When Lightning Struck

Chapter 7 - The Halloween Ball

Part 25 - The Day Before

"Draco, what are you going to the ball as?" Meega might not have cared how her date was going as of a month ago, but today, on the morning of the ball, she did.

Draco looked up from finishing his Divination homework; class was in forty-five minutes and he still hadn't had breakfast. "You'll see tonight," he said as he went back to his assignment: Predict the life of someone in your class from Halloween to the end of November using various methods studied in years past.

"Why can't you tell me now?"

"You'll survive 'til tonight even if I don't," Draco said vaguely as he quickly predicted Morgianna's life for November 26-30.

"How do you know?"

"What?"

"I might not."

"What?"

"I could just keel over."

"What?"

Meega giggled at the totally lost look on Draco's face. "How do you know that I'll survive if you don't tell me?"

Draco smirked. "Because you're a survivor."

Meega shrugged. "I could help my predictions come true. I think that you will break several bones and there's something about another injury in Care of Magical Creatures. You also flunk a Defense Against the Dark Arts test, have your ex-girlfriend try to get you back, and getting slapped by your best friend..." She quickly glanced over her homework, "...three times. I thought it was more, but oh well."

"And why do I get slapped?" Draco inquired.

Meega shrugged. "You probably do something stupid. That's usually how boys end up getting slapped."

"Well, I certainly seem to be having a bad month. Morgianna's came out easily though. For once."

"Yours didn't. Come out, I mean. I've learned some things from Harry and Ron. I made the whole thing up, though some of it probably will happen."

"Like what?"

"From the looks Pansy's been shooting us and the way she's been acting around Crabbe it's fairly safe to say that she'll be trying to get you back, and boy's always do something stupid eventually."

Draco snorted. "Let's go get breakfast."

Meega grinned and they went off for a hurried breakfast before they practically ran up to Divination.

"Today, as you know, we will be sharing your predictions. However, we are going to do something a little different. Hand them to the person you did them for, and they will summarize them for the class."

Meega gave hers to Draco, who gave his to Morgianna, who gave hers to Meega. Crabbe had Pansy, who had done Millicent, who had done Goyle, who had Crabbe's.

"Miss Balrog, you first.

Morgianna stood and picked up Draco's paper. "Today I will get a boyfriend. November first I will make the Quidditch team. November second to the fifth: nothing outstanding. November sixth I will break up with my boyfriend when I discover that he's cheating on me. November seventh and eighth: nothing outstanding. November ninth: I will get a new boyfriend. Nothing outstanding until the seventeenth: when my ex-boyfriend will try to assault my new boyfriend. Nothing outstanding until the twenty-fifth: when I will pass a pop quiz. Nothing outstanding for the rest of the month."

"You seem to have very little happening of great importance. What is the outcome of the assault?"

"My ex gets turned into a rat."

"Five points to Slytherin for Mr. Malfoy's hard work. Miss Bulstrode?"

"Nothing outstanding until November fifteenth: when I get a boyfriend; and nothing after that."

"Does it say anything about your boyfriend?"

"Only that he's a friend."

"I see. Very disappointing, Miss Parkinson. Mr. Crabbe, if you will read yours?"

"November third. My girlfriend will get sick. November seventh. I will get sick. November fifteenth. We're both better. November twenty-ninth. I pass a test in Potions."

"Hmm...an improvement. Now to Mr. Goyle, who now needs to read his."

"Nothing outstanding. My life will continue as normal, except I will get a girlfriend in mid November and I will pass three quizzes throughout the month and flunk five tests."

"Five points to Miss Bulstrode for her honesty. Miss Parkinson."

"On November fifteenth I have a fight with my boyfriend. We make up on the twentieth."

She sighed and shot a nasty look at Crabbe. Meega could tell she was getting very tired of having only a few students who tried at all. "Mr. Malfoy."

"Tonight I'm going to be slapped by my best friend. Tomorrow I will have a bad hair day. On November third I will meet a convicted murderer. On November sixth I will break my arm at Quidditch practice. On the tenth I will flunk a Defense Against the Dark Arts test and break my leg. On the twelfth I'll have my ex-girlfriend trying to get back with me. On the thirteenth I will receive scratches from a Salamander in Care of Magical Creatures and get slapped. On the sixteenth I will be bewitched. On the twenty-first I will get slapped again. On the Twenty-seventh I will drown, and survive despite the water in my lungs."

Meega grinned. The second two were going to happen.

"You poor dear, you seem to be having an awful month. Ten points to Miss Kyl-Derc. It's you're turn, my dear."

Meega looked down at the paper she'd been given and raised her eyebrow. "Perhaps I should read it word for word. 'Meega Kyl-Derc, Predictions for Halloween to November 30. Halloween: that 'beep' gets her first kiss. November 1: She somehow gets on the Quidditch team. I've seen her fly, there's no way that skill could do it. I bet the one she was kissing was the team captain.'" Meega paused and looked up, "I have no intention of ever kissing Warrington. 'November 3: She speaks to a dangerous acquaintance, whom she hasn't seen for two months. The acquaintance is handsome and has been wrongly accused. November 5: She writes to her dangerous acquaintance. November 7: She receives a reply. November 10: She writes him again. What is this guy, her boyfriend?'" Meega paused again "No, actually, if he is who I think then he's old enough to be my father and I've never had a boyfriend. That wouldn't be my first kiss if I had one with someone who was 'dangerous' and 'handsome.' Well, apparently, 'She's in touch with this guy for the remainder of the month. November 21: That ' beep 'gets a boyfriend. November 30: She receives a gift of some sort from a male.'"

"I see. Five points to Slytherin and a detention for Miss Balrog."

Meega smirked slightly. She'd be getting more than that.

Part 26 - The Gift

Meega scrutinized her reflection, adjusting her costume slightly and running her fingers through her hair. Her gown was almost off her shoulders and a little low cut, but she looked absolutely amazing in it. There was a black stripe around the top of the sleeves and curving over her breasts. The rest of the dress was white. The sleeves were slashed from wrist to elbow and the skirt slashed up the side of her left leg to a little above mid thigh and all the way up the front of her right leg to the front of her hip. The slashed skirt revealed a black under skirt, and the sleeves fell open to reveal snug black sleeves that ended in points on her hands. It was backless to allow for a pair of elegant, iridescent silver dragonfly wings. Her dark hair was loose and slightly damp, her lipstick and eye makeup darker than usual, though still relatively light. Smiling, the "fairie" left her dorm to meet her date in the common room.

Draco only took a moment to spot in the common room. He was, once more, dressed all in black, and he was absolutely gorgeous. He was wearing dragon hide pants and boots and an old fashioned pirate's shirt, unlaced with his talisman showing on his exposed chest. The finishing touch was a pair of large feathered wings that reminded her of Nevermore's.

Draco smiled when he saw her, his unnerving, sedate gaze sweeping over her familiarly and a slightly possessive glint in his stormy, pale gray eyes. Meega blushed and dropped her eyes as she joined him, and he smirked and offered her his arm. They left the Slytherin common room together, looking a bit like Titiana and Oberon.

Before they reached the Great Hall, though, Draco pulled Meega aside into an empty classroom.

"Draco, what-"

"I got you something, Mia." Draco interrupted.

Meega blinked. "Oh."

Draco handed Meega a black velvet box, and she opened it, obviously curious. When she saw what was inside, she gasped.

It was a necklace--a pentagram with a dragon on either side, their wings stretched out behind them as they clung to the ring, their noses nestled in beside the base of the top point and their tails entwined.

"It--it's beautiful."

Draco smirked. "I thought you'd like it. Here, the clasp is a little tricky." He put the necklace on Meega, careful not to catch her hair. It went perfectly with her costume. "I put some protective enchantments on it--you're rash enough to need them, though I'd be more comfortable with you wearing it even if you weren't. Things are getting dangerous."

Meega snorted. "Voldemort again. It's sweet of you to worry about me, though. If it'll make you feel better, I'll wear it. Come on--let's get to the dance."

Part 27 - Dinner

The Great Hall was filled with colorful costumes. There were traditional things--pixies, devils, and other fairies, if none so spectacular as the pair of Slytherins. Morrigan had indeed convinced Snape to be her escort, and they had come as vampires, Snape in a black tuxedo and Nymph in a beautiful black and red dress, her long pale hair dyed black. Fred and George were a pair of carrots, Mione and Ron were Cleopatra and Marc Antony, and Harry and Hermione were cats. The house tables were temporarily annulled, and so Meega dragged Draco over to sit with the Trio, Mione, and the Weasley twins--Ginny was off somewhere with her friends, and the twins were . . . well . . . being Fred and George. For one reason or another they'd both decided to go stag, and they were there to "keep an eye on Ickle Ronniekins on his first real date."

Draco was obviously uncomfortable sitting with the Gryffindors, especially since they kept shooting him dirty looks. After several minutes of silence, Meega turned pointedly to Mione. "So, Cleopatra, everything's set for the third, right?"

Mione glanced pointedly at Fred, George, and Draco, then nodded.

"Good. I am bringing him."

Harry tensed slightly. "I still don't like the idea. I don't trust him."

"I do. If he causes any problems, then we can fix things with a simple spell. I mean, If Lockhart can manage it anyone can. Besides, you can't really keep me from bringing him."

Mione sighed, shaking her head. "Give up, Harry. She's impossible when she's dead set on something. Personally, I think she likes him."

"I do not! Shut up or I'll tell them everyone you liked at one point . . . all three of them . . . despite your denials."

"Then I'll tell them about your old crush."

"I wouldn't care. I was twelve and I'd never met him. Of course, I might have to do something drastic if you do."

"You said you wouldn't care."

"That doesn't mean I wouldn't do something drastic."

Draco cleared his throat noisily. "Will you two quit that? It's annoying."

Meega shut up, and Mione smirked at her, which caused Meega to toss a roll at her friend . . . which Harry snatched out of the air.

"I hate to say this, but I agree with Malfoy. You two shut up and eat."

Part 28 - Reason #1 Not to Flirt with a Death Eater's Son

Usually, when the music started at a dance, Meega would sit out for a few songs before going out on the floor. Draco, however, took Meega onto the floor right away, pulling her easily into the dance. He was an excellent dancer--which made perfect sense when Meega thought about it for a moment, as he was an aristocrat. Meega's natural inclination when dancing was to tense up, which made her very bad at following, but a friend of hers had eventually gotten her to loosen up when she was dancing. As a result, she was a decent dancer, and could teach boys how to dance fairly well, but she was no where near the level that most of the girls he had probably danced with before--with the obvious exception of Pansy Parkinson.

Draco didn't really seem to mind that Meega wasn't the best dancer, or that she positioned herself about six inches from him, especially since as she got more comfortable dancing with him half the distance promptly disappeared. When the song finished, Meega slipped off to have her promised dance with Neville, and Draco seemed almost to be sulking as she did, and Meega thought that he was being vaguely possessive when she returned for the next dance. After a while, Meega relaxed enough to actually start talking to Draco. They chatted comfortably about nothing for some time before Draco casually said something that completely shocked Meega.

"People are going to think you were lying in class today, about having never had a boyfriend."

"I'm used to it. It has a tendency to . . . completely shock people . . . for some reason."

"It's not even that you're fifteen and have never had a boyfriend. You see, rumor is that you're going out with Longbottom."

Meega stopped dead. "What? That's . . . unbelievable!"

Draco smirked, looking pleased. "I take it you're not, then."

Meega shook her head and allowed Draco start dancing again. "He asked me to the dance right after you did, and I promised him a dance and taught him, very basically, how to dance. Neville and I get along very well, but we're not going out." She sighed softly, listening. Her favorite song was playing.

Starry, starry night
Paint your palette blue and grey
Look out on a summer's day
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul
Shadows on the hills
Sketch the trees and daffodils
Catch the breeze and the winter chills
In colours on the snowy linen land

Now I understand
What you tried to say to me
And how you suffered for your sanity
And how you tried to set them free
They would not listen
They did not know how
Perhaps they'll listen now

Starry, starry night
Flaming flowers that brightly blaze
Swirling clouds and violet haze
Reflect in Vincent's eyes of china blue
Colours changing hue
Morning fields of amber grain
Weathered faces lined in pain
Are soothed beneath the artists' loving hand

Now I understand
What you tried to say to me
And how you suffered for your sanity
And how you tried to set them free
They would not listen
They did not know how
Perhaps they'll listen now

For they could not love you
But still your love was true
And when no hope was left inside
On that starry, starry night
You took your life as lovers often do
But I could have told you Vincent
This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you

Like the strangers that you've met
The ragged men in ragged clothes
The silver thorn of bloody rose
Lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow

Now I think I know
What you tried to say to me
And how you suffered for your sanity
And how you tried to set them free
They would not listen
They're not listening still
Perhaps they never will...

"Mia?"

"Hmm?"

"Have you ever heard that song before?"

"Yes, it's my favorite, a Muggle song. It's called 'Vincent,' or, more commonly, 'Starry, Starry Night.' The Vincent referred to is Vincent van Gogh, an insane painter who, I believe, both cut off his ear and killed himself. I'm not quite sure. His work is wonderful, though."

"Oh."

"It sounds like the song would be depressing when you put it that way, doesn't it? Most people view it as a love song."

Draco shook his head and muttered something about the insanity of Muggles in general.

Meega laughed. "Your average Muggle is no more insane than your average wizard. I'm not saying that either is sane, but neither is more insane than the other."

Draco shook his head in defeat. "Your logic is giving me a headache."

"Logic? What logic?" Meega laughed the look on Draco's face. "I'm joking, I'm joking! What did they do, breed out your sense of humor? It's like you've forgotten how to laugh tonight." She sighed, pushing her obstinate hair out of her face. "It's hot in here; let's go outside."

An odd look passed over Draco's face almost too fast for Meega to see, and then he nodded. They went out into the rose garden. On the way in Meega cupped one of the blossoms on the deep red climbing roses that formed an arch at the beginning of the path, inhaling the scent and smiling softly in pleasure.

"These are Don Juan," she told Draco quietly. "I had some at home, fully grown, the top just at the base of my window." She chuckled faintly. "It seems kind of silly, being able to tell so easily what kind they are, but I had four bushes and my Don Juan, and I can recognize each of them immediately."

"It's not silly," Draco said gently. "I have things like that, too. Roses are much better than mine."

Meega shifted uncomfortably, and they walked in a silence that was only broken when Meega stopped to smell and name her other bushes when they appeared.

"You can still hear the music," Meega said after a while.

Draco nodded silently.

Meega sighed and stopped at the edge of the path, running her fingers through her hair. "Look, I know you're dad is a Death Eater. I'm getting tired of these awkward pauses whenever conversation goes towards your family life or childhood. I don't want to know all your deep dark secrets, but I would like to be able to hold a normal conversation with you without your father getting in the way."

Draco smiled wryly. "I knew I should have tried harder to keep you away from those bloody Gryffindors."

"This has nothing to do with them. I knew before I'd met you; I'd suspected since I was twelve, though I didn't hear the title 'Death Eater' until I was . . . fourteen, I think. I didn't care; I was more interested in Harry and his friends' adventures. Your father--and you--were simply antagonists, and not particularly interesting, especially when compared with Snape and Voldemort."

Draco looked charmingly perplexed. "What do you mean?"

Meega bit the inside of her lower lip delicately, closing her eyes for a moment. She hadn't really planned on telling him; she had just started talking. "You see, the truth is . . . the truth is, that Mione and I are from another reality. We were talking on the telephone--Muggle form of fairly instantaneous communication, kind of like what wizards do with--never mind, if I try to explain that, I'll have to explain electricity, which will take too much time. If you take Muggle Studies then I will be able to tell you exactly what happened. Anyway, Mione and I were simultaneously struck by lightening, and we woke up here. Or, rather, on the Knight Bus. I suppose at home we're dead or in comas or something. If we're in comas, we'll have to go back eventually, when we wake up there. Anyway, in our reality, all this . . . it's a book series. I know the truth of matters here as well as Harry does. Perhaps I know a little better or a little worse in some parts. However, I have a better grasp on this reality than some people back home. Fans of the books, and later the movies, write stories about the characters. Romances were very popular, as the majority of the authors seem to be teenage girls. Among all the fics, I think that probably everyone ends up in love with everyone else at some point . . . including those of their own gender."

Draco looked suddenly disgusted.

"Yeah. That's what I thought. J. K. Rowling--the author of the books--is writing for children. Everybody's strait."

"One would hope," Draco drawled. "Though Death Eater activities are not exactly fit for a children's book."

Meega shrugged. "There's one book per school year, and book four was out when I got zapped. The entire world was on the edge of their seats, waiting to find out what happened to Harry with Voldemort returned. My grandmother read them. The fourth book is over seven hundred pages. It's really for older children and adults, with the basic battle between good and evil, everyone having morals, and people behaving politely once in a while. Choices are unrealistically clean-cut. You can look and see that Voldemort's evil and Harry would be immediately sainted if he wasn't a fairly obstinate teenage boy who wields magical powers. People in my world classified themselves by house or house they believe they would be alumni of and occupation if they were adults and some people--I've only ever seen 'Slytherins' do it--would claim they were Death Eaters. I suppose that people are the same everywhere."

Draco shook his head. "That whole story is completely implausible . . . which might be why I believe every word of it."

"Good. I'm telling the truth. If you ever show up there and people know who you are, you'd have roughly eleven million girls trying to attract your attention. I would not be one of them."

Draco arched an eyebrow. "Really."

"Really. You would be considered the enemy, and likely to become a Death Eater. I would be hunting out Sirius, Remus, and Harry--and I suppose Ron and Hermione--to go on a Wormtail hunt, as well as Professor Dumbledore and Snape . . . just because they're awesome. Mione and I will probably have to tell Dumbledore everything by the end of the year, I suppose."

"Yet you haven't"

"I came here, you didn't go there. I have one person backing me up instead of millions. It doesn't work the same. Oh, I like this song." Meega grabbed Draco's hands and pulled him out into the middle of the path. "Come on, let's dance."

Draco smirked down at Meega as they danced to the distant, if still clearly audible, music, causing the other Slytherin to giggle. A breeze danced through the garden, causing Meega to shiver ethereally, and a slight frown creased Draco's finely featured face.

"You're cold."

"Not very," Meega murmured inattentively. "It's only a little chilly."

"You're shivering. I think it's time for you to go back in."

"It's not that cold," Meega insisted. "It's all hot and stuffy in there."

Draco's frown deepened slightly, and then he pulled Meega closer and wrapped his wings around her. "If you're going to insist on staying out here, there's no reason for you to freeze," he told her mildly.

Meega, though faintly uncomfortable with her close proximity to Draco, had to admit that it was warmer with his wings wrapped around her, and so didn't pull away. As the music floated over them, Meega closed her eyes, relaxing. Then, quite suddenly, she felt something she never had before, and her eyes sprung open.

Draco Malfoy, Slytherin pretty boy and Hogwarts bad boy, was kissing her, his lips lightly touching hers.

Meega's mind wasn't quite functioning properly, and so she immediately reverted to the instinctive level.

She slapped him.

Draco pulled away sharply, stunned, his wings falling back into the resting position. His eyes met Meega's, a slightly hurt look residing in them, and he touched his cheek gingerly.

Meega fled, barely glancing back, leaving him with a whispered apology.

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Song Credits:

Vincent (Starry, Starry Night), original lyrics and music by Don McLean, arranged by David Foster, sung by Josh Groban.