A/N: So sorry it's taken so long for me to post! I'll come out with a new chapter as soon as possible (definitely more quickly than I did with this one). Enjoy!
Anomaly
Chapter 14
When Melanie's mother showed up (thankfully, without Dennis Creevey by her side) to take her home as Healer Potts discharged her, she was practically jumping with ecstasy.
"And don't forget to come in within the next four weeks!" the Healer shouted after them as they scurried out the large front doors. As they stepped out onto the Muggle street, Mrs. Daniels threw her arm out to hail a taxi. Waggling her eyebrows mischievously, Melanie lowered her mother's arm, surreptitiously pulled out her wand, and threw her arm out. With a BANG!, a purple, triple-decker bus teetered to a stop at the curb; for a moment, Melanie and Mrs. Daniels thought that it might tip over onto the sidewalk.
"WHAT is that?!" Mrs. Daniels cried, shocked.
"That's the Knight Bus," said Melanie excitedly. "I learned about it at school. Apparently, it's available whenever you need it and can take you wherever you need!"
"But-but I-I don't understand…" her mother spluttered.
"They say it's invisible if you don't know what you're looking for," said Melanie, grinning. She loved magic so much. When she'd summoned the bus, she had been worried that her mother might not be able to see it, as was the case with much other magic. Now, she was wildly relieved and happy, though that could simply be attributed to her release from St. Mungo's.
"HELLO!" cried a tall, lanky, brown-haired teenage boy, jumping out the bus door. "My name's Brandon Gerald! Welcome to the Knight Bus, transportation for the stranded witch or wizard. Please hop on and we'll take you where you need to go!" He gave an exuberant gesture in presenting the bus as though it were the most regal form of transport ever known to man.
"Thanks," said Melanie. "We need to go to Hogsmeade Village."
"HOGSMEADE!" Brandon Gerald yelled behind them at the driver, who was an old lady who looked (quite terrifyingly) blind.
Mrs. Daniels's foot had only just touched the first stair step when the bus took off, forcing them to clamber onto it in a panic.
"Merlin!" Melanie held a hand to her chest to catch her breath.
"What did you say?" said Mrs. Daniels, looking at her daughter as though seeing her for the first time.
"I-I said 'Merlin,' Mum," Melanie replied, confused. "What do you mean?"
"Is that, like, your way of saying 'God?'"
Laughing slightly, she said, "Yeah, I guess so. It is."
Though Mrs. Daniels looked vaguely disconcerted by her daughter's transformation into a member of the Wizarding world, she did not press it further. They moved to the back and settled into uncomfortable, straight-backed chairs and sat in comfortable silence for a few moments. Interestedly, Melanie peered around at the collection of odd-looking witches and wizards who had boarded the Knight Bus. Next to Mrs. Daniels sat a very, very old lady with a red leather handbag and a classic witch's hat with a stuffed, moth-eaten vulture sitting precariously on it. She noticed Melanie watching her and turned a powerful, almost haughty stare upon her; Melanie looked away hastily.
Instead, she turned to the other side, where a broad-chested, muscular man sat clutching the hand of a frail, older woman who seemed to be his mother. There was something distinctly familiar about these two, something that differentiated them from the rest of the people sitting on the bus. Could it be their odd attire? Unlike the other witches and wizards surrounding them who were dressed in worn out robes, these two wore crisp, ironed suits. As she looked at the man, Melanie remembered, with a pang of grief, her father in his classy gray suit and tie, smiling as he ran a comb through his hair before saying good-bye every morning as he left for the office. She lost herself in this reverie until the bus hit a stop and they were nearly thrown from their seats.
"So what exactly happened with the blood?" said Melanie, after they'd recovered, jerking herself forcibly away from thoughts of her father. "They were really vague about it, and I wanted to get out so badly that I didn't bother to wait and ask more questions."
"Well, obviously your case is a special one," Mrs. Daniels answered, "so they hadn't known that anything could go wrong. In my opinion, they should've checked you right away. If something medical has never happened before, it should be carefully tested and observed. Simply safety practices."
"Mum," said Melanie, amused and exasperated. It was just like her mother to blame the world angrily for anything that went wrong.
"I'm just saying," she insisted. "But anyway, the doctor—sorry, Healer—told me and Dennis that the magic in your blood started to clash with the non-magic. Like a battle. That's what she told me."
"That…doesn't make any sense," said Melanie.
"I don't get it much either," Mrs. Daniels confessed. "But it seemed that neither did they. Like I said, it's a totally new thing. That's why they're calling you in again for testing, right?"
"HOGSMEADE!" shouted Brandon Gerald, and the Knight Bus screeched to a halt again. Melanie and Mrs. Daniels picked themselves up off the floor hastily and, muttering hurried and wholly insincere thank yous, scrambled to escape the purple bus of horror. The woman with the vulture hat got off with them, but the fancy mother and son remained seated.
"Merlin, I'm glad that's done," Mrs. Daniels breathed as she planted her feet firmly on the steady ground.
Surprised, Melanie let out a little laugh.
Mrs. Daniels turned to her. "What?" she said indignantly. "Can I not be a witch like my daughter?"
Giggling, Melanie rolled her eyes but squeezed her mother's hand nonetheless. "Come on. Let's go home."
Although she'd been to her mother's new house on the last Hogsmeade visit, it had only been for a brief moment, and then they'd left to explore the village.
Now, Melanie properly settled into the cozy bedroom her mother had decorated for her. In the corner there was a small twin bed with a patchwork quilt laid over it and her favorite old teddy bear. Though one of its eyes was missing and its stuffing was hanging out in various places, Melanie had simply refused to throw it out. The entirety of her Muggle clothing was hanging in the walk-in closet, next to which a vanity table stood on rickety legs. On top of the table, Melanie noticed with a lurch in her stomach, was a photo of her and her father. Stony-faced, she approached the table, gently turned the frame face-down, and pushed it out of her mind.
In front of the window, there was a large desk that was cluttered with schoolbooks and stationary, presumably her things that she had left behind at Hogwarts. Amongst the mess, there was a small owl and a tightly furled roll of parchment, which she unrolled eagerly.
Hey Mels (she scowled),
Hope you're doing okay. I kinda need to talk. Sorry, I know you just got out of the hospital if you're reading this, but I don't really know what to do and I didn't know who else to talk to. My owl's probably waiting there. Send me back a letter soon if you can, but if you need to rest, that's fine, too.
Noah
Upon reading this perplexing letter, Melanie's brow had furrowed as she thought hard as to what this could mean. Noah Prewett was almost always the height of cool, relaxed, and nearly never gave a care for anything that happened. And it wasn't as though he'd been acting weirdly recently, save the one incident after the body in the dormitory, where he'd disappeared for a night and no one knew where he'd gone.
Melanie shuddered as the image of the corpse flashed before her eyes. Shaking it away, she rummaged through the desk drawer for a pen and paper (her mother had refused to make the conversion to parchment and ink) and began a reply.
Hey Noah,
Don't call me 'Mels.'
I'm all right. They say something went wrong with the wizard blood, but they say it's back to normal now. I have to go for a check-up once a month.
Don't worry about it. We can talk whenever you like. I'm in Hogsmeade village right now at my mum's. If you wanna sneak out and visit, I can probably come see you. If not, we can just talk at the Weasleys' during the Christmas slumber party.
Melanie
Satisfied, she rolled the paper up tightly and tied it to the tiny owl, which flew out the window promptly. Several minutes passed before she noticed another letter on her desk. With a pleased smile, she recognized Al's neat handwriting.
Hi Melanie,
How are you doing? We're all really worried for you. Rose says she's never been so bored, but she seems to be doing all right with Fatima Thomas. She's quite nice, isn't she?
The Winter Ball was all right. I got stuck with Alex Rivers—she cornered me and asked me really loudly and I panicked and said yes. Shut up. I would've much rather gone with you.
Rose, obviously, had an amazing time with Scorpius. Don't tell anyone (especially not the older guys), but she disappeared for the last half hour of the ball—probably to snog him. She would've written you about it, but we all decided that only one of us would send you a letter. Again, we're worried for you.
About Spook, they've gotten closer to getting to him. They actually made a suspect list, and they're saving Spook for later. Right now they've dueled three people from the list, and they've vetted them as well—they're really, really good at this—it looks like none of them could've done it and they all have alibis.
We can't wait to hear from you. I hope we do before we get home for the holidays. Obviously, we're going to come and see you right away. Surprisingly, there's been no mention of you in the Prophet, it's all just news on that one crazy rallying radical wizard. Remember the one who was talking about Muggles and wizards living in peace?
Anyway, please write back soon.
Al
Happily, Melanie wrote him a quick response.
Al,
I'm doing fine. Everything sounds awesome. I'm going to wait until I see you in person to properly take the mickey out of you for going out with Alex Rivers.
Don't worry. Rose's secret is safe with me. And it's weird that you agreed to only send me one letter. Noah sent me one, too.
Wish them luck for me about Spook!
You can come see me now! I'm in Hogsmeade. Hopefully you can get away? If not, I can't wait to see you all at Christmas!
Melanie
There was a tiny, sleepy owl hiding under her desk, and she pulled out gently and tied the paper to its leg before prodding it out the window. It took a few tries for it to become airborne, but it took off and disappeared quickly afterwards.
"Melanie!" called Mrs. Daniels. "Come downstairs! I've made some dinner!"
"Coming!" cried Melanie. She got up from her chair and made towards the door, when a crumpling noise beneath her feet distracted her. There was another letter from someone—someone's very neat, very orderly handwriting she did not recognize.
Melanie,
I'm sorry I'm sending you this when we agreed to send you only one letter. I hope this doesn't stress you too much.
I just had to tell you about my nagging worries about the Daily Prophet. Lately, it's been littered with articles about the radical wizard we talked about recently. I know I got quite upset about it then, and I am certainly bothered by it now.
You see, he seems quite serious about integrating Muggles into Wizarding society. Melanie, these articles are making it seem like he's just a raving lunatic we should keep an eye out for, but I think it's something much more sinister.
He's in hiding, obviously, and even though the Prophet says he's just hiding from authorities, I think he's planning something. There have been disappearances, you see. Muggle disappearances that nobody seems to be thinking about. I've been following them, though, and the people are alone—they have no families, and they always seem to disappear out of where the radical is believed to be hiding.
The others might call me paranoid, but I believe he's making you an example, Melanie. I'm telling you this so that you can be informed and be on your guard, just in case.
Please get well.
Yours,
Eden Bones
Eden? With a bemused expression, Melanie scanned the letter once more. Why would Eden be so worried about these vague hints in the Daily Prophet that she'd send Melanie such a panicked letter about it?
She tossed the parchment carelessly onto her bed. The others were right in her book; Eden seemed to be a little paranoid. There wasn't a return owl—clearly, the message had been meant to be simply informative rather than a conversation.
"Melanie!" Mrs. Daniels called again.
"Coming, Mum!"
She hurried down the stairs towards the mouth-watering smell of steak and mashed potatoes, a meal that took her back to her days as a Muggle. Thoughts of her father punctured her calm once more, as they had been doing more and more frequently what with the excitement of becoming a witch and beginning Hogwarts fading. With difficulty, she pushed them away impatiently. Would she ever forget?
The next morning, Melanie and her mother were sitting quietly at the kitchen table munching on toast and eggs. Because Hogsmeade was a Wizarding village, Mrs. Daniels had had to sacrifice regular, electrical appliances when she moved. Despite Melanie's profuse apologies and insistence that she move back to a Muggle town, she had made do; Mr. Evengle had bewitched the magical kitchen appliances to work almost like Muggle ones. Unfortunately, Mrs. Daniels hadn't quite gotten the hang of the magic's enthusiasm for doing work itself yet, so the toast and eggs were slightly overdone.
A knock on the door startled Melanie; she had thought nobody knew they lived here, but the elated look on her mother's face hammered the unpleasant image of Dennis Creevey back into her mind.
"I'll get it," Mrs. Daniels said, jumping from her seat.
Scowling, Melanie stabbed her meatloaf with her fork angrily. She was dreading the conversation that was surely coming, the one where her mother would insist that Dennis was a great guy, that he deserved a chance, and could she please, please give him one? After all, hadn't he kept her hospital situation from reaching the papers?
Through this whole discussion, Melanie knew she would merely sit and nod silently, allowing her mother's pleas to soar hopelessly over her head. She did not want to give Dennis Creevey a chance. It didn't matter how wonderful he was. No amount of wonderfulness could chance the fact that he could never replace her father. She resented him for trying. She resented him for getting her mother to try. But most of all, she resented him for forcing her to think of her father, for opening the wounds his death had left.
"Oh hello," said Mrs. Daniels from the doorway, sounding surprised.
"Hi, Mrs. Daniels," a nervous voice responded. "Is Melanie in?"
At the familiar voice, Melanie threw down her fork and hurtled into the hall, grinning broadly. "AL!" she cried, throwing her arms around him.
"Whoa, Melanie," he laughed, pushing her away. "Aren't you supposed to, like, not overexert yourself?"
"Shut up," she said, shoving him, but smiling nonetheless. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to visit, like you said," he replied, smiling back.
"Are you serious?" she said excitedly. "Well, where's everyone else?"
She didn't notice Al's face fall slightly, because he threw on a chipper expression once again and replied with a shrug, "No one else came. Everyone was really busy, I guess."
"Hmm," said Melanie, pursing her lips. "That's odd. I was expecting Noah."
"Noah?" Al repeated, his voice taking on a cooler edge. "Why would you expect him?"
"Oh, he said he wanted to meet me." She shrugged.
At this, Al looked genuinely surprised. "Meet you? Why?"
"I dunno…oh!" she cried suddenly as her mother nudged her in the ribs. "This is my mum!"
"Hi," said Al, smiling at her. "I'm Albus Potter."
"It's lovely to meet you, Albus," said Mrs. Daniels, returning his smile and offering her hand. "Are you in Melanie's year at school?"
"Yeah, I am," he answered, shaking her hand.
"That's great! I must say, I was worried about her making friends, but it seems she's got plenty now!" she said cheerfully.
"Mum…" groaned Melanie. She made her sound like such a dweeb.
"You're coming for Christmas, aren't you?" asked Al eagerly. "You'll meet all of us there!"
"Yes…with the Weasley family, right?" Mrs. Daniels sounded slightly nervous. "I'm looking forward to it."
"You should!" he encouraged. "It's definitely something to look forward to. And don't worry, you won't be alone. Lots of families come, and everyone's really friendly."
Mrs. Daniels looked slightly more relieved at this, and said, "That's lovely. Well, I'll leave you two alone…" and sauntered back into the kitchen.
"Come upstairs," said Melanie eagerly, taking the steps two at a time. She was beyond excited to have a friend here. As they settled into her bedroom and she sank into her bed, Al settling into her chair, she asked, "Why didn't Rose come?"
To her surprise, Al snorted.
"What?" she said, looking up.
"Why do you think she didn't come?" he asked, looking amused.
"I dunno…"
"Think about it," he said. "It's new, handsome, and blonde."
"OH!" she exclaimed. "Really?She's spending that much time with that Malfoy guy?"
Al laughed. "You have no idea how much time she's spending with him."
Shocked and excited for her friend, Melanie returned to her position, staring up at the ceiling. "Whatever happened with her dad and the whole situation?"
Al was silent for several moments, and then he said hesitantly, "It's…been put on hold."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean she hasn't really told him they're—dating. She only told him that they were friends. He thinks they only went to the ball together as friends." Melanie could tell Albus felt extremely nervous about this.
"Oh…I see."
Most of the time, Melanie felt very comfortable amidst her new friends, but there were moments like this one when she felt completely out of the loop. She simply could not understand what was so serious about Rose dating some boy. He seemed nice enough, and it was clear that she really, really liked him, so there didn't seem to be a reason
"So," she said, a mischievous smirk spreading over her face, "Alex Rivers."
Al turned scarlet. "Shut up," he muttered.
"How, pray tell, did this happen?" she said, still grinning.
He shot her a dirty look before saying quietly, "She cornered me."
"Cornered you, did she?" she teased. "Dominating, was she? Tell me, Al, did you like having the woman in power?"
"Shut up!" he said again, but he was laughing as he hit her with the fluffy pillow on her bed.
With a shriek, Melanie threw her hands up to cover her face. "ALBUS!" she cried, amused. "You know I'm not supposed to overexert myself!"
He glared at her, though playfully.
"I'd have much rather gone with Fatima Thomas," he said. "She went alone. Sad, actually, because I would've asked her if it hadn't been for Alex."
Surprised, Melanie glanced at him. "Really? You-you would've?"
"Yeah," he nodded. "Rose has been hanging out with her, so I'm sort of getting to know her a bit. She's really nice. And quite pretty," he added.
"Hmm," said Melanie. There was an odd feeling creeping through her stomach. "So no one asked her?"
Shrugging, he said, "I guess not."
Somehow, this news did not displease her.
"So have you talked to Noah lately?" she asked, changing the subject.
"No, I haven't," he said. "You said you got a letter from him?"
"Yeah I did," she said, nodding. "He said he wanted to talk about something. Sounded nervous about it, too."
"That's strange," said Al, pondering the thought. "I wonder what it could be."
"Yeah, I mean, doesn't he have other people to talk to?" she asked. "Like, I know I'm supposed to be the only girl friend he has, but he can talk to the guys about it, can't he?"
Slowly, Al shook his head. "I dunno, Melanie. He never gets all 'I need to talk about something.' Noah's always maintained that feelsy talks are for girls. So, if he wants to talk, it's probably something big."
Frowning, she asked, "Why doesn't he talk to Roxanne? Isn't he best friends with her?"
"Honestly, I can't say," said Al. "It's making as much sense to me as it is to you, and I've known him forever."
With a sigh, she nodded in defeat. It appeared that she would have to wait until the Christmas gathering to find out what Noah had been so anxious to discuss. Just one more reason she couldn't wait for Christmas at the Weasleys.
A/N: The next chapter will definitely feature Christmas at the Weasleys. I'm super excited for it, because it goes into detail with all the characters in the now GIANT Weasley family, who are all my favorites. There will definitely be more on Rose and Scorpius, and I think I have decided who I am going to pair Melanie with. Also, the external conflict is brewing and slowly progressing, but will soon enough speed up and go out of control!
Please review! Leave me your thoughts and/or what you'd like to see coming up!
~Maya