Jonathan's POV

London, 8 PM

"What in Merlin's pants is that sound?" Fred asked, as he raised his pumpkin juice to his lips. George, his twin brother, Bill and Jonathan were all sitting together at a table in the Leaky Cauldron. They had been having dinner and talking about how the twins were seriously considering closing their shop down, when a weird tune started to make itself heard.

"I think it's coming from you Jonathan." Bill said and the three pure blooded wizards watched with wide eyes as the muggle born took out a cellphone from his jean's pocket, opening it and pressing the device to his ear.

"Hello?" Jonathan answered hesitantly, thinking that it was probably a mistake. The cellphone was one of the only muggle things that he had kept with him when he'd left home, along with his laptop, and he only carried it around with him out of habit; he rarely ever used it, as no one ever called him and he had nobody to call. He didn't even know who might have his number, except perhaps some old muggle friends from Egypt.

"Jonathan Stringer?" a deep voice asked.

"Yes?" feeling uncomfortable under his friends' stares, Jon stood up and walked over to one of the restaurant's windows, leaning against the frame as he stared outside. "Who is this?"

"Principal Howard, of Runnymede's High School. I'm relieved to have finally found your number, I can tell you it wasn't easy-" Runnymede. Wasn't that Mel's high school? What the hell was going on?

"How can I help you, sir?" Jonathan cut the older man off.

"Well Jonathan, I'm really sorry to have to be the first to tell you this…" Jon almost stopped breathing, a horrible sense of dread filling his entire body. "Your parents were found dead a few hours ago in their living room. Their bodies do not bear the sign of any injuries. The reason I'm calling is because your little sister Melinda isn't old enough to be able to leave the school on her own." Jonathan's knees were shaking so bad that he had to sit down. He almost felt detached from his body as he continued to listen numbly to the principal's rambling. "I'm truly sorry for your loss, Jonathan, but where are you right now and when do you think that you'll be able to come and get Melinda…" Melinda. Melinda. Oh god. Jon raised a shaking hand to his forehead. This wasn't just some accident; his parents had been murdered, he could feel it, and he also knew who had done it. The killing curse did not leave any mark on a corpse. And now his little sister would be in danger. Melinda. He had to go and get her right now.

"Where is she? Where's Melinda?" he was surprised to hear his voice, it sounded so sure of himself and in control.

"I called Mrs Thorn; she agreed to take care of Melinda until you came to get her."

Mrs Thorn, who the hell was Mrs Thorn? Jon felt his entire body shaking as he fought to keep his head in the game.

"I'm coming." He said before hanging up.

oOooOooOo

Melinda felt detached from her body as she followed Mrs Thorn down the street. The old woman had come to get her at school after the principal had called her, and she'd patted Mel's cheek softly, asking her if she was alright. It had felt weird because Melinda had expected the old lady to pull her near for one of her usual big, rib crushing hugs. But she hadn't. She'd simply nodded at whatever the principal had said, then had taken Mel's hand and pulled her towards the exit. Mel had followed her without a word and now, maybe fifteen minutes later, she was still being dragged by the lady towards her house, probably. But as Melinda looked around her, becoming aware of her surroundings for the first time since leaving the school, she realized that she didn't recognize the neighbourhood at all. This wasn't where Mrs Thorn lived. She tried to skid to a stop, but the old woman was pulling her fast, not letting go of her hand. She was surprisingly strong.

"Mrs Thorn?" Mel asked numbly, her gut telling her that something was clearly not right, "Where are we going?" But the old woman didn't answer, didn't slow down and barely even glanced back at her. And Melinda felt as though she should protest, demand to know where the hell she was being taken to, but she didn't feel strong anymore, she was just tired. The horrible news of her parents' deaths had left her empty of emotions, of feeling, of good sense. On normal occasions, she would never had let herself being dragged to a place she didn't know, but today, Melinda Stringer just didn't feel like fighting anymore.

They turned from the main street and were now standing in a deserted alley. Mrs Thorn stopped walking and dropped Melinda's hand, who leaned against the wall tiredly.

"What are we doing here, Mrs Thorn?"

But it wasn't the old lady standing in front of her anymore. Instead, a tall man who looked like he needed a good shave, dressed in black robes looked down at her, a horrible sneer on his face. Melinda blinked a few times, because surely there had to be something wrong with her eyes. The man had a thin, wooden stick in his right hand and was griping it as one would a knife. He raised it towards Melinda, and he was standing so close that Mel could feel it touching the hollow of her throat. Horrified, she just stared at him, unable to speak a word, her back pressed against the alley wall.

"Now, you know what this is, don't you?" He was probably referring to his wand. Melinda nodded, her eyes glued to the man's face.

"Perfect. So you are aware that I could easily end your life with it?" She nodded again, her head spinning, feeling as though her trembling legs wouldn't be able to hold her up much longer. NO! Her mind screamed at her, Focus Mel! Don't you dare faint!

"I have a few questions to ask you, girl. For your sake, I'd say it was better you answered them honestly. Something your parents weren't smart enough to do." She continued to stare at him silently, her eyes wide and terrified as he smirked at her, her mind reeling. He killed them, he killed mom and dad!

"I want to know where the Order of the Phoenix holds its meetings." Huh? Wow, this was just her luck, the guy wanted answers so bad that he was willing to kill her if she didn't give them to him, and his questions were totally obscure to her. Perfect, just perfect. She tried to speak, to tell him that she had no idea what he was talking about, but the words were stuck in her throat. She could just shake her head.

"Do you think I'm stupid, girl?" he barked at her and her entire body shook. His free hand crossed the small space separating them and he gripped her throat, shoving her harder into the wall. The tip of his wand was only a few centimetres away from her face, as was his own face, which was twisted in absolute fury. "I know that your wizard brother comes here at least once a week! I know you are extremely close to him and I know that you know the answer to my question!"

Melinda couldn't breath with his hand around her throat; tears of pain were starting to cloud her vision. She shook her head again, incapable of any other movement. The wizard let go of her and took a few steps back from her, his face twisted into a mask of utter disgust. Mel felt a pang in the chest when she realized that it was pretty close to how Jonathan had looked at her when he'd left. Jonathan. What would he do in this kind of situation? What should she do?

The man raised his wand again, pointing it directly at her heart. She wondered if she should close her eyes or say some deep, meaningful last words.

You're not a damsel about to be rescued by some stupid prince, Mel! Her mind kept hurling things at her as she fought to stay conscious. This is real and this man is going to kill you! Nobody is going to come to save you today, so if you wanna live you better move your butt now!

"You're useless, then, just like the other disgusting beasts of your kind."" The wizard said. "Avada Kedavra!"

Melinda plunged to the ground as a jet of green light shot from the wand. The shot missed her but hit the alley wall, the stone exploding when the spell collided with it. Melinda covered her head with her arms, curling into a small ball as enormous chunks of stones fell on top of her and her opponent. A painful cry told her that one had just hit the wizard. Good. Hopefully it got him in the head, Mel thought as she struggled to get up and tried to flee from the alley. And suddenly, she found herself face to face with another man, taller than her, with bright, flaming red hair and who was also holding a wand.

"GET DOWN!" the guy bellowed, and when she didn't move, he gripped her arm and pushed her roughly to the ground as jets of light sored above their heads. Melinda could barely make sense of what was happening anymore, the man on top of her was crushing her with his weight and cries kept being yelled coming from both ends of the alley by different voices.

"Stupefy!"

"Avada Kedavra!"

"Protego!"

Not understanding what was happening, Melinda closed her eyes, her face pressed against the concrete, listening to her heart beating extremely fast against her rib cage. She could smell something burning and suddenly it was over and the weight pinning her to the ground was gone. She just lay there, gasping, trying to grasp the meaning of the scene that was unfolding in front of her eyes.

Her opponent, the man who had tried to kill her, lay on the ground a few feet from her, his eyes still open. When she realized that he'd probably just been killed by the same spell that had put an end to her parents' lives, Melinda's stomach gave a painful lurch. Kneeling at his side, turning his corpse over, were two other wizards with matching ginger-hair. Since they had their backs to her and because they'd undeniably just saved her from certain death, Melinda felt safe enough to try and sit up. Leaning her back against the alley wall, she was surprised to find herself out of breath, as if she'd just been running track in P.E. class. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on slowing her breathing down, but it was a hard thing to do, considering the way her mind kept throwing questions at her. What the hell just happened? What did that guy want with me? Is he the one who killed mom and dad? What on earth is the Order of the Phoenix? And what does Jonathan have to do with any of this? Who are these men who came to save me? Are they friends of his? And why the hell do they look so familiar?

"Melinda?" the voice was soft, but it still startled her. She opened her eyes and found herself face to face with one of the wizards who was crouched in front of her. The other one was standing behind him and Melinda resisted the urge to rub her eyes when she saw that they were pretty much identical.

"Who the hell are you?" she asked before she could stop herself, curiosity getting the better of her.

"I'm George Weasley" The guy said, tipping an invisible hat at her bewildered expression, "the attractive twin. Oh, and this is my brother Fred."

Um, hello?(knocks on screen) Anybody reading this? Because I would really appreciate some feedback, even if it's to tell me that my story is terrible and that I should stop writing right away. Yeah, a couple of reviews would be great. Not that I'm begging or anything. Just, please? Pretty please with whipped cream and a cherry on top?