A/N: Alright, I've finally got my first fanfic started! Many thanks to Amanda for introducing me to this brilliant website! Which reminds me, read her Harry Potter fanfiction, Ask Uncle Luna. It's a bit random… but in a good way! Alright, on with the story….. This takes place post-Deathly Hallows, and during the current Ghost Whisperer season. Pairings: Melinda/ Jim (duh), Harry/Ginny, Ron/Hermione, Neville/Luna. WARNING: DEATHLY HALLOWS SPOILERS.
Disclaimer: I solemnly swear that I don't own Harry Potter or Ghost Whisperer. If I did, I probably wouldn't be writing this story right now… If you don't believe me, walk over to your bookshelf, and look the cover of any Harry Potter book. Good! What does it say? J.K. Rowling! Right. The same goes for Ghost Whisperer… I'm not a director or producer, nor am I Jennifer Love Hewitt. I am merely a middleschooler who happens to love the Harry Potter books/movies and the show Ghost Whisperer.
Chapter 1: The Snowy Owl
Melinda Gordon was having a surprisingly ordinary day. She had sold most of the new merchandise at her antique store, Same As It Never Was Antiques, that had come from an old house on the outskirts of Grandview that weekend, and it was only 2 P.M. Her best friend Delia was at the café across the street on the usual afternoon coffee run, and Melinda was surfing the web on her laptop, looking up a local antique sale. Afternoons weren't usually this ordinary for Melinda. After all, ordinary is hard to come by when you can see ghosts.
That's right- Melinda could see, communicate with, and (usually) cross over ghosts into the next life. Sometimes my 'gift' is more trouble than it's worth, she thought, remembering the time she had been trapped underground by a vengeful spirit and her twisted half-brother Gabriel. But for the most part Melinda was able to help the spirits, and the family and friends they had left behind. All of a sudden, she was interrupted from her thoughts by shouting coming from outside the door.
" Melinda! MELINDA! You have to see this! MELIN-oww!"
Professor Payne had come running into the shop, but had inadvertently tripped on a pedestal by the door. He stood up, brushing himself off, and walked over to where Melinda was standing behind the counter.
"Quick, go to any news website and type in "Supernatural Events in England," he said, noticing the laptop, " I just saw it on the news, but maybe there'll be more information online…" Payne proceeded to walk behind the counter, and looked expectantly at the screen.
"Um, ok, but may I ask why?" Melinda said.
"Go on, go on, you'll see…" he muttered, still looking at the screen.
Melinda typed in the keywords, and a video clip came up. She clicked on it,
and was intrigued by what she saw. The newscaster was talking about odd fireworks that had been seen near an old, abandoned castle in England.
"…and now we go to London, England, to hear more about this story from our field reporter, Julia Reynolds. Julia?"
"Thank you, Bob. There have been odd sightings all over the place here in England. One homeowner in Surrey claims to have seen a large, flaming firework dragon swoop down on his home, and when he tried spraying it with his garden hose it supposedly multiplied by ten. Strange sightings of "shooting stars" plague the country, especially in the countryside near an abandoned castle. There have also been huge flocks of owls everywhere, even in the daytime! There has never been anything like this happening since around sixteen years ago, when similar sightings were reported in…"
The field reporter proceeded to talk about something that happened in England sixteen years ago while interviewing a man with half of a bushy mustache, his wife, and son about a flock of owls that had descended upon their home ( A/N: In case you hadn't guessed, it's the Dursleys. It seems Vernon has resumed his nervous habit of ripping out his mustache…)
"Interesting, but why exactly does this concern me?" Melinda inquired as the clip ended.
"Well, I was wondering if you thought ghosts could be behind it? Or, perhaps, something else…"
"Ghosts don't really do things like that. Whenever they wreak havoc, it's usually directed at the person they're trying to contact… but what do you mean by 'something else'?"
Professor Payne responded with sarcasm, "Oh, I don't know…maybe, um, magic?"
"Wait a minute- aren't you supposed to be the cynical, skeptic professor of the supernatural, and doubt that magic ever exists whenever evidence suggesting otherwise arises? Or is that your alter ego or something?"
"Normally," Payne said, moving towards the door,"I'd deny it, but in this case I'm not so sure!" As he left, Delia came in.
"What was that all about?" Delia asked, looking puzzled by Payne's odd behavior. But Melinda was no longer listening. She was gazing up at a shelf behind the counter where a snowy owl was perched, head cocked to one side. "Mel, are you okay?" Delia asked tentatively, guessing that Melinda was seeing something that she could not.
"Um, yeah…sorry. What were you saying again?" Melinda asked, turning back to her friend. She glanced back up at the shelf, but the owl had disappeared.
All of a sudden, they both heard the breaking of glass in the back room.
"I'll go and check it," Melinda said quickly, wondering if it was the owl again.
She walked to the back room, and saw an ornate vase lying shattered on the floor. "Why do ghosts always have to break the good merchandise?" she muttered, turning around to get a broom. The problem was, there was already something holding it.
Melinda stifled a scream. Whatever was holding the broom wasn't like any animal she'd ever seen. It had large, bat-like ears, green eyes the size of tennis balls, and a long pencil-thin nose.
"I believe you are looking for this, miss?" the creature smiled, holding out the broom.
"I don't mean to sound rude, but, er, wha-who exactly are you?" Melinda asked, taking the broom.
"Dobby, just Dobby, Miss Gordon, Dobby the house-elf. By the way, Dobby is very sorry for the breaking of you vase. I believes it was the owl."
"The owl? Dobby, did you see-'' But Melinda's question was answered for her. Where the vase had been, the snowy owl now sat. But this time, it had a letter clutched in its beak. It let go of the letter, and let it flutter down onto the desk below. Melinda picked it up and opened it. She noticed a purple seal with a large, ornate H on it. What she read made her gasp.
A/N: Oooh, a cliffhanger? I'll try to update the next chapter soon. Sorry of I can't for a while; I have Drama after school, and midterms coming up. Please read and review, but don't be too harsh-after all, it is my first fic. Any ideas are appreciated! I do have a few good ideas in my head, but need many more to fill in some gaps. Remember, R&R!