UDM: Free Falling II - Seconds Away (Harry Potter Fanfic)

Wishless

No matter how much Demi May batted her eyelids at Eugene Simmons, he never seemed to have eyes for her.

Just starting secondary, Demi May preoccupied herself too much with boys, popularity, and the latest fashion trends, yet her mother constantly remained in her ear, reminding her daughter how vital securing her future prospects was, not to mention destroying anything that got in her way; as such, the rumor floating around that Lyra Whitechapel would no longer attend school with them, that Lyra's foster family sent her away because they didn't want her any more should have brought relief.

However, Demi May's crush still crushed on someone else, something one of Eugene's friends didn't hesitate to point out, and on reflex, she couldn't help but say, "Why would Eugene like her? She was so—ugh!"

The girl always held her nose in a book, always managed to never get on the teacher's wrong side while having absolutely no fashion sense or any of the feminine charm Demi May's mother spent so much time grooming into her, to make sure her daughter could catch the perfect future husband.

"Did he finally ask you out?" her mother asked, not looking up when Demi May walked through the door of the family home, instead focusing on painting her nails a pastel pink.

Demi's mouth pressed together, her own nails painted a pearl white, biting into the strap of her backpack while the others brushed her skirt.

The silence resulted in her mother looking up. "So you don't have a boyfriend going into secondary? We talked about this, Demi May."

"I know," Demi May said, dropping her school bag unceremoniously on the floor, expecting someone else to pick it up since securing one's future as her mother did meant ensuring she didn't have to lift a finger.

"Just go to your room. I'll have the cook send up your dinner."

Demi May's eyes blinked. "I'm not allowed to eat dinner with you and Dad?"

"Our dinner party is too important for that," her mother said. "After all, your father is hosting an important client, and they're certainly not bringing any children. I doubt they have any." Her mother waved her hands. "Do your nails or something."

The preteen swallowed, then turned and headed up the stairs, her mother snapping and reminding her she needed to go up and down the stairs like a lady, resulting in Demi May slowing down. She entered her room, decorated as it was in pink from one end to another with fancy lacy and white teddy bears she'd never played with, and sat on her bed, moping.

Eventually, she stood up and changed into her pajamas, sitting in front of her vanity, redoing her nails as her mother requested, gossiping on her retro phone with her friends, complaining about how Eugene still didn't notice her. Still, eventually, the parents of her friends called them away for dinner and other such affairs, leaving Demi May in her own mood.

Flapping her hands back and forth rather than blowing on her nails as her mother showed her, she sat again on the edge of the bed before flopping back, singing into oblivion as she continued moving her hands to dry the nail polish, closing her eyes.

There was the sensation of falling, of staggering, of rain drenching her pajamas—

Her eyes opened, taking in the rubble of her home, or what she thought was her home, as a pressure built around her sternum. She turned, her blue eyes blinking at the sight—

Eugene Simmons stood there, his blond hair plastered to his head as his bright blue eyes stared at her. She ignored the way he grimaced at the sight of her and his tone of voice when he asked what she was doing there, falling into the role of damsel in distress in hopes he'd be her knight in shining armor as she wondered where they were, for once not batting her eyes at him.

He didn't know, at least not until he looked up at the Dark Mark in the sky, swallowing, knowing she shouldn't know what a Death Mark was, her face twisting in disgust. "I'm not a nerd and too old for those books."

Yet there was some level of familiarity with the series, despite her mother insisting Demi May be above such nerdy activities, as the series held some level of popularity Demi May didn't understand.

"We're not," she insisted, standing there shivering. "We're most definitely not in that—that book!"

He looked at her. "Then how do you explain how we got here and..." Eugene looked her up and down. "You in your pajamas."

Demi May glanced down, her jaw-dropping. "I'm..." She wrapped her arms around her, hugging herself, glaring at Eugene. "You shouldn't be looking at a girl in her pajamas!"

"And how's it my fault you're in your pajamas?" Eugene said, shivering as he looked around. "But why? I mean..."

He stopped, glancing away while Demi May narrowed her eyes. "What?"

"My wish on the shooting star," Eugene said, then he turned to look at Demi May. "Hey. Do you think, maybe, you know, Whitechapel is here?"

She stared, her jaw-dropping. "You're thinking about..."

"Hey!" someone called out, stepping forward with sticks that glowed at the tip with their brown hair and brown eyes. "What are you—hey! We've survivors! Some of the family survived."

"Hold on. We're not," Eugene said, frowning. "At least, I think."

"What's going on?" Demi May asked.

"Survivors?" someone asked, almost blending into the night despite the light coming from the tip of the stick.

She let out an indignant sniff at her question not being answered, only to let out a sneeze instead.

The second man nodded his head. "Let's get these kids to St Mungo's and ask questions later. Who are the closest relatives to the Pertinger family?"

"I'll look into it," the first said, reaching out and grabbing her arm, only for Demi May to flinch away. "Hey. Settle. I need you not to be mucking around like that as you side apparate."

"Side apparate?" Demi May said.

"Teleport," Eugene hissed, shaking his head. "Just—let them Apparate you."

"You should listen to your brother," the first said. "Twin?'

"Brother? Twin?" Demi May spluttered.

"Good grief," the second said. "Seems we'll require a calming drought."

"A what?"

"Or, we could just render the girl unconscious, Shaklebolt," the first said.

"That may be for the best."

And then—

Demi fell into an unconscious state.