Well… we all knew it was coming, one day. Someone had to do it, so that
someone is now me. Here it is! Harry Potter Meets Marching Band!
Disclaimer: I own Polades, Uncle Harnon, Aunt Melunia, Adley, and Merry. Everything that resembles Harry Potter is JKR's. Everything that resembles marching band is not mine, though I sometimes wish it was.
Chapter One
The town of Polades, Maryland, was one of those towns where nothing eventful ever happens. Sure, all of the Polades-dwellers were happy enough, but they would never be known outside the city boundaries. Their newspaper, The Polades News, had been established for the sole purpose of printing birth, death, and classified notices. Yes, life in Polades was quiet and peaceful. Their athletic teams were something they could all be proud of, and everyone in their town was pretty athletic.
One day, everything in Polades changed. In the darkness of the night, a baby was dropped on the doorstep of the football coach (who was married to the softball coach and having an affair with the cheerleading coach and the girls' basketball coach). In order to boost his public image, the football coach took the child in, but raised her in a little cabinet under the sink. The football and softball coaches would find themselves busy raising their field-hockey/rugby star of a daughter and more than glad to have another girl around to cook, clean, and generally stay out of their way. There was something odd about this child, though; she wasn't happy playing sports and walking around making peculiar noises with her lips.
Only the softball coach knew what was really going on; the child who had been dropped on the doorstep was her niece, her sister's child. In that sister was a secret the softball coach prayed nightly no one in Polades would ever find out. One thing was for sure; the girl could never find out about her history.
~*~Eleven years later~*~
Merry Chotter woke up with a start as she heard her cousin Adley turn on the sink to fill up her water bottle for the day's game. Merry was sick of Adley, her family, and the many sports teams that were always over at the house, but, of course, she had no say in anything.
Adley started kicking the door to the cabinet where Merry had been semi- happily sleeping. "Chotter! Get up! I've got a game in an hour and I need a good breakfast! Mom and Dad say it's your turn to cook!"
*Of course it's my turn to cook,* Merry thought sarcastically. *Is it ever anyone else's?* She slowly opened the creaking cabinet door and climbed out, uncoiling her cramped body and stretching out all of the kinks. As she started to mix pancake batter for a nice carbohydrate-full breakfast, her Uncle Harnon and Aunt Melunia came out into the kitchen, flexing their muscles and talking loudly.
"So, Addlums, you ready for your big match-up today?" Uncle Harnon asked. "State competition is a big event for a seventh-grader, you realize. I'm proud of you for making it; this really shows that all the hard work you put in to make Varsity really paid off."
*Paid off is right,* Merry said to herself. *I'm sure that hefty donation to the PMS Athletic Fund helped just a tad. It didn't hurt, for sure, since it was really a donation to yourself!*
"Addy, I'm so proud of you!" Aunt Melunia crooned. "I couldn't have asked for a better daughter!"
"Yeah," Adley replied, "it's a good thing I didn't turn out like Merry!"
"Now, Adley," reprimanded Uncle Harnon in a voice that wasn't really serious at all. "Even if what you say is true…"
"I should wait until the person I'm talking about it out of earshot," Adley finished like a perfect daughter.
Merry grimaced as she piled food on plates for her aunt, uncle, and cousin. How sickening could this family get?
"That's right, my girl!" Uncle Harnon praised. His voice turned suddenly to strongly resembling a bark. "Where's my food, Chotter?"
"Coming, Uncle Harnon, sir," Merry replied, trembling. She brought the meal to the table and set down the three heaping plates.
"Next time, work faster!" Aunt Melunia commanded. "There's some old Smart Start in the pantry for you."
* Joy in the morning! * Merry thought to herself, but dared not say anything. She got the cereal box out of the pantry and poured a serving in her cracked bowl.
"Adley, after your game, we have a lovely surprise for you!" Uncle Harnon told his daughter in an excited voice. "We're going to go to the zoo!"
"The ZOO?" Adley moaned. "We went there LAST year after my State game, PLUS to the mall to get some new equipment!" Her voice was close to a scream.
"Now, now, honey," Aunt Melunia intervened, "what your daddy MEANS to say is that we're going to the zoo, and the mall, AND Chez Paulo," she named the ritziest restaurant within an hour of Polades, "and then we'll go buy your whole team new uniforms!"
"Okay," Adley half-whispered.
Uncle Harnon turned to address Merry. "You'll have to come with us, girl," he said abrasively. "We can't leave you with any of the neighbors because they don't want you any more, and it's dangerous to leave you in this house alone." He lowered his voice. "But none of that funny stuff, okay?"
"Yes, sir," Merry replied, afraid to contradict him.
"Good."
And so began the wondrous day that would be the turning point in Merry Chotter's life.
Disclaimer: I own Polades, Uncle Harnon, Aunt Melunia, Adley, and Merry. Everything that resembles Harry Potter is JKR's. Everything that resembles marching band is not mine, though I sometimes wish it was.
Chapter One
The town of Polades, Maryland, was one of those towns where nothing eventful ever happens. Sure, all of the Polades-dwellers were happy enough, but they would never be known outside the city boundaries. Their newspaper, The Polades News, had been established for the sole purpose of printing birth, death, and classified notices. Yes, life in Polades was quiet and peaceful. Their athletic teams were something they could all be proud of, and everyone in their town was pretty athletic.
One day, everything in Polades changed. In the darkness of the night, a baby was dropped on the doorstep of the football coach (who was married to the softball coach and having an affair with the cheerleading coach and the girls' basketball coach). In order to boost his public image, the football coach took the child in, but raised her in a little cabinet under the sink. The football and softball coaches would find themselves busy raising their field-hockey/rugby star of a daughter and more than glad to have another girl around to cook, clean, and generally stay out of their way. There was something odd about this child, though; she wasn't happy playing sports and walking around making peculiar noises with her lips.
Only the softball coach knew what was really going on; the child who had been dropped on the doorstep was her niece, her sister's child. In that sister was a secret the softball coach prayed nightly no one in Polades would ever find out. One thing was for sure; the girl could never find out about her history.
~*~Eleven years later~*~
Merry Chotter woke up with a start as she heard her cousin Adley turn on the sink to fill up her water bottle for the day's game. Merry was sick of Adley, her family, and the many sports teams that were always over at the house, but, of course, she had no say in anything.
Adley started kicking the door to the cabinet where Merry had been semi- happily sleeping. "Chotter! Get up! I've got a game in an hour and I need a good breakfast! Mom and Dad say it's your turn to cook!"
*Of course it's my turn to cook,* Merry thought sarcastically. *Is it ever anyone else's?* She slowly opened the creaking cabinet door and climbed out, uncoiling her cramped body and stretching out all of the kinks. As she started to mix pancake batter for a nice carbohydrate-full breakfast, her Uncle Harnon and Aunt Melunia came out into the kitchen, flexing their muscles and talking loudly.
"So, Addlums, you ready for your big match-up today?" Uncle Harnon asked. "State competition is a big event for a seventh-grader, you realize. I'm proud of you for making it; this really shows that all the hard work you put in to make Varsity really paid off."
*Paid off is right,* Merry said to herself. *I'm sure that hefty donation to the PMS Athletic Fund helped just a tad. It didn't hurt, for sure, since it was really a donation to yourself!*
"Addy, I'm so proud of you!" Aunt Melunia crooned. "I couldn't have asked for a better daughter!"
"Yeah," Adley replied, "it's a good thing I didn't turn out like Merry!"
"Now, Adley," reprimanded Uncle Harnon in a voice that wasn't really serious at all. "Even if what you say is true…"
"I should wait until the person I'm talking about it out of earshot," Adley finished like a perfect daughter.
Merry grimaced as she piled food on plates for her aunt, uncle, and cousin. How sickening could this family get?
"That's right, my girl!" Uncle Harnon praised. His voice turned suddenly to strongly resembling a bark. "Where's my food, Chotter?"
"Coming, Uncle Harnon, sir," Merry replied, trembling. She brought the meal to the table and set down the three heaping plates.
"Next time, work faster!" Aunt Melunia commanded. "There's some old Smart Start in the pantry for you."
* Joy in the morning! * Merry thought to herself, but dared not say anything. She got the cereal box out of the pantry and poured a serving in her cracked bowl.
"Adley, after your game, we have a lovely surprise for you!" Uncle Harnon told his daughter in an excited voice. "We're going to go to the zoo!"
"The ZOO?" Adley moaned. "We went there LAST year after my State game, PLUS to the mall to get some new equipment!" Her voice was close to a scream.
"Now, now, honey," Aunt Melunia intervened, "what your daddy MEANS to say is that we're going to the zoo, and the mall, AND Chez Paulo," she named the ritziest restaurant within an hour of Polades, "and then we'll go buy your whole team new uniforms!"
"Okay," Adley half-whispered.
Uncle Harnon turned to address Merry. "You'll have to come with us, girl," he said abrasively. "We can't leave you with any of the neighbors because they don't want you any more, and it's dangerous to leave you in this house alone." He lowered his voice. "But none of that funny stuff, okay?"
"Yes, sir," Merry replied, afraid to contradict him.
"Good."
And so began the wondrous day that would be the turning point in Merry Chotter's life.