Note:The contents of this story are my own original work. The trademarks you may recognise from Harry Potter do not belong to me, and in no way am I attempting to claim them as my own. With apologies to Evanescence for the use of the lyrics from their song, Imaginary. No infringements of any copyrights are intended.

AN: This one-shot was inspired by Evanescence's Imaginary… I love that song XD well, I love 99% of their songs. Amy Lee is my hero!! (if she's somewhere reading this - fat chance - I love you!!!!! LOL)

I'm actually thinking about doing another story with these characters, based in Beauxbatons. So, do let me know what you think, okay??

Be good!

Imaginary

Scott and Christophe sat alone on a soft, purple silk blanket in one of the massive meadows of delicate blue flowers that bordered the hidden grounds of Beauxbatons Academy.

Having only transferred from Hogwarts two months ago when his family relocated to Cannes, Scott was still adjusting to the magnificent iridescent palace that stood tall at the centre of the beautiful, manicured grounds.

He lay sprawled across half of the blanket on his stomach, so that he was not in the shade of the small Cherry Blossom tree they'd laid their blanket beside. He was gazing intently at the huge, gold brushed sparkling stone building; his honey-brown hair tousling in the mild spring breeze.

Christophe was sitting with his back against the tree, effortlessly adjusting the colour of the petals on a little flower he had picked. When he was satisfied with the shade of hot, red-gold he wanted, he slid the flower behind Scott's ear. It complimented the colour of his hair, which was a complete contrast to Christophe's long, straight raven hair.

In many ways, Scott and Christophe were complete contrasts to each other. For one; Christophe was French, and Scott British. The deep, dark green of Scott's eyes and his fair, freckled skin were the exact opposite of Christophe's pale, light blue eyes and tanned skin. Christophe was social and outgoing, while Scott had always been shy, an introvert.

It was amazing that the two fifth-years were even friends, but they had cliqued moments after first meeting in Charms class on Scott's first day.

Christophe stretched and lay down beside Scott, his head resting on the pale boy's upper back.

"I have a surprise for you" Scott said, shifting slightly so he could see Christophe's face over his shoulder. "It got here yesterday…"

"That is so sweet" Christophe raised his head onto one hand, sighing in his beautiful French accented english. "What is it?"

"I'll show you"

Scott moved to pull his knapsack closer, and procured from within it a pair of vials filled with electric green liquid. He presented these to Christophe, who inspected them with keen interest. He looked closely at the unique colour of the potion, and then at the label which read 'Lysergus - one dose' above a small, intricate 'AS' which was handwritten onto a piece of parchment, magically bound to the small, thin vial.

"It's a potion… But what does it do?"

"It's actually a drug, of sorts. A friend of mine back at Hogwarts designed it, he made these two pre-release just for me…"

"A drug?" Christophe asked, interested. He had mentioned before that he wasn't against recreational drug use. "What kind of drug iz it?"

Scott was relieved that he hadn't freaked his dark-haired friend out. "It's an hallucinogenic, kind of like LSD?"

"Ooh, sounds fun" Christophe commented playfully with a wink. He popped the cork on one of the vials. "Shall we?"

Scott took the other vial and opened it too.

The pair raised their drinks in a toast, and then drained them.

I linger in the doorway

Of alarm clocks screaming

Monsters calling my name

Scott was expecting the burning sensation that followed the acidic potion down his throat. Christophe, taken by surprise, coughed roughly once his was down. He sounded to Scott like he was calling for him, lost in another world. The effects of the potion were rapid.

Let me stay

Where the wind will whisper to me

Where the raindrops as they're falling tell a story

The inverting of his vision followed, and to Scott, suddenly everything looked tremendously far away.

The colours of things were changing, and abruptly Christophe turned a shade of lilac, his now deep red hair flaring out behind him in the wind which had picked up in the last few minutes. His piercing yellow eyes panicked.

Christophe tried tolook deep into Scott's shiny silver eyes, but they were too far away. He couldn't reach that far with his mind, his soul. He could never really see into his friend's eyes though, that was real. Not imagined.

It started to rain.

In my field of paper flowers

And candy clouds of lullaby

I lie inside myself for hours

And watch my purple sky fly over me

Christophe looked into the light purple sky, from where raindrops fell like stones to shatter against his face, creating the most beautiful sensation he'd ever experienced. Not that he could remember ever experiencing sensation. He could remember nothing that wasn't right now.

The rain was singing.

It sang a beautiful lullaby, and Scott could hardly resist the urge to go to sleep right there on the soft, wet silken blanket, seemingly spun from strands of the purest, softest silver.

He looked around him.

They were sitting beside the centre of a massive spiral of Cherry Blossoms, in shades of red and gold, which flew upward into the warped heavens. They were surrounded by an endless radius of origami flowers on toothpick stems, in every shade of colour that the eye could behold.

Don't say I'm not in touch

With this rampant chaos

Your reality

Christophe extended his hand, offering it liberally to Scott.

They sprang forward into the field of melting flowers. Running swiftly. Running gracefully. Freely.

It was pure joy. Pain. Aching. Delight.

Pure innocent pleasure.

Fun. Bliss. Misery.

Suffering.

Love and hate and every other emotion, every feeling or mind state in one, as they flew through the flowers, each one a facet of their lives, which paper cut their now bare legs.

The rain and the wind soaked them.

It ran off their glistening, cool torsos in rivulets. Streaming around them in intricate patterns. Covering their exposed skin completely.

When had they lost their clothing?

I know well what lies beyond my sleeping refuge

The nightmare I built

My own world to escape

The sky darkened further, until it was the deepest of midnight purples.

The rain picked up, a monsoon billowing around them. Screaming. Defying.

Alarming.

They were unaffected.

In the warm, calm circle of still which surrounded them in their embrace, nothing moved. The air didn't reach their lungs. The grass, the paper, beneath them didn't flatten or rustle. They were the only life in their dead enclosure.

An enclosure - They couldn't escape.

There was no moving against it.

The sky screamed louder, and Scott realised subconsciously that this was because he too was screaming. He felt the need to roar at the wind which was roaring at him. Christophe was screaming as well. Everything seemed to be screaming. A call of defiance against order.

Against everything that was set in stone, in black and white. Plain.

Chaos would reign.

Swallowed up in the sound of my screaming

Cannot stop for the fear of silent nights

Oh how I long for the deep sleep dreaming

The Goddess of imaginary light

They fell.

Falling through the immaterial ground below their feet, the earth that had disappeared for them. Everything had disappeared for them.

The screaming seemed to subside.

The rain was gone.

The sky was gone too.

It was peaceful again.

Had it ever not been?

*

Christophe awoke first.

He was lying on his back in the field of blue flowers, dry and clothed. Scott was lying a few feet away from him, still sleeping. Moaning softly from his unconscious, imaginary world, so far away from this one.

It had all been a dream.

Christophe moved to where Scott was curled up on his side and planted a soft kiss on his cheek.