Here we are...new fic!

Premise: I'm delving into the supernatural again, only this time it's Meredith who is the gifted one. This will be rather loosely based on the movie "Practical Magic", with Sandra Bullock & Nicole Kidman. I saw the movie awhile ago, and the idea stuck with me that it would make a good MerDer story. In case you aren't familiar with that, you can Google it - there's a good plot summary at Wikipedia (or you can stay unspoiled and see where this goes!). While some of the plot points will remain the same, I have my own ideas about what I want to weave into the story as well.

Basically, in this story, Meredith Grey is a witch, in a long line of witches that have been cursed to lose their true love to accidental death. From an early age, she vowed not to fall in love, never to suffer a broken heart...but of course fate has a way of intervening. Her childhood friend, Cristina, finds herself in a situation that requires Meredith's help, and that will inevitably impact everyone...and bring a sexy stranger into Meredith's life, altering her future...

Rated: Mature, for sexual content and adult themes...please read responsibly!

Disclaimer: Don't own Grey's or the characters...cuz you know my version would be really different...no singing involved!

A Touch of Magic

Prologue

"You will be a strong witch someday, Meredith...and one day you will meet the man that completes your power..."

"But Mama..."

"Shh..." Her mother rocked her gently in the porch swing, as the moon rose high in the velvety black sky. Meredith snuggled against her, comforted by the scent of roses that twined around the lattice on the porch, and the feel of the soft cotton of Ellis's dress under her cheek . She had been aware for some time now that her legacy was to inherit certain powers, and that she was special in ways that didn't always make sense to her - it was difficult to understand what that meant when she was only ten years old, but her mother's wise eyes regarded her carefully. "It will all be clear to you someday, my little witch. Don't be scared."

"I won't..."

Ellis pressed a small locket into Meredith's hand. "Keep this safe, it will always be your link to me, do you understand?" Something about her mother's voice made Meredith look up as her hand closed around the locket. It seemed to tingle in her small fist, and she could feel the magic emanating from it. There were a lot of things she had to learn about witchcraft, but she recognized that amulet was bespelled.

"Yes, Mama, I understand." Meredith nodded solemnly. She was accustomed to these intense conversations with her mother, but this time it seemed even more so. It had just been the two of them for so long now - her father had been killed not long after Meredith was born, felled by a curse that afflicted her family, thanks to a spell cast long ago by Honoria Grey. The matriarch of the family had been unlucky in love several generations earlier, and she doomed all of the females to lose their true loves to accidental death, but it didn't stop the women from marrying and bearing children. The family legend stated that one of the women would eventually break the curse, but no one knew when that would happen. Ellis was convinced that Meredith could be that one lucky woman. She felt it in her bones.

"Good, my child." Ellis hugged Meredith tightly, closing her eyes against the visions of the future that came unbidden to her. She felt her own time was near, and she felt a wash of sadness. "Just remember I love you so much...and you are never alone..."

"You are never alone..." Meredith repeated those words softly, her fingers on the locket that hung on the dainty gold chain around her neck. She had replaced the chain a time or two since that day when her mother had given it to her. Yet the locket itself remained just as lustrous and beautiful as always. She poked the fire in the grate absently, thinking of how her life had changed after that. Ellis had succumbed to death, lost to the fate of the family curse as well...longing to be with her dead husband. Yet her spirit lived on in the world around Meredith, in the wind and in the rain. In fact, on this rainy Seattle evening, she felt as if her mother was especially close. Something had triggered the memories, Meredith mused, settling onto the sofa with a cup of mint tea and the latest paperback mystery novel she'd picked up to keep her interested.

Her thoughts refused to settle onto the book, and she sat quietly, watching the fire instead. After her mother died, Meredith had been raised by her maiden aunts, Cassandra and Gwendolyn, in the big rambling house in the oldest neighborhood in Seattle. They kept to themselves for the most part, even though there were women that knew of their background, and came to them for love potions, hoping to find the perfect husband. The aunts always put something together to give the women hope, but they always cautioned them that sometimes there are consequences to getting what you want. Meredith had always watched the women with a sense of puzzlement. Falling in love didn't always mean happiness, more often it was difficult and heart breaking, as evidenced by her own family. She never wanted to fall in love, never wanted to die of a broken heart...it just wouldn't happen to her. Smiling a little, she recalled the words she'd said to her mother...

"I won't marry anyone, Mama..."

Ellis smiled gently, smoothing the honey gold hair from Meredith's face. "Oh, you will, falling in love happens when you least it expect it, little witch."

Meredith shook her head firmly. "Never ever ever ever..."

"That is a very long time," Ellis teased her. "The right man will be there for you and you will realize that when you find him, or he finds you, as the case may be. Do not be afraid to let him into your heart, Meredith."

Meredith still looked doubtful. "If you say so, Mama, but it won't happen..."

And she had kept to that childhood promise; so far she was single and quite content with that situation. After all, her aunts were unmarried, and they were happy, so it could be possible. And her best friend, Cristina, was still single, even though she was never without a man in her life. They had been friends since childhood, drawn to each other because they were different from the others in their class. As it turned out, Cristina was also a witch, though her parents weren't. They had adopted Cristina as a baby, unable to have their own, and they were blissfully unaware of their daughter's talents. Meredith supposed it helped that Cristina had realized it was better to keep her talents to herself, but there was always the chance it would blow up in her face one day. Things like that often didn't stay secret.

She had a witchy feeling that Cristina was heading back to Seattle, having picked up the undercurrent from her friend's latest email about how life was going in California. There was something wrong, something that would compel Cristina to come home. And it would be good to see her again - they were always as close as sisters, and they shared a blood bond that transcended anything else.

While Cristina had always been more adventurous as they were growing up, Meredith had of course, been more cautious when it came to boys. In fact, they had argued about it regularly, late in the night when Cristina stayed over, usually sneaking in after being out on dates, and Meredith's aunts were sleeping. Looking back, however, Meredith was quite sure they knew all that went on in the house, no matter what time of the night it may have been. One night in particular came to mind...

"You know the Grey family curse…" Meredith whispered. "I'm never going to fall in love."

Cristina snorted. "Who said anything about love? What's wrong with having a good time…the drinking and the boys…it's all for fun…"

"But what if you get pregnant?" She had seen many women coming here for potions to ensure they would marry once the inevitable baby was conceived.

"Mer, for one thing…that's why condoms were invented, and for another…there's a spell to make sure it doesn't happen. I don't take chances."

"But…"

"What's the point of being a witch if you can't use magic?"

"You shouldn't yet...we're too young...something could go wrong...what if you turn the guy into a toad or something?"

"Oh, Meredith, don't let those old biddies tell you that. No danger of that happening," Cristina sighed. She looked at her friend carefully. "Hey..."

"You're leaving, aren't you?" Meredith just knew in her soul that it would happen.

"Soon. I need to get away, I need to see what else is out there...and besides, I met a guy who is willing to take me away with him when he leaves Seattle next week," she finished up quickly.

"Next week? Seriously?" Meredith felt bereft at the thought of losing her best friend so soon.

"Seriously," Cristina vowed, crawling under the covers on the extra bed in Meredith's room.

"Are you sure that's okay? I mean, you hardly know him!"

"Oh please, Mer..." Cristina raised one eyebrow. "I can take care of myself."

"You're crazy, but I know I can't stop you. Just promise me you'll be careful."

Cristina lifted her hand and crossed her heart. "Witch's honor...besides you'll find some guy of your own soon enough, and you'll be too busy to miss me..."

"Ha!' Meredith tossed a pillow towards Cristina's head. "Go to sleep…" But Meredith sat at the bedroom window for awhile longer, resting her chin on her fist. The moon was nearly full; the sky was black with tiny stars studding it. "Why does it have to be this way?" she whispered to herself. "Why does everything have to change just because we're older?" She sighed softly, closing her eyes. What if she envisioned the perfect man, with qualities that could never be found…then she wouldn't fall in love, and she wouldn't have to be hurt like her mother had. He would be tall, with hair as black as the midnight sky, and eyes that were piercing indigo blue. He would be kind and yet strong, a gentleman who would open doors for her, but let her take care of herself when she needed to. He would have a sense of humor, be able to ride a horse and flip pancakes without losing one in the process. She giggled to herself a little at the last qualification, but then she sobered.

"By the stars and the moon above, and by all my wishes, and my hopes, I say this to be true…until I meet the man of my dreams; I will not fall in love…" She repeated this three times, while turning in a circle each time, then spinning faster until she was dizzy and breathless, falling onto the bed.

Within the week, Cristina was ready to leave Seattle with a cowboy from Texas, who was passing through the city on the rodeo circuit. Meredith didn't know where they had met, but Cristina was determined to take advantage of the situation. On her last evening, she stopped at Meredith's, her bags packed and ready in the truck where her boyfriend waited for her. The aunts were out for the evening at a local tea and dessert social, taking their famous devil's food cake with them. If only the other women knew the origin of the recipe, Meredith had thought earlier with a smile.

"Mer, you know I have to go…but we'll never be truly apart. We're almost-twins, that's not gonna change." Cristina held her hand out. "Listen, we can make a blood pact…so that we'll always have each other."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously." Cristina glanced at her watch. "It won't take long..."

"Okay…" Meredith wasn't sure about this, but she was willing to do anything to stall Cristina from leaving. Hand in hand, they headed down the stairs to the kitchen, where they took a small paring knife from the cutlery drawer. Then they slipped outside, under the full moon.

"Ready?" Cristina whispered, holding the tip of the knife above her palm. Meredith gulped and nodded, watching in fascination at the little bubble of blood that appeared when the skin was pierced. She held out her own palm, trembling a little as Cristina did the same to her. The moment the blood welled up, she slapped her palm against Cristina's.

"Blood to blood…"

"My life to yours…"

"Your life to mine…"

"Sisters forever…"

For a moment, Meredith looked at her hand, still able to see the small scar that remained from that ceremony. It was true, their blood had mingled, their lives were intertwined in ways she hadn't imagined before. Her palm seemed to tingle now, as she anticipated the arrival of Cristina. Even her aunts hadn't been able to dissuade her from their friendship over the years.

"You're a Grey witch," Gwendolyn had reminded her sternly, not long after Cristina was gone. "Your friend is foolish and selfish. Don't let her absence take you from your destined path. There are more things to worry about, my dear. Life isn't all moonlight and lavender, you know."

"Yes, I know..." Meredith regarded her aunt carefully. Gwendolyn paced the floor in front of the huge fireplace. Her long red hair swung with each step, accentuating just how annoyed she was by this turn of events. The fitted black dress she wore was old fashioned, right down to the jet black buttons, and her black ankle boots laced up the front, completing the outfit. Her emerald eyes were flashing with emotion, as she whirled around, her hands on her hips to confront Meredith.

"You need to live your life, let her go for now..."

"Yes, don't worry about her for now," Cassandra said soothingly. Always the pacifist in the family, ready with a soothing touch, or a candy from a pocket in her voluminous dress. "You have so much potential, so much to live up to – Cristina will come back into your life again, you'll see!"

"Aunt Cassie, she's my best friend forever..." Meredith sighed.

"You will see her again, little witch...but now we need to focus on your future. We need to teach you many things – so many things that your mother didn't have time to tell you about." Cassandra hugged her quickly.

"We are family, Meredith...and we will always be here for you," Gwendolyn smiled. "Now, where should we begin...?" She settled the battered leather grimoire on her lap, turning the pages carefully. It had been in the family ever since Honoria's time, annotated by each generation, listing all the spells and incantations required for everything from circle casting to making amulets to love potions to invoking spirits. She ran one red tipped fingernail over the script. "All right, lighting candles perhaps, something easy..."

"Circle casting might be better for beginning..." Cassandra offered. "Always good to make sure you're protected as you work..."

"Good point," Gwendolyn conceded. "Meredith, get the white candles, for purity, and the gray ones for calming energy." She flicked her hand and soft music filled the air to help them meditate. "Once we have the circle, you can concentrate on the candles..."

And so it began...