Disclaimer: I am not J.K Rowling, therefore I do not rightfully own the whole Harry Potter theme-thing…got that sorted out?
Good.
Chapter 1 – Go home boy!
The setting is outside a café. The group is small, consisting of one or two of Mel's closest friends. The tiny road they are facing releases an occasional terrified ant pulling cloaks tighter around their shoulders, gripping each other's cold hands.
Mel and his friends are the first customers of the week and so are rewarded with a double serving of whatever tosh they'd ordered. The waitress's face is a melting pot of lines, relief lines, suspicious lines, apprehensive lines, and curious lines.
Curiosity kills the cat, she tells herself and dashes out of Mel's eyesight.
Only Mel isn't wearing a tight-lipped expression. His friends looked like they had missed their beds and hit the hard floor each night.
A newspaper lays folded between them.
"Mel why'd you bring us out?"
Mel was flustered by the paranoia that was sexually assaulting his friends. They looked possessed and their skins reeked of the filth fear brings on.
"This is what friends do." He replied pushing himself back onto his chair.
A girl on his right leaned in.
"You are a sure jerk to think this up. Its not safe," she hissed.
Mel issued a heavy sigh.
The girl didn't stop: "your immature to think, that oh it's ok! It's a lovely day-" (and it was)"-why don't I pull my friends from their cosy little secure beds and place them in the most paroled, tight arsed security region around?"
Mel tried not to smirk.
"Come on guys, I just want to relax a bit. Diagon's still operating, it's not a fortress or anything." He waved a hand around politely ignoring two security trolls lurking outside Gringotts.
"That's it, you're mad. I'm leaving."
Mel bit his lip as his friends made to leave, now or never.
"What if it's not all, as it seems." (That was too obscure).
"Huh?"
"You know, what if the Daily Prophets playing up on our fears?"
"And what would the motive behind that be?"
Mel leaned in, resting casually on an elbow. "I don't know what exactly, but it can't be so black and white."
"And what if it is?"
Mel snorted, "Come on, this is a matter that deserves a discussion at least."
"Mel, somewhere else."
"Inside then?"
The girl who's name was also Mel – Melanie – looked ruffled, "No Mel, at someone's house, where it's … safe."
"Ok, let's think about it. There's the dark side, they just so happened to be ruled under history's most evil figure. We hear all these stories about how they murder and rampage, rape muggles."
She-Mel flinched.
Mel continued. "And then we hear about how the noble Harry Potter along with his group of do-gooders are out to save the world! A boy pure and noble and all that shit."
The rough looking male on She-Mel's right, narrowed his eyes.
"What are you saying? Your not … supporting… you know who? Are you?"
Mel threw up his hands, in mock horror, the clouds who had hung low to listen chuckled nervously has their feather-breasted bodies rolled on.
"Now really," he retorted.
"Jus' saying. Sounds like you're against our side."
"That's it! You see, it's always, their side (the dark side) and our side (the good side)… I just can't see how something so … simple could exist. Surely there are shades of grey!"
She-Mel shook her head, "look Mel, of course there are some freak cases where the sides melt over a bit. I mean that rumour about Narcissa Malfoy crossing over? And there's Sirius Black's brother who crossed over and of course there's vice versa, Pettigrew that is…"
Jud – on She-Mel's right, spat at the mention of Pettigrew.
"Now while there are the odd case, the big picture is more simple. You know who has killed any good that was ever there, he..is..evil. His followers are just as bad Mel, can't you see that?"
"Fear can make a good man do strange things, doesn't mean he's evil." Mel objected.
"Mel, call me dogmatic, but your naïve about the whole thing." Jud said.
She-Mel laid a hand on his arm. "Don't say it like that Jud. He's going through a tough stage."
"I'm going through a tough stage? Hah! Just call me naïve Mel, its more kinder." Mel said snapping to his feet.
"Mel…"
"Nope, you didn't listen to a single word I said, why should I listen to you?"
"That's not going to get us anywhere," Jud growled.
"No, you listen here, and please… actually listen. All I wanted was … a, a discussion. I wanted to talk to you guys. I didn't need any school-brain-wash crap."
"Your over reactin-"
"No, no, I'm not! I have not had a single conversation this year where I've been allowed to speak freely… or where I'm not talking to someone who thinks I'm going to stab them with my wand."
("Bloody mother Mel…")
"I don't know about you, but I need to be able to talk, to converse with people, you couldn't give me some of that!"
"Go home Mel."
"What?"
"Go home."
Like the creator had leant back for a stretch, the scene below her froze, cracking her neck she leant back over her work, tickling Mel's jaw.
Mel's mouth opened and closed like the defeated fish drowning on the sand.
The clouds above moved on quickly, embarrassed to overhear the scene.
Mel finally said, "but you're my friends."
(duh)
She-Mel turned away from Mel and faced Jud. "Don't be irrational Jud, he needs somewhere to sleep, don't turn him out."
Jud shook his shaggy blond head.
"He'd be better a' home."
She-Mel laughed, it was a horrid brittle sound.
"You can stay Mel, Jud's being ridiculous."
Jud fumed, "Oh so now I'm being ridiculous."
"Shut up Jud." She-Mel said from the side of her mouth.
Jud didn't.
"Your mam wouldn't mind ye being back, ye need to get out Mel, learn a few things. I need a break from ye too. I just want to work in peace, ye make it so so hard. Yer too demanding, just…."
"go?" Mel suggested.
"Aye."
"Right." Mel said. He patted his pocket, looking around he spotted his wand sleeping on the cobblestones. Picking it up he whispered a spell and his trunk flowed out from the tip of his wand.
"What about Jessie?" She-Mel blurted, a little teary.
Mel watched her pearly tears brim at the bottom of her eyes.
"Aaah," Mel started undecidedly.
"I'll tell her," Jud said standing up.
Mel traced his trunk with the tip of his wand.
"Isn't this surreal?" He muttered to no one.
("Oh Jud, you're a heartless bastard." She-Mel whined).
"That all you got?" Jud said.
"Yep."
"Well, I'm sorry Mel.."
"No-no, don't be… this is a good idea, good."
"…"
"…a good plan."
"Still mates?" Jud said.
"Yeah, of course."
She-Mel rounded the table and wrapped her arms like vine tendrils around Mel's neck. "I hate all this fighting and hurtful talk." She sniffed.
Mel detached himself.
"See you."
"See-"
But he had gone. Always the first with apparition, Mel vanished, leaving a ripple effect.
"He left just like that he did!" The birds would say.
"Oh what a pouting child he is, humans really are too complex for their own good."
"Mmm, I agree. Bosom buds, then a minute or two later and all relationship ties are Kaput!"
"Oh dear, and its this lot who are fighting the dark lord?"
"Well, you heard him he might not be so bad…"
"Oh not you too! Why don't you vanish off as well."
And the little jay conjured his own trunk and evaporated from the wire.
"Hmph," retorts the crow.
"That really was irrational," snaps the little magpie."
"He was the one who did it."
"Oh shut up."