When Lightning Struck

Chapter 8 - Of Plots and Quidditch

Part 29 - Talking to Meira

Meega went back to her dorm, where Assina and her friendly, draconian mirror were waiting for her. The tiny Flufglow was already more distressed than Meega was over the whole thing, and her anxiety agitated the mirror.

"Darling, your little ward is all upset about something," the mirror said patiently.

"You know, you can call me Meega."

"Meira. Now, what's the little thing all upset about?"

"The fact that something just happened that left me rather distraught and disconcerted, I suppose." She turned to the little sliver ball of light and fluff. ::Is that it, Assina?::

::Hai, Okassama. Why are you so upset?::

::It's . . . a human thing. Something similar might disturb you when you're older . . . you reach maturity around seven, so perhaps shortly before that.::

::I don't understand.::

::You're not supposed to. Yet.::

::Oh.::

"Assina says that's it."

"Well, then, Meega, why are you so upset? Shouldn't you be at a dance right now?"

"I suppose. I . . . decided to come back early."

Meira snorted. "Come on, I used to be a woman. It's that boy you were dressing up for, isn't it? Did you find out he likes someone else?"

"I wasn't dressing up for him," Meega insisted sulkily. "What do you mean, you used to be a woman?"

"Sure. Just because I've been a mirror for several hundred years doesn't mean that I don't know anything about men and men problems. Especially since I've spent a lot of that time as the sole confidant of one young lady or another. I haven't told any of their secrets yet, and it helps to talk about it. Spill."

"What do you mean that you used to be a woman?" Meega insisted.

Meira sighed. "Let's just say that I had a choice between certain death and having my soul trapped in a mirror forever. I chose this odd genus of immortality over death. Now spill, you'll feel a lot better when you do."

"I still wasn't dressing up for him," Meega said sulkily. "I dress up for the heck of it on Halloween."

"And what happened?"

Meega gently reached up to finger the pendant that hung around her neck, then shook her head as if to dislodge a persistent vision. She looked strait at the dragon on the mirror's frame with her knees pulled up under her chin as she sat on he bed, obviously feeling highly insecure. "He kissed me, Meira," Meega whispered hoarsely. "Draco Malfoy kissed me. It was hot in the Great Hall, so I suggested we go out side. I ended up telling him all about how Mione and I got here, and that all this is fiction where we're from, and--" Meega's voice cracked, and the tears that had been threatening to fall started streaming down her face as she sat sobbing on the bed. "Oh, Meira, what can I do?" Meega managed to mumble through her sobs.

"Well, the first question really is--how do you feel about him?"

"I--I don't know. He's nice, and polite enough, and good-looking, and he's one of my best friends . . . but I hadn't even thought about him that way! He's Draco Malfoy, for goodness sake! His father's a Death Eater, and until Pansy dumped him I was sure he would be, too, and just as much of a suck-up about it. Then he asked me to the ball, and Pansy dumped him, and everything got turned upside-down. Then I realized that he wasn't really the prick he seemed, and that he really needed a friend."

"You."

Meega nodded. "I was already an outcast among the Slytherins, and now that he had no ersatz friends, he felt that he was. It was . . . hard . . . to see him . . . like that. He should be, by birth and tutelage, lofty, arrogant, and perhaps even evil. I had to help him back to that as much as I could . . . though he's not exactly evil anymore."

"You have too much spirit to fit well with the Slytherins, even if your personality was anything like theirs."

"Draco said something like that, something about me having too much spirit for my own good."

"What does this boy you're mooning over look like?"

"I'm not mooning," Meega growled, glaring at Meira. However, she obliged the mirror by conjuring up a miniature image of Draco in his costume that night. The image rotated in front of the mirror once before dissipating.

The dragon on the mirror hummed appreciatively. "That's definitely one worth mooning over. I'm not saying you should marry him, but you seem to like him well enough, and he's definitely a dish."

Meega narrowed her eyes at the mirror dragon, growling faintly.

Meira chuckled. "Don't worry, little one. I'm not going to do anything but look at him. I won't even talk to him. I really think you should give him a chance though. If he cares enough about you to let it show after what I surmise he's been through, then he definitely cares a lot. Besides, I somehow doubt he's anything if not an excellent kisser."

Meega hmphed and drew her curtains around her. "I slapped him," she shouted through the heavy curtains.

"Well, then you'll have to make amends."

Meega sighed, opening her curtains again and looking at Meira. "He looked so hurt after I slapped him. I don't know if he'll ever talk to me again. He opened himself up to me more, which was exactly what I wanted, and then I slapped him and ran away. I--I wasn't thinking at all, was I?"

"If you're trying to get me to tell you to go and kiss this Draco right now, it's not happening. He kissed you and you didn't want to be kissed, and so you were perfectly right to slap him. If you went running back now, it would only make matters worse. Don't even mention the kiss in the morning; just act like nothing happened and try to continue as normal. It'll be a bit tense at first, but then you can just let things go on naturally, and you'll know that he likes you."

Meega nodded, then glanced towards Assina. Salzari was with her.

::Assina, was Salzari sent with a message for me?::

::Her father says he is sorry, Okassama. He says he hopes you can still be friends. What happened, Okassama?::

::Nothing that won't wait until you're older, Assina. Have Salzari tell Draco that I hope things won't change because of tonight.::

The message was delivered, and for once Meega was perfectly aware that she was being insensitive. Everything had been going on so nicely. Then he'd kissed her. She didn't want anything to change . . . At least not yet.

Part 30 - A Well Schemed Prank

Hours later, Meega was sneaking into the boys' dorms. Everyone was sleeping, and she carefully conducted her prank on every fifth year boy, then snuck back into the girls' dorms to victimize her housemates. Her last victim was herself, and then she destroyed the evidence. There was now no one who could be blamed for her antics, with no way that it could be someone from another house, every fifth year victimized, and no evidence to link anyone to the caper.

The next morning Meega woke first as usual. She got up groggily, went over to the dozing Meira, and smirked. Everything was working perfectly. She closed her eyes, carefully clearing her face of all emotion, then looked in the mirror again and screamed. Everyone in their year woke immediately, and probably most from the rest of the house. When the girls saw her, her face was distorted in a look of horror and her hair was white.

"My hair! SOMEONE'S DYED MY HAIR!"

The other girls started sniggering . . . until they saw their own hair.

Meega had to work very hard to keep from smiling blissfully as they all gave genuine screams of terror and disgust, just as the other girls started trying to see what was the matter in the fifth year dorm.

They saw immediately. Morgianna's hair was hunter orange. Pansy's was neon pink. Millicent's was bright purple.

The commotion continued as all the fifth years, male and female, thundered out into the common room, demanding the identity of the culprit.

Adam Nott's hair was neon green. Morag MacDougal's was electric blue. Draco's was harshly silver. Crabbe's was fuchsia. Goyle's was aquamarine. Blaise Zabini's was avocado.

It was all Meega could do not to purr in satisfaction. Especially since Quidditch tryouts were in half an hour, and Morgianna would have to choose between missing tryouts and going with orange hair.

Half an hour later, several Slytherins were assembled on the Quidditch Pitch. Unfortunately, Morgianna was among them. She had her hair twisted up under her hat, but her orange tresses were still distinctly evident. The tryouts were over in a flash, and Meega found herself being dismissed with the others, with a promise that this year's team would be posted by the end of the week.

Part 31 - Caught

When about half of her victims had discovered the cure for her prank, Meega fixed her hair and Draco's. He called Salzari over, and she brought Assina with her.

::He thinks you 'pulled it,' Kassan.::

::I did.::

::He wants to know why.::

::Because I knew everyone would be sleeping very soundly last night, and the opportunity was too good to pass up.::

Draco cocked his head, listening to Salzari, then laughed. Meega raised her eyebrow facilely, putting a finger to her lips. Draco's gaze lingered a moment too long on her mouth, his gaze regaining some of the hurt for a moment. Meega shifted uncomfortable rubbing the side of her nose with one finger. It was one thing to be talking to him, and it was another thing completely for him to make it painfully evident that he desperately wished that his kiss had ended differently the night before. Meega simply wished it had not happened to complicate her life.

However, she was still wearing the necklace Draco gave her.

Meega spent the morning too-casually with Draco, and it was several hours later when she found herself walking past Snape's office alone.

"I would like to congratulate you on your prank this morning. The organization of it was genius that was rarely shown by the Marauders themselves. Of course, they never cared if they were caught or not."

Meega froze, then very slowly turned to face Severus Snape.

"Sir."

"Did you have an accomplice, or did you accomplish that on your own?"

Meega glanced down the hall, wondering how long it was before someone else came down the hall.

"Come in. Perhaps we should have a little chat."

Meega obediently entered the Potion Master's office. As soon as he had shut the door, however, she started talking. "Draco had nothing to do with it, sir, and the password's changed since I gave it to Mione, and since the time I brought her down, they have had no access to the Slytherin common room, the Gryffindors are better about having a Slytherin in their midst."

"Is that a confession, Miss Kyl-Derc?" Snape asked mildly, raising one eyebrow. "I'm not interested in your confessions. You left no evidence that you--or, indeed anyone else--performed the prank last night. However, in the future, you might want to cure yourself when you would have found out if you were truly a victim instead of in the middle of everyone else. If you had, it would have been much harder for me to surmise that you were the culprit. And to keep your housemates off your trail, make a show of working on it in the common room--and make some mistakes."

"Are you offering me prank advice?" Meega asked incredulously.

"Officially, there is no evidence that the 'prank' played on your year was actually a prank. Officially, it must have been a random fluctuation of magic or the backlash of a spell--or several. Of course, Professor Dumbledore knows the truth, but he pretends that he doesn't. However, I meant to have a chat with you today for reasons that have nothing to do with the accident last night."

Meega could recognize a favor and the end of a particular strain of conversation when she saw them. She could also scent trouble very easily.

"What?" she asked warily.

"Several weeks ago, I desired to write a letter to your parents in America, commending you for your excellent performance in Potions, and with a wand at all, as you've never used one before."

Meega winced. "I take it there was no family name Kyl-Derc, or if there was they swore they did not have a daughter named Meega."

The professor's eyes flashed. "Precisely. I could not discover your parents, and when I attempted to contact you through your old school, they informed me that a Meega Ororo Kyl-Derc had never attended. Also, every Ashley Green that had ever attended had either previously graduated or was still in attendance. It is as though you and your little friend did not exist until approximately two months before you arrived at Hogwarts."

"I'd rather not discuss how I came to be here right now, Professor, sir," Meega said rigidly. "I had a . . . startling . . . experience last night when I told one of my friends."

"Is that why you were without either Mr. Malfoy or your Gryffindor friends? I should have known. Still, Miss Kyl-Derc, we must take our precautions. You can either tell me or Professor Dumbledore and myself."

Meega swallowed, closing her eyes for a moment and breathing slowly. She nodded, and then opened her eyes.

"All right. Take me up to Professor Dumbledore's office so I can tell you both at once."

Part 32 - Lying by Omission or The Benefits of Obsession

After a quick detour to pick up Mione and Professor McGonagall, the two girls found themselves facing Albus Dumbledore across his desk, each with their respective head of house at their back. Meega shifted uncomfortably and glanced at Mione, who gave her a small shrug and a pointed look. Meega sighed, and then began her tale.

"Mione and I are from another world. You see, in our world, your world, Muggles and all, are characters in a book series. At the time we were struck by lightening and woke up here only the first four books were out, one for each of Harry's first four years of school." She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and recited the familiar titles. "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (they made it "Sorcerer's Stone" for us Americans because they were being stupid), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. They're very popular, and because of them many children have started reading again. There have also been people who claim the books are evil, but whatever. People of all ages love the books. They write fanfictions, stories written by fans of books, movies, etc., and Sort themselves into Houses and sometimes even decide on jobs. Some even go so far as to claim that they are Death Eaters.

"At first I was a classic fan of the light side--my favorite character was Harry, I would not accept the possibility that I might belong in a House other than Gryffindor, and I despised all Slytherins, including Professor Snape. By the time we were zapped, however, I had loosened up and started forming my own ideas. I saw that I could fit comfortably in any house except Hufflepuff, and, not to sound obsequious, Professor Snape was my favorite character. I got to know more of his story, and came to appreciate the world he lives in. There are plenty of theories as to why he hates the Marauders, most of them dealing with romantic reasons--and only one of those was anywhere near likely. I'll spare you all the dramas that got cooked up about the Marauder-Snape rivalry. However, I could tell you various facts to prove our story if you would like."

"You have been at Hogwarts for two months; what could you tell us that would prove your story?"

Meega made a slightly disgruntled noise. "Harry's middle name is James, his father's name. You, Professor Snape, detest him because you detested his father. You are a Death Eater, but returned to our side before Harry's parents were murdered, and you would much prefer the Defense Against the Dark Arts position to that of Potions Master. You spent years of your life hating a group of boys that you could have gotten along wonderfully with, had you been a Gryffindor instead of a Slytherin or less constrained by the traditional House boundaries, which are stronger between Gryffindors and Slytherins than anywhere else. You, Professor McGonagall, are an Animagus, and turn into a cat. You knew the Marauders when they were at Hogwarts. You were often harsh with Wormtail, who, by the way, deserved all of it and more, and will not be happy if I get my hands on him, though I will make sure to save plenty for Sirius, Remus, and Harry--not to mention Ron. And Professor Dumbledore, you like socks, and sometimes seem to encourage mischief at Hogwarts. Your sanity seems questionable, but you are dangerous and serious when you have to be." Nothing seemed to convince them. "Sirius Black is innocent, and Wormtail is the real culprit. Three of the four Marauders were Animagi, and the fourth Remus, called Moony, is a Werewolf. Sirius, or Padfoot, turns into a huge black dog; James was Prongs and transformed into a stag; Peter Pettigrew is Wormtail, turns into a rat, and betrayed the Potters to Voldemort." There was nothing except for a flinch or two behind her at the sound of the Dark Lord's name. Meega sighed. "After the Third Task, Voldemort rose again. He used a potion that involved part of his father's skeleton, Wormtail's right hand, and some of Harry's blood. The events of the night, which I would prefer not to detail, ended in Harry being rather . . . depressed . . . and you, Professor Dubledore, sir, to part ways with the idiotic Cornelius Fudge and attempt to save the Wizarding World." They still seemed unconvinced. Meega gave a disgusted noise. "If you want, I can detail Harry's dream from the summer before his fourth year, which not even he can do! I only know, for the most part, what Harry knows, the books are pretty much from his point of view!"

Professor Dumbledore said nothing, but simply raised an eyebrow in a manner that left plenty of room for interpretation.

"A little help, Mione?"

Mione shrugged. "Sorry, obscure Canon is more your department."

Meega growled in frustration. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Chapter One: The Boy Who Lived.

"'Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense.

"'Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills. He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large mustache. Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbors. The Dursleys had a small son called Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere.

"'The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it. They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters. Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister, but they hadn't met for several years; in fact, Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister, because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband were as unDursleyish as it was possible to be. The Dursleys shuddered to think what the neighbors would say if the Potters arrived in the street. The Dursleys knew that the Potters had a small son, too, but they had never even seen him. This boy was another good reason for keeping the Potters away; they didn't want Dudley mixing with a child like that.

"'When Mr. and Mrs. Dursley woke up on the dull, gray Tuesday our story starts, there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the country. Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work, and Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair.

"'None of them noticed a large, tawny owl flutter past the window.' I believe that is enough from that. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Chapter Five: The Whomping Willow. I'll skip the first several paragraphs." Meega continued to quote the part where Ron and Harry arrived in there second year and were caught by Professor Snape, right up to the place where Harry says he didn't think and Professor McGonagall says that is obvious. And then . . .

"Enough of that one. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Chapter Fourteen: Snape's Grudge. Again, I won't start at the beginning of the chapter." She launched into the section where Professor Snape forced Harry to turn out his pockets and was insulted by the Maurader's Map. Professor Snape looked like he would dearly like to interrupt but didn't quite dare. Mione was clearly shocked. Dumbledore looked highly amused. Meega had pretty much forgotten her audience and had gotten caught up in quoting the books.

"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Chapter Eighteen: The Weighing of the Wands. I'll skip to the weighing itself, which is a bit into the chapter." Then her tirade followed, from the moment Professor Dumbledore entered the broom closet to the end of the weighing, when Mr. Ollivander completed his examination of Harry's wand. She was about to continue when Mione spoke up.

"Meega, you had no life. It must have taken months to memorize all that!"

"Huh? Dunno. Part of it was for a speech in school, and my sister made me memorize part of it . . . I have a good chunk of the series memorized, now. Especially parts where people get insulted or it's a major plot point."

"Why when people get insulted?"

"Because it's funny and a good way to keep people who aren't the least bit interested in the books from zoning out."

"I believe that proves your story, Miss Kyl-Derc," Professor Dumbledore interjected. "You and Miss Green will stay at Hogwarts for the Christmas and Easter holidays, and I will arrange a place for you to stay over the summer. I'm sure you both have other pressing matters to attend to, and so I'll let you go, now."

Meega nodded, and she and Mione stood and descended the stairs with their rather shocked teachers.

"I'm going to go skulk around the dungeons some more, Mione, I'll talk to you tonight if I remember."

Mione laughed and left, Professor McGonagall going off towards her office in a daze. Meega and Snape, who were both going down into the dungeons, walked in silence until Meega was about to leave the path to his office.

"Just so you know, I'm not the perfect angel everyone thinks I am for some reason. I just forgive my past errors, Professor. You should too. Holding grudges against yourself isn't healthy." She left before the professor could reply.

Severus Snape stood in silence for a moment as the girl left and then shook his head and went into his office. The girl genuinely respected him, which didn't happen very often. "The reason people think you are an angel is because you will forgive anyone of anything, even if they cannot forgive themselves."