A/N: Here's chapter 3! I do want this to be a shorter story, definitely not novel length, so I'm trying to go as fast as possible! Please keep on following! Thanks so much to the readers and followers and reviewers! You guys make my day every time!
~Maya
Anomaly
Chapter 3
A week after agreeing to go to Hogwarts, Melanie was seriously beginning to regret her decision. Another man, Mr. Monroe, had come to her house two days after Mr. Evengle to give her more information about the school and the things she would need and where and when she needed to go. Mr. Monroe was nice enough, but Melanie found him a little too cold for her taste; he had a standoffish attitude that her mother did not take well at all. When Mr. Monroe mentioned that another wizard would come to take her to buy her school supplies, Melanie was quick to request that Mr. Evengle come then.
He came the next week, this time dressed in wizard robes and looking much more cheerful than he had last time.
"Come on, then, let's get a move on. We're only slightly behind schedule, but if we hurry we can catch the Knight Bus in a moment!" he called to Melanie and Mrs. Daniels behind him.
"Knight Bus?" Mrs. Daniels whispered, glancing at Melanie, who shrugged.
"And here we are!" he said, stopping suddenly on the sidewalk. Melanie almost crashed into him, and then shared a private scowl with her mother.
"Mr. Evengle?" she asked, slightly irritated. "What are we doing?"
"Anytime you need transportation," Mr. Evengle explained as he raised his arm, "you put your wand hand in the air and here comes—"
Out of nowhere, a bulky purple bus appeared on the street and came to a screeching halt.
"—the Knight Bus," he finished, satisfied.
"My goodness," said Mrs. Daniels.
A young, good-looking man with curly hair dressed in a purple uniform came out of the bus and stared all three of them down before smiling widely and saying, "Hello, and welcome to the Knight Bus, transportation for the stranded witch or wizard! My name is Willy Stone, and I'll be your conductor today. May I help you aboard?"
"Yes, thank you, Willy," said Mr. Evengle, climbing up the stairs into the bus. Melanie and her mother followed suit. They both stared at the unconventional interior of the purple vehicle. Wooden chairs with no visible restraint lined the sides, four rows with aisles in between each one. About ten of these chairs were occupied, all by elderly folk in colorful robes. There were two other decks above them, but Melanie and Mrs. Daniels followed Mr. Evengle to the back of the first deck.
They settled into chairs and Mr. Evengle leaned over and said, "Hold on tight, it gets a little nauseating," and off it went. If she hadn't been doubled over begging herself not to throw her innards out of her mouth onto the floor, Melanie might have found it funny how much of an understatement that was.
When Mr. Evengle finally stood up as the bus came to a halt, Melanie nearly ran out of the door, not even bothering to shout a 'thank you' to the bus driver. He definitely did not deserve it.
"God, Evengle," she mumbled. "I am not forgiving you for that." The words came out slightly slurred due to her relief from being off the bus. She would've kissed the wonderful, unmoving ground had she not spotted a small civilization of cigarettes scattered right where she stood. Looking up, Melanie realized she was standing in front of a tiny, almost invisible pub with the words 'The Leaky Cauldron' painted above it.
"What are we doing here?" her mother asked bemusedly from behind her. Melanie turned to see her looking around the street, almost as if she didn't notice The Leaky Cauldron at all.
"Mrs. Daniels," said Mr. Evengle, "there's a pub here. It's actually right in front of you. Once we're at the doors you'll be able to see it better."
Melanie's jaw dropped. "You mean she can't see that pub, right there?"
"No, she can't. There are a few very mild protection spells on The Leaky Cauldron to prevent Muggles—non-magic people, that is—from becoming acquainted with it."
"But-but why?" Melanie spluttered. "It's a pub! Why do you magic people have to be so secretive about everything? Mum can't even come to my school, can she?! It's not fair!"
"Melanie," Mr. Evengle said quietly. "I understand you're upset by this, and it's all fairly new to you. Let's go inside and we can talk more about it." He led them into the pub ("Oh! My goodness, there's an actual little building here!" said Mrs. Daniels) and they settled into a little table by the fireplace.
"I've never been to this street before," Melanie blurted out. "But if I had, then I wouldn't have seen this place, would I?"
Hesitating, Mr. Evengle shook his head. "No, but there is a good reason for these precautions."
"Precautions?" she cried. "What do you mean by that? The non-magic people, the Muggles, aren't any threat to you all! Why do you act like they are?"
"Of course they are, Melanie!" he said. "Can you even imagine what would happen if all the Muggles found out about wizards existing? There would be full-on war. It's happened before, and you know what happened then. People accused of witchcraft were burned at the stake. A situation like that could easily happen again, or worse, with today's Muggle science and technology, they'd take us into their scientist laboratories and do all sorts of funny experiments on us! Can't you see that?"
Melanie opened her mouth to retort, but nothing came out.
"Melanie, dear," said Mrs. Daniels softly. "Mr. Evengle is right, you know. It makes absolute sense to live in separate worlds like this. Though I do think it's unfair," she said, turning to Mr. Evengle, "that wizards are the ones who have to live in hiding, while we non-magical people get to walk around all in the open. I do hope we can find a way to coexist someday." She smiled encouragingly.
He smiled back, and continued, "So that's why the Statue of Secrecy was passed. That's why every magical establishment in a Muggle area has to have some magical protection over it, depending on how private it is. The Leaky Cauldron is not completely invisible, but it creates a sort of illusion of invisibility for the Muggles who come near it. It's only because the pub is for wizards and if a Muggle were to enter it, there would be no hiding."
Still slightly unconvinced, Melanie leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. "Could've built it somewhere else," she mumbled to herself.
"Ah, but they couldn't." Suddenly, Mr. Evengle had a new twinkle in his eye. "Because, you see, The Leaky Cauldron is more than just a pub. It's a gate." He stood up abruptly and motioned for the two women to follow him into an alley behind the pub. It was cramped and narrow, with nothing but a brick wall facing them. Melanie found herself overcome with a sudden fear. What if this Mr. Evengle was lying about everything? What if he'd brought them here to kill them in this little alleyway? How could she have been so stupid, to believe such a thing like magic could exist? She was breathing erratically, sheer panic entering her system, and she was about to open her mouth to fumble some excuse when Mr. Evengle pulled out a stick of wood, his wand, and tapped the brick wall. Her mouth fell open and so did the wall.
"What…" Before them now was a long, winding road full of people dressed like Mr. Evengle, lined with shops of all shapes and sizes.
"This is Diagon Alley," said Mr. Evengle proudly. "This is where you'll be buying your school things, Melanie." She nodded absently, staring at her surroundings in awe.
"Ooh, this is just so cool," squealed Mrs. Daniels. She squeezed Melanie's arm and gave her a wide smile before hurrying down the road herself.
"Oh dear," said Mr. Evengle, his brow furrowing. "Let's…let's go on after her or she'll get lost or…or something."
After a few hours of shopping wildly, Melanie, Mr. Evengle, and Mrs. Daniels sat outside Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, which was now run by Fortescue's son, Harold, as he told them. He was round and bald, with large dimples in his cheeks appearing when he smiled, which was often. Melanie was struggling to eat her ice cream with one hand; the other was occupied by her wand. The moment she had bought it, she hadn't put it down.
"Twelve inches, unicorn hair and yew," the young lady had said. Ollivander's had been the creepiest place Melanie had ever set foot in. There were only two windows, and both had black curtains completely shut. The only light in the store had been from a few glowing orbs that floated around the room. The lady behind the counter had spoken in a soft, almost echoey voice that gave Melanie the chills, and her eyes were a pale green and seemed to look deep into your soul. To top it off, in the corner Melanie had spotted an old, unmoving man in an armchair.
Nevertheless, Melanie's excitement for her new wand could not be suppressed.
"I can't wait to do magic with it," she cried, twirling it around and squealing when little sparks erupted from it.
"Careful, there," called Harold Fortescue, giving her a dimpled smile.
"So, Evengle," Melanie began, "when do we go to Hogwarts? 'Cause, you know, my mum needs to get a house. Oh, did we tell you? We're moving out there, wherever it is, so that I can see Mum sometimes! We need to start looking for a place, though. See, we can't until we figure out where the school is, and you, all mysterious, won't tell, so—"
"Melanie, Melanie," cried Mr. Evengle. "Calm down. You're talking much too fast."
She grinned. "Sorry, Evengle."
"Actually," he continued, "we can go to Hogwarts tomorrow. We just need you to be packed and ready to go."
"Are you serious?" Melanie turned to her mother. "Mum, when are we gonna have time—"
"Melanie, dear," her mother interrupted, "don't you worry about me and the moving. I'll get it done, and I'm sure Mr. Evengle and the people at Hogwarts will help me find a house nearby." She looked at Mr. Evengle with her eyebrows raised.
He smiled and nodded. "Of course we will. We understand that this situation is very difficult for you practically, and it's been strange for us as well. We'll do everything to accommodate you, Mrs. Daniels."
Melanie grinned and sat back in her chair, leaning back slightly. "So," she mumbled with her mouth full of ice cream. "Can we go tonight?"
A/N: The next chapter will be up sooner than this one was, I promise! I think there'll be one or two more chapters after this before the school year starts! I still need an answer to the question: should this be just a light romance, or a full on adventure? Please and thank you!
~Maya
