In case you haven't noted, this is the companion/sequel to Saving Middle Earth. Although it has absolutely nothing to do with Middle Earth... Oh well! Enjoy!
It all started with that voice.
"Hey, Greenie!" I cringed and gritted my teeth. Keep walking, Meg, keep walking. "Wait up!" I hated that voice. And said voice persisted. "Greenleaf!"
"WHAT?!" I wheeled around to face him, ignoring the gorgeous smirk adorning his face.
"Geeze," He began, holding his hands up in surrender. "No need to PMS at me, Greenie. I just wanted your attention." Scorpious Malfoy said, his blue eyes glistening with something that frightened me.
"What do you want, Malfoy?" I asked testily. He'd been following me around for the past few weeks, asking me that stupid question. It's so ridiculous a prospect. Stupid, stupid, stupid. There's just no way –
"Will you come to the ball with me?" That stupid question. I scowled and he looked down on my short figure, a light smirk on his face. "Please?"
I swear I felt my eye twitch. "Every day, Malfoy, every bloody day, you have asked me that, and what have I said each and every time?" I cocked a dark eyebrow at him, my dark brown eyes challenging that giant ego of his – one my mother told me he definitely inherited from his father.
"Yes."
"Exactly." Wait, what? "No -"
"Hah!" He exclaimed gleefully. "Hah! You just said yes!"
"I did not!" I protested quite loudly, eyes narrowing. "You bloody –"
"You can't take it back now. You're going to the seventh year ball with me whether you like it or not, Meg." He said, looking at me with a big goofy grin that made my heart mel – no. No, it was a horrid, wretched grin. The grin of an arse –
"No, I'm not going." I told him matter-of-factly. "And there's nothing you can do about it." With that, I walked away, nose in the air. But apparently I wasn't going to have the last words.
"You said yes!" He yelled after me. My eye twitched again.
*.*.*.*.*.*.*
"Morning, Meggie, dear little sister!" Inalia pulled me into a warm hug, ruffling my dark curls.
"Morning, Alia." I greeted, stifling a yawn.
"Don't tell me you stayed up studying all night, Meg." She scolded me. "Honey, didn't you learn from Grace's mistakes?" She cocked a blonde eyebrow at me.
"Oh, shut up, you." I said, though I was grinning. I yawned again. "And if you must know, Professor. The bloody Head Boy kept me up all night with his incessant –"
"Did you call, Greenie?" Speak of the devil, and the damned devil shall come and ruin your morning! "'Mornin' Professor Greenleaf. You look lovely today." He said, giving my sister the once-over. She was three years his senior!
"Why thank you, Mr. Malfoy. Now if you'll excuse me, Meggie. I've got to go. I think Potter's getting out of line again. Taking a few too many points from the Slytherins." She said, looking over my shoulder, amused as Professor Potter lectured some Slytherins from her house. She walked off, her own smirk in place, leaving me with It.
"So, Greenie, you bought your dress yet? Y'know, for the ball?" He asked, casually as we walked into the hall. He was greeted by silence. I had resolved to ignore the prat. "I'll take that as a no." He smirked at me and I scowled. "Just as well." He said almost quietly, making a beeline to the Slytherin table before I could even ask.
I rolled my eyes and plopped down at the Ravenclaw table. "Prat. Stupid wanker. The nerve of him –"
"Still on about Scorpious, Meg?" My best friend, Lucy Lovegood – not the daughter of Luna, but the niece – sat down next to me. "He's really a nice boy."
I scowled. It was times like this I knew where she got her name; Loony Luce. "He is not nice, Luce. He's... annoying and-and grrr."
"He brings out the passion in you." I narrowed my eyes at her and gulped down my pineapple juice.
"He does not."
"Oh look, you have an owl." She said, her blue eyes trained on me. How the hell had she – nope, never mind. She's psychic.
Sure enough, true to the words of my best friend, a black owl swooped down and dropped a box wrapped in brown paper in front of me. I raised my eyebrows, my face not the only curious one in the Great Hall. "Uhh... Luce, what is it?"
"How am I supposed to know?" She asked, a small smile on her face. I got the feeling she knew exactly what it was.
I sighed and picked up the card. It burnt my hand. Bastard. "What the –" And then the writing appeared. You cannot open me until you see.
I ripped the paper off to find a white box underneath. Lucy gasped, her eyes widening at the label. "That's Beckonus!" It was one of her favourite brands.
My curiosity peaked. Who would be sending me something from Beckonus? The thought flittered across my mind before I could stop it. And suddenly I was afraid to open the white box.
"Oh, c'mon Meggie!" Lucy begged.
I relented and pulled off the lid, holding back a gasp of pleasure at the mere colour. It was emerald green of the purest kind. The silk shone under the light of the Great Hall and I didn't need to pull it out to know it was beautiful and extravagant.
Lucy finally got impatient and pulled the dress from the box, gasping in awe of it. Even I had to admit, it was definitely beautiful. And definitely something I could see myself in.
It was, as said previously, emerald green and floor-length. It was sleeveless and heart shaped up the top, tight down to the hips, where it loosened and hug down elegantly, in uneven layers. The hem was decorated with a dusting of silver flecks, as was the heart shaped bust.
"It's beautiful!" Rose Weasley exclaimed, coming up behind me and grinning at me. I shared a shocked smile with her as Lucy placed the dress back in the box. "Who sent it, Meg?" She asked excitedly.
The feeling of dread overwhelmed me as I looked to the wretched burning card. "I don't know... Hang on." I picked it up and this time it didn't burn me. I opened it slowly and found an elegant scrawl on it.
A beautiful green dress for my Greenie. See you at the ball, Megan.
Scorpious
The nerve! The prat sent it to me and –and ARGH! I looked up murderously to see Rose and Lucy looking at me expectantly. I handed the card to Lucy, who smirked after she read it and pawned it off to Rose. I blocked my ears as a squeal emitted from her mouth.
"That is so CUTE!" She said, grinning widely.
The entire Great Hall was staring at us. I scowled. That bastard. I was not going to the ball with him! Especially not against my will!
I got up and turned my back on the box, stomping out of the hall in a huff. "Hey, Meg, I think you've got a shadow." Inalia called out uncertainly. I looked up and my scowl deepened. It was following me. The box, with the beautiful dress inside it was following me.
"I think it likes you, Greenie!" He called out.
"Yeah, well, it can get stuffed! Just like its sender!" I replied loudly with a harrumph and stormed out, the box still following me. ARGH!
*.*.*.*.*.*.*
"You're crazy, Meg!" Rose complained that night. "He's Gorgeous!" She grinned as she lay on my bed next to the offensive dress, which had followed me around all day until I accepted it.
"He's obnoxious. He's pigheaded. He loves himself too much. He's a Malfoy. My mother would go spare!" I listed.
Lucy snorted. "Please, I don't think your mum would be half as mad as she was when you went back to Middle Earth with bright blue streaks running through your hair." Ah yes. That. Long story.
"That's beside the point." I said. "The point is that the day I go to our Seventh Year Ball with Scorpious Malfoy is the day that-that... Well, I don't know! But it will never happen!" I exclaimed, before standing up off my bed and waltzing out the door.
And just as I passed the bathroom... BAM!
I groaned as my head collided with the wall behind me and whoever it was let out a yelp of surprise. I looked up, the concussion obviously coming through as I found myself gaping at Malfoy's well-toned and absolutely gorgeous chest. His wet blonde hair was falling into his eyes and the towel he was clutching around his hips was slowly slipping...
He cleared his throat, smirk in place. My head swam.
"Meg, are you okay?" Lucy's head poked out of my room and I vaguely registered nodding dumbly, before finally losing my footing.
Dizziness washed over me and I fell into some of the most comforting arms I had ever been in. And that's saying something.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." I heard the Angel's voice. Or what I thought was the Angel's voice. "C'mon, Greenie, onto the bed with you." An arm hooked behind my knees and the other supporting my back, I was carried into a room that made my head spin with all the green.
"Is she going to be okay, Scorpious?" Lucy asked. I distantly heard it, and nodded to her, though I wasn't sure how that'd help.
"She'll be fine. She'll see you in the morning, okay?" He replied.
"Bye Luce and Rose!" I yelled. My head spun as I heard laughter and the slamming of a door.
This bed was heaven, I swear. I closed my eyes, only to feel a very cold hand on my cheek seconds later. "Wake up, Greenie, you can't sleep now. No sleeping." A form voice told me.
I was pulled up by my wrists and my eyes flung open, staring up at him in awe. He was smirking again. "Hullo." I said.
He chuckled at me. For some reason I found it amusing. I laughed quite loudly. Later on, I'd blush uncontrollably for my behaviour. I had every excuse. I was concussed.
"You have pretty eyes." I said. Something inside of me was bashing my own scull in.
He chuckled again. "Thanks, Greenie."
"Stop calling me that." I said, flopping backwards again.
I heard him laugh again before he leant over and grabbed something off the bedside table. I took in his cologne and I was intoxicated.
His wand came out and tapped me on the head. "Junevo." And it all cleared up. The haziness was gone and my head felt a lot more like it was actually screwed on.
I groaned, my hand feeling the lump that was forming at the back of my throbbing head. "Ouch."
"Yeah, that's going to hurt even more later." My eyes snapped open and I came face-to-face with Scorpious Malfoy – still in a towel. My cheeks flushed and he chuckled. "Like what you see, Greenie?"
I glared at him as an attempt to hide my embarrassment. I very much so did. "No. You're disgusting." I said, putting as much venom as I could muster into my voice. I stood, my feet failing me. I flopped back onto his bed with a moan.
"I knew I'd get that sound out of you one day. I knew it'd involve my bed, too." He smirked, looking at me amusedly.
"Ugh. No. Malfoy, I swear –"
"Bad Greenie!" He admonished playfully.
I scowled at him and he smirked harder. "You should go away, Malfoy."
"Who's room are you in? Who took care of you when you had a concussion? Who –"
"Yeah, shut up." I cut him off swiftly, not really caring. "I have a headache."
"Apparently, I have pretty eyes." My cheeks flushed further and I looked down, embarrassed.
"Yeah, about that... you really don't. I'm sorry; but your eyes... they have absolutely no effect on me what so ever." I said in a clipped tone. One that my mother had used on many occasions.
He snorted. "Whatever you say, Meg. But I know you want me." He moved closer, and the heat from his bare chest was warming my skin – or maybe that was the blush that crept on it.
I stood again, this time way to quickly and took a step, my head beginning to spin. "Hang on, Greenie!" He steadied me with his calloused hands – from Quidditch. My shoulders felt warm and I realised he wasn't holding his towel anymore.
Oh Merlin... don't look down, don't look down. Nope. Not looking down. I had thought, keeping my eyes on his. He smirked and I blushed.
"We'll be a hell of a lot closer than this in two days' time." He teased.
I glared. "No, we won't, Malfoy. I'm not going to the ball." I said, nodding to myself more than him.
"Want a bet?" He cocked an eyebrow at me and I felt the urge to shake my head, too chicken.
But my mother was not the famous Hermione Granger of Gryffindor for nothing! "Fine." I said stubbornly.
"Fine." And he did the worst thing he could possibly do to keep me rich. He leant down and kissed me.
It was bliss. Pure and sweet, but hot and passionate at the same time. He pulled me flush against his bare chest and I registered the line of the towel getting lower and lower. And lower.
I found myself kissing him back, my hands resting on his broad shoulders as he turned us around and pushed me down onto the bed. This was almost seven entire years of tension between us, being poured into one kiss.
We pulled apart. He was supporting himself above me and grinning in such a heart-melting way. "I win?"
A blush, accompanied by a small smile adorned my face. "You win." I confirmed.
And that was how I found myself here...
*.*.*.*.*.*.*
She peeked out from behind the wall at the top of the stairs, just as her mother had years ago. Only she was seventeen, with the dark eyes of her father, and wearing a dress that back in the time of Hermione Granger would have been considered traitorous. Her hair, shiny dark brown, fell down her back in a wave of curls, the sides pulled back in plaits, to enhance the glitter that decorated her eyes.
A shy smile was settled on her face, as she spotted him, her eyes lighting up. Her rosy cheeks were flushed from the smirk she was getting from him – the tall blonde boy at the bottom of the stairs dressed in black and white dress robes. He held a little blue box in his hand.
She stepped out from the wall and began her descent, a few sets of eyes trained on her as she met him at the foot, still standing on the last stair.
"Lady Megan." He nodded.
"Mr. Malfoy." She smiled and he chuckled at her shyness.
"Don't be shy, Greenie." He said teasingly and as quick as a flash, pulled her to him down that last stair and planted a kiss on her lips.
She pulled away and thwacked him on the shoulder. "You might give people heart attacks!" She scolded.
He laughed and took her hand, placing a gentle kiss on her knuckles. "I have a gift for the fair lady." He produced the little blue box and placed it in her now open palm.
She looked at him curiously. "Another one? I can't accept this! You've already bought me a dress! It must've cost a fortune!"
He nodded, smiling. "Open it."
She sighed, but couldn't resist the small smile tugging at her lips. She flipped the lid open and gasped at what was inside. She blinked up at him. "It's lovely!" She exclaimed, reaching up to kiss him on the cheek.
He pulled the box away from her. "I'm glad you like it, Greenie, because you're wearing it tonight." He said, pulling the silver bracelet out of the box and placing it on her slender wrist – the emerald, silver and blue charms glittering in the light. She looked at one of the charms in particular. An emerald coloured leaf.
She snorted. "One day, you'll have to stop with the Greenleaf jokes, Malfoy." Meg told him, looking up at him with a twinkle in her eyes.
Scorpious chuckled and took her arm, leading them into the Great Hall. "Yeah, one day." He said, looking amused as McGonagall gaped openly at the odd couple. "Maybe."