Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
A/N: Hello all. Again, I apologize for the lack of update, but I seemed to have lost these files for while, making it impossible to update. But here it is. There's only about 2 chapters left…so, I thank you all for following this so far.
Chapter 19: The Video
Maddy started work the following Monday, and was enjoying it greatly. Sometimes she even offered to stay for more hours just so she wouldn't have to go home. The pleasure of the Weasley boys' company was better than that of an empty building.
When she was home, she would spend time redecorating her room to make it homier to her. Using her wand, she painted the room different shades of purple, and she turned the large bed into a four poster one like the one she had in school. She even started wearing robes everywhere she went.
Forge seemed to be enjoying himself as well. Whenever Maddy was home, he would ride around the house on her shoulder. When she wasn't, Emma agreed to take him around. Forge also enjoyed rolling around the den floor while Maddy went through her old school stuff.
One night, about two months later, Maddy yanked a big brown box out of her closet. Conveniently, it had been labeled: DO NOT OPEN! The letters shone in a bright colored ink Maddy was certain she hadn't used since she was seventeen.
"Well, Well Forge…what is this?" she asked the rolling creature by her knees. "Let's go downstairs and check it out, eh?"
She placed Forge on top of the box and hurried down the stairs. She laughed as he moved with the sway of the box, nearly rolling over the edge several times, only to be saved by a quick motion in the other direction provided by Maddy.
She entered the den and placed the box in the middle of the floor. Forge rolled off and landed with a muffled 'flump' beside it. Maddy kneeled down and attempted to break the tape with her nails.
It wouldn't open.
Maddy attempted several times, before realizing she had sealed it with Spell-o-Tape, which is impossible to break without a spell. Or, you can find the end and rip it off, which is what Maddy did.
"There!" Maddy said, balling up the tape and tossing it aside. "Now…open sesame!"
She opened the flaps and looked inside. On the very top was a pile of old letters and birthday cards. As she looked through them, she could see that a great amount of them were from Harry. Under the letters, which she cast aside not bothering to read them, was a small bag.
In it, she found a pack of old Weird Sisters concert tickets Harry had gotten her for Christmas one year, an amulet (another Christmas present from Harry) and a small silver plate. For a minute, Maddy stared at the plate, confused. Suddenly, she saw the faded outline of the Black crest. She had snuck this away from Mundungus when he was stealing things from Grimmauld Place.
Maddy snorted with anger and tossed the plate to the side. Sure, Dung used to make Maddy laugh, but when she found out that he was stealing Sirius's (or Harry's actually, seeing as he left Harry everything in his will) things after his death, she had lost all respect for him.
Under those, she found a large mass of red material. Standing up and pulling it out in front of her, Maddy recognized them as Quidditch robes. Maddy had never played Quidditch, but she had made several pairs of robes, each one personalized, for the Gryffindor team, in her sixth year. And a pair for herself, of course, as she was team manager, or so she had appointed herself. Harry hadn't complained. As long as it had had shut her up. This was during his Ginny-phase. Maddy had attempted to make Ginny's too small, but had failed, and actually made them the perfect size.
She put her arms through the sleeves and laughed. She would never, in a million years, be able to fit into what she could fit into when she was sixteen. Maddy had been deathly sick at that age, and weighed no more than 94 pounds at most.
No Maddy chuckled to herself as she pulled off the robes These'll never fit…
Kneeling back down in front of the box, Maddy looked curiously at an object that was very clearly, a Muggle item. As she reached for it, she heard a loud squeak and jumped. For a moment, Maddy thought there was a mouse in the box, but giggled as she noticed Forge, clearly lost, in the mass of scarlet material. She pulled up the sleeve that Forge was caught under, and he tittered shrilly, rolling out.
Turning back to the box, Maddy pulled out a Muggle video camera. She tried to remember when she had bought it, and it seemed to have slipped her mind. There was a single videotape in the box as well, atop a stack of books.
Ignoring Forge, who had taken an interest in rolling into Maddy's knee and bouncing off it, she opened the case slowly. It was not labeled, so Maddy was unsure of what was on it. Her eyes wandered over to the waiting television set where a VCR sat on the shelf underneath it.
"No!" she said aloud, not meaning to. "No…I don't want to know what's on it…"
She placed the tape carefully next to the box, (which immediately attracted Forge to it) and continued to look through the remaining items.
They were all school books, and Maddy laughed as she saw her old comments she had written in them. In an old History of Magic book, Maddy saw a page folded down. It was a section about Morgan Le Fay, or Morgana. Maddy sat in a nearby armchair and read:
Morgana lived with her eight sisters on the ancient island of Avalon. – Wish I had eight sisters…
Rumor had it; Morgana had an evil side as well. She is rumored to have stolen her brother's magic sword, Excalibur, and given it to his enemies in hopes of destroying him.- Too bad Harry doesn't have a magical sword…I could give it to Voldemort…that'll teach him…
Maddy laughed grimly. She remembered when she wrote this. She was angry with Harry in their fifth year, for something… something…something she couldn't remember…
Maddy shook her head and closed the book. Her eyes wandered again to the television, and back to the video tape. Forge had given up bumping into it and was back to the Quidditch robes, which he had successfully managed to get himself tangled in.
Curiosity was getting the better of her, but this time she wouldn't give in. This time, she couldn't give in.
-----
"And now, we're entering the Weasley Kitchen, where we see Ginny sitting at the table with Hermione discussing…something teenage girls would talk about. I'm sure it's not important…."
Harry's voice echoed through the den. Maddy sat in the middle of the floor gazing up at the television screen, entranced. Forge was snoozing in Maddy' cupped hands.
"And there's Mrs. Weasley…say hi to the camera Mrs. Weasley!"
"Hi, Harry…" Mrs. Weasley sighed as she fiddled with something on the stove.
The camera's focus turned and Maddy appeared on screen, standing by the sink, scrubbing out a pan. Her long black hair was almost down to her butt, and had several white streaks.
"Ahh!" Harry said, mystically, "Here we find the most beautiful creature in all the land…Miss Maddy Black! And she's cleaning! Someone like this should never be cleaning…"
Maddy turned to look at Harry with the video camera. She shook her head slowly, "Harry, turn off the camera…"
"No…" Harry said, defiantly.
"Harry, please just turn off the camera!"
"Nah…I don't think I want to…"
"Harry…" Maddy raised her soapy hands into the air and flicked them in Harry's direction.
"Hey! You're getting the camera wet!"
"That's okay, the thing's been charmed so many times, it may be waterproof…"
The scene became choppy as Maddy dropped the pan in the sink with a splash and started toward Harry. There was a strange glint in her eyes. Harry turned quickly and handed the camera to Ron.
"Ron, take the camera!"
Maddy chased Harry throughout the house, while Ron continued filming them. You could hear his laughter occasionally over Harry's continuous taunting and Maddy's yells of "HARRY!" and "NO! STOP!"
They raced into the backyard and Maddy could be seen tackling Harry to the ground, and rolling around. Ron turned the camera so it was filming him.
"Just to answer the question I know you all are asking… Yes, they do go out in public like this…"
He turned the camera back to Harry and Maddy who were still wrestling on the ground.
"Wait! Wait…" Harry said through his laughter, "I think I lost my glasses…that's not fair…"
"Oh!" Maddy said, scrambling off of him, "Oh, we'd better find them then…"
Maddy began to look through the grass around them. Harry, behind Maddy's back, winked at the camera. Truth was, Harry could see pretty well without his glasses. The only thing was, it was extremely blurry.
Without warning, Harry tackled Maddy, who expelled a loud scream of terror more so than pain.
"Harry! You jerk! I hate you!"
The Maddy sitting in the middle of the den floor, burst out into laughter as she continued to stroke Forge absently. She frowned suddenly as the Maddy on the screen took Harry's face into her hands and kissed him deeply.
"Oh…eww…" Ron said loudly, turning the camera away. "Get a room…"
The scene changed, but it was still at the Weasley's house. The video camera, no matter how Maddy charmed it, would not work at Hogwarts. She had tried several times, and it went haywire.
Snow could be seen falling outside the windows, and Maddy knew immediately it was Christmas. Fred had the camera, or it might have been George, and he was going around the kitchen talking to everyone.
"What are George and Ginny doing? Ah…Exploding Snap, eh? Let's see, Ginny's got a four, a two…"
"FRED!" Ginny's voice rang out and she pushed the camera out of her face.
"Fine then! We'll go see someone a little more pleasant! Bill and Phlegm seem to be happy…let's go talk to them…"
Maddy chuckled when Fred called Fleur, Phlegm. It was their little nickname for her. Maddy had never actually gotten into the habit of calling her that. (Ginny had made it up.)
"Hello! You two look awfully cozy!"
Fleur giggled, "Oh Fred…er…George? I am so sorry…I can nevaire tell zem apart…"
Bill brushed Fleur's hair away from her face, "It's okay…neither can I…"
Maddy imagined Fred had rolled his eyes at this comment, 'cause he walked away rather quickly. For a split second, Maddy caught a glimpse of Harry sitting at the table gazing at Ginny. The Maddy on the screen, who wasn't sitting too far from Ron, was glaring at Harry, and purposely not looking at Ginny.
Fred came and sat right next to her, shoving the camera in her face. Maddy did look rather sick. Her now very short, very white hair was tucked under a knitted hat. Her face was thin, and her lips were almost blue.
"Maddy! How are you this fine winter's eve?"
Maddy didn't answer immediately. With a bitter glance toward Harry, she said, in her best Fleur impression, "Just 'orrible…you?"
Fred laughed, thinking that Maddy was joking, "Why don't you sing something for us? Come on, Mad…show off that voice!"
"No, Fred, really…I'm okay…"
"MUM!" He called to his mother, who was sitting in a rocking chair, knitting, "Turn up the music! Maddy's gonna sing!"
The room went eerily quiet. The music was already quite loud. (Mrs. Weasley had continuously turned it up, for Fleur was determined to talk as loud as she could over it.) The camera was still focused on Maddy's horrified face, but the modern Maddy could remember everyone staring at her.
"Oh!" Mrs. Weasley's voice sounded excited. "Come over here, dear…you can sing with Celestina…"
Yes, Maddy remembered. She was making them listen to a Celestina Warbeck broadcast. Fred focused the camera on his mother and Maddy.
"EVERYONE!" Fred yelled, though he hardly needed to. "I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO THE NEXT CELESTINA WARBECK!"
"An insult 'onestly…" Fleur's voice could be heard in the background, "To say you sing like zat!"
"MADDY BLACK!"
The room applauded as the next song started. Maddy used to listen to Celestina Warbeck and knew each and every song by heart. The one she was to sing tonight was "A Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong Love".
Mrs. Weasley clapped her hands together as she heard the introduction music starting.
"Oh, come and stir my cauldron, and if you do it right, I'll boil you up some hot, strong love, to keep you warm tonight…" Maddy's voice, despite how weak she looked, was strong and seductive.
"We danced to this when we were eighteen!" Mrs. Weasley said, glancing at her husband, "Do you remember, Arthur?"
Fred turned the camera to his dad who was peeling a satsuma.
"Mphf? Oh yes…marvelous tune…"
Mr. Weasley turned to Harry who was sitting right next to him. Fred kept the camera on them.
"Sorry about this." Mr. Weasley said, as Maddy broke out into the loud chorus, "Be over soon…"
Harry shook his head, "No problem…"
As Harry and Mr. Weasley dove into a conversation, Fred turned the camera back to Maddy. Her focus was completely on Harry. When she finished, the room applauded, again. (Mainly, because Maddy was a right better singer to listen to than Celestina…)
Mrs. Weasley urged her to sing one more song. This one turned out to be "You Charmed the Heart Right Out of Me".
"Oh, my poor heart, where has it gone? It's left me for a spell…" this tune was much slower for the most part.
Maddy seemed to get really into the song, because she began to dance. With a snap of her fingers, her winter clothes changed into a slinky black dress. She may have been extremely skinny, but Maddy was very developed for her age, and looked outstanding in the dress. Her white hair was partially tied back, and looked very stylish.
"…and now you've torn it quite apart" she pointed to Harry, though no one seemed to notice, "I'll thank you to give back my heart!" the last note was the most powerful of the song, and Maddy belted it out. There was a great tumult of applause after this one, and Maddy blushed. The camera zoomed in on her, and the Maddy in the den noticed that the face on the screen had gone suddenly angry. Harry had not been paying attention.
Maddy snapped her fingers once again, and her old clothes returned. Without warning, Maddy stormed out of the room.
"Maddy!" The camera followed her as she headed for the front door. "Where are you going?"
"OUT!" Maddy screeched.
With a slam, the door shut, and Maddy was left out in the snow. Fred turned back to the room, which had gone quiet again. The noise began to grow, slowly as everyone went back to what they were doing. If they had sent someone out to talk to her, there would have been trouble. Maddy was known to throw dangerous fits. And when jealousy was involved, especially when you're dealing with a siren or part-siren, most would rather face a horde of raging hippogriffs.
"Oh come and stir my cauldron…and eef you do eet right…" Fleur's voice sounded over the group, as she did a rude impression of Celestina Warbeck.
As Fred moved the camera's focus up to Fleur, Harry could be seen in the corner of the screen looking indifferent. With a look from Mrs. Weasley, the camera shut off, and the screen went black.
Maddy did not desire to see the next scene, which she knew was Christmas day. She had seen enough, and her heart was heavier than ever. Harry had not cared about her. Never once did he turn to congratulate or compliment her on her performance. Nor did he look guilty or fearful when she ran outside.
No, Harry James Potter did not care.
Maddy stared angrily at the blank screen. Not really aware of what she was doing, Maddy threw the remote at the television.
Suddenly, the door behind her opened.
"Maddy?"
She stood up quickly, nearly dropping Forge onto the floor, and turned to the source of the voice. Her breath was caught in her throat as she saw the out-of-breath form of a man standing in the doorway.
A/N: Alright all. You know the drill. Please review! I still love hearing from you! Thanks!