. It would be interesting to take two Social Studies classes.

"Miss Kyl-Derc, can't you pay attention for five minutes?"

"Yes, Professor."

"Then why don't you?"

"I don't need to," Meega muttered.

"What was that?" Professor McGonagall asked, swelling.

"I don't need to pay attention," Meega said softly, wondering where, exactly, her brain had gotten off to. Sure, she would love to simply tell her that she never had and never would pay attention to lectures, as they never covered anything that she either didn't already know or couldn't easily look up in the text book. That wasn't something you did if you wanted to stay on the teacher's good side, though.

"So... you believe that you don't need to pay attention."

"I've never been in a class where I needed to pay attention, as my teachers have always reviewed things I'd already picked up on or could learn much faster by skimming the chapter. I think, I read, I write, I draw- or, if the notes are going to be collected, then I take notes on what it is made clear has to be on there."

"So you believe that you know everything in the lesson."

Meega gave the disgruntled professor a very bored look. "You are lecturing the class on the transformation of an inanimate object into an animal, a shortcut for the previously taught transformations of certain inanimate objects into certain animals, such as a tea pot into a tortoise. The incantation is, as I said, Animalis Vivus. You use the incantation by pointing your wand at the inanimate object and, while speaking said incantation, picturing the inanimate object as an animal, preferably of approximately equal size. You will go on to talk about the use of this practice, for example, Cedric Diggory's use of the spell in an attempt to distract the dragon in the Triwizard Tournament. We will practice the spell today and possibly next class period. The next spell covered, however, will be the reverse of this one, the transformation of an animal into an inanimate object, by use of the incantation Animalis Adfectio Rei. I can already perform both spells by way of wandless magic, and dislike the second one, but I believe I am correct."

By the look on Professor McGonagall's face, she was. "You are. Five points from Slytherin for your rude behavior."

"Does it make a difference, Professor?"

"What do you mean?"

"Five points. I'm not trying to get them back or anything, but what's five points when Harry and his friends haven't failed to win the cup for Gryffindor yet?"

Part 16 - Hair Today...

"Oh, I'm sick of this!" Meega said as she dramatically threw herself into a plush armchair in front of the fire where Mione and the trio were sitting after their last class that day.

"What?" Mione asked. "Pining for the States?"

"No. It's my hair."

"Your hair?"

"Yep. I'm tired of dealing with it. Anybody have a pair of scissors or a knife or something?"

"Not me. Severing charm?"

"Nope. Don't want to use it on my hair."

"Um... We could borrow one of Lavender or Parvati's cosmetic spell books?"

"Sure, whatever. Who wants to ask? You know they won't lend anything to a little Slytherin like me."

Mione shook her head. "They don't particularly like me."

Hermione sighed. "If you really want one than I suppose I could borrow one. They've been bothering me with them the whole time we've been at Hogwarts."

"Thank you so much."

Hermione went off to talk to Lavender, then they went up to the girls dormitory and Hermione came back down with a short stack of books, scowling slightly. "Hermione came back down with a short stack of books, scowling slightly. "You know I'm going to have to do something now."

"Thanks," Meega said in an off-hand manner as she picked up the top book, read the title, and put it back down. Finally she chose one, One Thousand Spells for the Perfect You by Cassie O. Pea. She opened to the index and began "Hair, hair, hair... ah! Here we go! Coloring... straightening and curling, both of them either permanent or temporary... styling... here we are, cutting." She started to flip to the page, then stopped. "Wait, I like the sound of this one. The Hair Perfection Charm."

Mione looked interested. "What's it say?"

"The enchantment is intended to bestow the caster with their ideal hair, in shade, length, amenability, and growth rate. The spell is immutable and so will only perform on the primary casting. Warning: Do not cast barring that you possess a singular precise mental image of your model hair. The incantation is Iustus Caesaries."

Mione blinked. "What?"

"Pretty much it gives you the hair you've always wanted. It will only work once and you're stuck with the results, so you have to have a mental picture of what you want your hair to look like."

"Are you going to try it?"

"Heck yeah." Meega smiled and pointed her wand at her hair, closed her eyes, and pictured her hair exactly as she wanted it. She took a deep breath, then said, "Iustus Caesaries!"

Hair suddenly cascaded down her back, unfurling in shining deep mahogany waves, her silky hair now falling to her hips, as thick as ever but now impossible to tangle. Smiling, Meega opened her eyes and conjured up a full-length mirror. She ran her fingers back through her hair and flipped it with a slight toss of her head, then made the mirror disappear and sat down with her friends.

"Cool! I want to try that!" Mione exclaimed, picking up her wand and pointing it at her hair. "Iustus Caesaries!" Mione's hair started growing, then getting shorter, then it was growing again, all the while flickering through every color imaginable. Then suddenly it was still, short and messy, quite like Harry's, except it was yellow-blond with scarlet tips. Mione opened her eyes and conjured a mirror, then stared.

"Mione, did you have a 'a singular precise mental image of your model hair?'"

"Um... not 'singular,' per se..."

"And now your stuck," Meega sighed. "I wonder if it'll grow. You have no clue what the specifications are."

Mione studied her hair carefully in the mirror, then grinned. "I actually kind of like it."

Meega laughed. "You would."

Hermione looked ruefully at Mione's hair. "I think I'll just use a straightening charm."