A/N: Whoa! I am back and so is Melanie! Here we go.
Anomaly
Chapter 16
"WELCOME!" chorused six members of the Weasley family as Grandma Molly Weasley opened the door for Melanie and Mrs. Daniels. She immediately pulled Mrs. Daniels into a warm hug and gave Melanie a smile that set off about a thousand wrinkles in her face. Her hair was completely white—the only head in the room that wasn't red, and yet she seemed as full of life as the young children and teenagers teeming through the house.
"Hello, Mrs. Weasley," said Mrs. Daniels politely, although she was a little shaken by Grandma Weasley's affection. "You have a lovely home." Though the Burrow wasn't what Melanie's mother would have normally thought of as a 'lovely home,' what with the funny creatures roaming the front garden and the dangerously lopsided higher stories, there was undoubtedly a distinctly home-ish feel to it that made Melanie want to find the coziest corner and cuddle up in it forever.
"Oh, thank you, dear," said Grandma Weasley, ushering them in. "I hope you'll find your stay comfortable. We've put about every charm in the book on the house to fit everyone, and there are tents set up outside as well. Wasn't a Dennis Creevey going to come with you?"
"He'll come later on," said Mrs. Daniels. "I'm afraid he was stuck at work, and he couldn't come here with us."
"Mrs. Weasley—" said Melanie.
"Call me Grandma, darling," said Grandma Weasley.
"All right, Grandma Weasley," she said with a grin. "Is Rose or Albus around?"
"Rose is over there, darling," she replied, pointing to the corner. "And I have to introduce your mother—what was your name dear?"
"Sharona," Mrs. Daniels answered nervously.
"Yes, Sharona—I have to introduce you to some family," she said kindly.
Casting an uncertain look at Melanie as Grandma Weasley pulled her away, Mrs. Daniels disappeared into the party.
In the room were many adults whom Melanie did not recognize, though there did seem to be some who bore very close resemblance to some of her friends. She bumped into Xander, who was in conversation with a breathtakingly beautiful woman who seemed almost inhuman, Mason George, who had just dropped in to say hello and was leaving, and Fred, who presented her with a Christmas ornament that promptly turned into a slug. After she smashed the slimy creature in Fred's hair, Melanie made her way to Rose.
"Hey."
"Hey."
"Why isn't it hot in here?" asked Melanie, looking around. "There's like an entire country stuffed in this house."
Rose laughed. "Did you forget we have magic, Melanie?"
"Oh," said Melanie sheepishly.
"Melanie!" shouted Al. They turned to the direction of his voice and saw him practically jumping down the stairs to join them. When he reached them, he threw his arms around Melanie and squeezed her in a tight bear hug.
Melanie blushed when she saw Rose waggling her eyebrows suggestively, and wondered if Albus had told her about how they'd almost kissed. Judging from Al's pointed stare, he hadn't.
"So, Rose," said Melanie, abruptly changed the subject, "how's it going with Scorpius?"
Instantly, Rose turned pale and groaned loudly.
"What?" said Melanie, turning to Albus.
"They had a huge row," Al explained. "She and Uncle Ron. Even Aunt Hermione was pretty upset. I guess they had a lot of problems with Scor's dad when they were in Hogwarts."
"Well, is everything okay now?" asked Melanie. When she saw their faces, she amended, "Er…at least on the road to being okay?"
With a sigh, Rose said, "We'll see."
"But you still went to the ball together?" said Melanie.
At this, Rose's face lit up, her eyes twinkling.
"Not really," Al joked. "They came to the ball together, but they didn't do much dancing."
"ALBUS!" shrieked Rose, smacking him across the chest as he laughed.
"AL! ROSE!" shouted Grandma Weasley from the kitchen. "COULD YOU COME LAY THE TABLE, PLEASE?"
"Sorry," said Rose. "If we get you to come with us, Grandma Weasley will shred us and put us in the soup for making a guest work."
Melanie grinned. "I like her."
"You totally would," said Al, patting her briefly on the shoulder before leaving. Something in her stomach swooped like a hippogriff diving out of the sky.
Just then, she spotted the cocky smile. "Hey, Noah!" she called. He turned to see who had called his name, and almost instantly, the smile dropped from his face.
"Oh!" cried Noah in a surprisingly squeaky voice. "Hi, Melanie!
"What's up, Noah? You sent me a letter saying you wanted to talk and then I never heard back from you. What happened?"
"Oh, nothing, nothing," he said, still in a high, squeaky voice. "Don't worry about it."
"What?" said Melanie, amused. "What's going on? You sounded pretty serious in the letter."
His handsome face took on a much more panicked expression. "Look," he murmured quietly, glancing over his shoulder to make sure nobody was around. "I-I shouldn't have sent you that letter. It was stupid. I-I can't tell you about it, all right?"
"Noah, you said you wanted to talk to me," she repeated firmly. "You can't have just said that for no reason."
"Look, I-I just can't, Melanie, okay?" said Noah, looking even more panicked as he ran a hand through his already messy hair. "Please, just leave it alone."
Melanie opened her mouth to retort, but was forced to consent to Noah's wish when Roxanne turned up at his elbow.
"Hi, Melanie!" she said cheerily, though her eyes were icy. "What's up?"
Looking intensely relieved, Noah murmured a vague good-bye and sauntered in the opposite direction. Dropping the false merriment immediately, Roxanne seized Melanie by the elbow and dragged her up the stairs into a corner on the first landing.
"Didn't I tell you," Roxanne snarled once they were out of earshot of everyone else, "not to get involved with Noah?"
"What are you talking about?" said Melanie, alarmed. She snatched her arm back from the fiery redhead and rubbed her surely bruised elbow.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about." Roxanne crossed her arms across her chest and glared at Melanie furiously.
"I'm not involved with Noah," said Melanie in a low voice. "I thought we made it pretty damn clear that we were just friends. In fact, if I remember right, the whole of Hogwarts was flipping out about it. So where were you when that was happening?"
Melanie's sarcasm didn't seem to soften Roxanne. Her glare intensified, and she growled, "Very funny. I saw you two just now. You seemed way too cozy to be 'just friends.' What's really going on?"
"I don't know!" cried Melanie, now extremely frustrated. "He just sent me a letter saying he needed to talk and then just backed out of it just now. I was trying to get him to tell me what's going on—"
But she stopped abruptly, for the expression on Roxanne's face had just turned from one of anger to one of horror.
"He what?" she whispered.
"He wanted to talk," Melanie repeated. "I dunno what it was about. He wouldn't tell me."
Roxanne was mouthing unintelligibly to herself; she seemed to have forgotten Melanie was there. The only thing she could distinctly hear was the redhead say, "But then…he must've…telling…about her…"
"About who?" said Melanie curiously.
But just then, a loud BANG! interrupted their conversation.
"Dinner, everyone!" called Grandma Weasley from the kitchen downstairs. With one last withering look at Melanie, Roxanne descended the staircase.
This was certainly news. It was definitely obvious to Melanie that Noah's friendship with Roxanne was much closer than his friendship with anyone else, so it wasn't much of a surprise that she knew some huge secret about him. What was more surprising was that there was a huge secret. What could it be? And why was Roxanne trying so hard to protect it? What did it have to do with Melanie becoming 'cozy' with Noah?
Sighing, she shook her head as if trying to shake the jumbled thoughts out of her ears.
During dinner, Melanie met and fell head over heels in love with many members of the Weasley family. They even kept her mind away from Dennis Creevey, who had shown up for dinner. The huge dinner table had been set up outside, and food covered almost every inch of it. She trained her eyes not to stray to where her mother and Dennis were sitting, cozy and comfortable with only a few inches between them. Melanie was sitting in the middle of the table, with Rose and Albus on either side of her. Across the table was a strikingly beautiful blonde girl who introduced herself as Victoire. If she could have, Melanie would have bet a million galleons that the gorgeous woman who'd been talking to Xander earlier was Victoire's mother. Victoire was sitting between two older redhead men, one heavily scarred and the other missing an ear. Melanie noticed that she kept glancing to the end of the table where a good-looking boy with blonde hair and bluish highlights was talking to Noah, Xander, and Fred.
"Hey," said the scarred man, nodding at her. "Are you the girl Al's always talking about?"
"What?" said Melanie, looking around in confusion at Al, who was focused on his food so attentively, he could have been communicating with it telepathically.
The scarred man chuckled and said, "I'm Bill."
"Melanie," said Melanie.
"Yeah, we know," said the other man. "Pretty much everyone does. And not just 'cause of Al."
"The Prophet again?" asked Rose.
"Definitely," Victoire piped up. "It's been talking more and more about the Muggle who became a witch."
"It's a little disconcerting, isn't it?" said Bill. "I always forget that radical's name, but he seems like a real nutter."
"Enough with the serious talk!" cried the earless man. "Let's just enjoy a nice Christmas dinner. I'm George, by the way, Melanie. I own the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. I'm sure you've heard of it?"
"That shop in Diagon Alley, yeah!" said Melanie excitedly. "I know, they told me!"
"It's pretty bloody cool, isn't it?" said Victoire, clapping George on the back. "Uncle George has really gone out of his way to make it the best shop Diagon Alley has ever seen."
"And will ever see," Al added, finally looking up from his turkey.
"Oh, pish posh," said George, though anyone could tell he was extremely pleased with himself.
"Hey," said another redhead man as he walked past George's seat. "Don't forget that I helped."
"Oh, yes, Ron helped," said George, waving his hand dismissively. Ron smacked his brother in the back of the head.
"Ron?" said Melanie. "Are you Rose's dad?"
"Yes, I am. You're Melanie?" he asked.
"How did you know?" said Melanie, rolling her eyes. "The Daily Prophet?"
"Actually, no," said Ron. "Al doesn't shut up about you."
"Really, now?" said Melanie teasingly, looking at Albus's bright red face. "That's the second time I've heard that tonight."
"Is it getting warm in here?" said Al brightly.
"No," said Melanie, as everyone around them laughed. "First of all, we're outside. And if I remember correctly, there are enchantments on this place to keep it cool."
"Nope," said Al, shaking his head. "It's definitely warm. I think I'm going to go somewhere else, where it's cooler. Bye, all."
"Worse than Ron, that boy is," said Bill.
"No one is worse than Ron," George sniggered.
"I'm leaving, too," Ron grumbled, and trudged away to the far end of the table to sit with Grandma Weasley, a woman with red hair, and a man with glasses and black hair that looked as though it hadn't seen a comb in centuries.
"Hold on," said Melanie slowly. "Is that…?"
"Uncle Harry, yeah," said Rose. "It's Al's dad."
"Harry Potter? Holy Mother of Merlin!" cried Melanie.
"That is not what we say in the Wizarding world," said Victoire, clearly trying to fight back laughter.
"Well, you're just gonna have to start," Melanie retorted with a grin.
"I like her," said Victoire to Rose. "I'll have to tell Al he picked a good one."
After dinner, Melanie and Rose (without Grandma Weasley knowing that Melanie was helping) lugged bags to the tents outside, which had been magically altered to expand for all the Hogwarts kids to fit. There was a boys' tent and a girls' tent, but Melanie knew that after all the adults went to sleep, they'd all camp out in one tent where a total of zero moments would be spent asleep.
"Does Al really like me?" said Melanie curiously, as they pulled the last bag into the boys' tent. "I mean, like, like me?"
Giggling slightly, Rose shrugged. "I honestly don't know. Al doesn't say much about girls. He was pretty smitten with this one Slytherin girl last year, but she graduated."
Melanie's mouth fell open. "Graduated?" she repeated.
"Yeah," said Rose, laughing. "She was a seventh year. You know boys. Al was thirteen, and she was one of the most beautiful, popular girls at Hogwarts. One of the Miss Prisses, you might say. Noah dated her."
"Oh," said Melanie, rolling her eyes. "I most certainly hope he doesn't like me, if that's his taste."
"I don't know," said Rose thoughtfully. "Al's been different around you so far."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know," she said again. "It's just that before, he used to kind of tag along with James and the older guys, but now he kind of hangs out with me more. Well, me and you, that is."
Melanie frowned. That seemed like the type of miniscule behavioral change that some girls in her Muggle school would claim to notice when trying to prove that a boy liked them.
"But that's not the point," said Rose, looking curiously at Melanie. "The point is, if he did like you, what would that mean?"
"What?" said Melanie, startled.
"Do you like him?" asked Rose interestedly.
"Er…no…I mean, what?" said Melanie. "It-I-I don't."
Skeptically, Rose cocked an eyebrow.
"I don't," said Melanie, more firmly. "He's kind of cute, but—"
"EW, OH MY GOODNESS, STOP!" cried Rose, throwing her hands over her ears with a squeal. "Merlin, forget I ever asked! That was HORRIBLE!"
"I'm sorry, what?" said Melanie, a grin spreading over her face. "Do you not like me talking to you about the attractiveness of your cousin? How bright and beautiful his green eyes are?"
"STOP, STOP!" Rose screeched, running out of the room with her ears still covered.
Melanie ran after her, calling loudly, "Oh, his hair is so pleasantly rumpled, I just want to run my fingers through it…"
A variety of drinks were laid across the table, from eggnog to hot chocolate to butterbeer to firewhiskey. Melanie eyed the last one with a mixture of apprehension and interest, until Bill Weasley swooped in and picked up the flaming glass, giving her a knowing smile.
"I tried it for the first time when I was sixteen," he whispered. "And Merlin, am I glad I didn't do it while my whole family was watching."
Sheepishly, Melanie smiled and grabbed a bottle of butterbeer, edging away to where Rose and Roxanne were standing.
"Where's Al?" said Melanie, looking around.
"He's with the boys," said Rose, nodding toward the other side of the garden.
"With Noah and Fred and James," said Roxanne, slurring her words. The drink in her hand was smoking; it was clear that she had simply put out the flames on the firewhiskey glass.
Melanie gave her an odd look, but decided against questioning her. "Why isn't Xander with them?"
"He slipped out to go visit Eden," Rose whispered conspiratorially. "Her family's in Paris, so he Apparated."
"Wow," said Roxanne. "He went to see her in Paris. So bloody impressive."
"What is wrong with her?" said Melanie.
"Don't worry about it," Rose muttered. "I think she and Fred had a row."
"I'm right here, you know," Roxanne mumbled. She sipped on her drink more, coughing slightly. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she was shaking.
"Are you okay?" said Melanie.
"I'm perfectly fine," she replied through gritted teeth.
"ROSE!" shouted Ron from several feet away. "COME HERE! GRANDMA'S GOT SOMETHING TO TELL YOU!"
"Hold on for a bit, would you, Melanie?" said Rose, eyeing Roxanne apprehensively. She walked away, just as Roxanne swayed violently.
"Whoa, there," said Melanie, reaching out a hand to steady her. It was most certainly awkward, as she didn't know Roxanne too well, and she'd recently yelled at Melanie for being too close to Noah. "How about we sit down?"
Roxanne shut her eyes tightly and nodded. Glancing around to see if anyone noticed her drunkenness, Melanie guided her away from the rest of the family around to the side of the Burrow, where they sat in a corner on the grass.
"I'm gunna tell you somethin'," Roxanne said quietly.
"All right," said Melanie. "Go ahead."
"I'm gunna tell you why Noah and you can't be friends," she said.
"What are you talking about?" Melanie snapped. "I can be friends with Noah if I want."
"Yeah, tha's what I'm sayin'," she replied. "Be friends."
"Bloody hell," Melanie groaned. "All right, Roxanne. Whatever you say."
"He's in love," said Roxanne, in a much clearer voice.
Slightly shocked, Melanie stared at her. "What?"
"In love with…someone," she said, and took another swig of her firewhiskey.
"No, you can't just do that!" cried Melanie eagerly. "You've got to tell me the rest!"
"The rest?" said Roxanne, looking confused.
Melanie groaned out loud. "Come on, Roxanne. Noah's in love with who? Is it you?"
She let out a mirthless laugh. "I bloody wish he was in love with me," she mumbled. "He's in love with a woman."
Thoroughly confused now, Melanie said, "What are you saying? You're a woman, Roxanne."
"No, no," said Roxanne, shaking her head vigorously. "A woman. An older woman."
"What?" said Melanie in hushed tones. "An older woman? Like, is she married?"
Before Roxanne could say anything more, Rose found them in the corner. "Hey, there you two are!" she cried. "I couldn't find you. Let's go back to the family, come on."
Cursing her friend's horrible timing, Melanie stood up grudgingly and helped Rose drag Roxanne to the backyard. Dressed fully in black except for an ostentatious red hair clip, and with heavy dark makeup, Molly Weasley sauntered up to the trio. Melanie gave her a surprised once-over.
"Like what you see?" she joked.
"Er…I was just unaware of your…taste in fashion," Melanie commented.
Molly grinned. "I don't actually dress like this. I just do it to annoy my dad. What you see at Hogwarts is who I am."
Rose tutted. "Molly, when will you come around and see that this look is what suits you best?"
She shook her head, laughing. "Anyway, what's going on with Roxie?"
"Don't call me that," Roxanne muttered.
"She had too much firewhiskey," Rose whispered. "I think it was a fight with Fred."
"Oh no," Molly said regretfully. "And on Christmas, too. Fred can be a real pain sometimes."
"Shut up, Molly," said Roxanne.
"Do you think they're going to do…you know?" said Molly.
"I hope not," said Rose, casting a nervous glance at Noah, Fred, and James. Albus had gone off to play Quidditch in the dark with Hugo.
"What? What are they going to do?" asked Melanie.
"After all the adults go upstairs, the three of them go into their tent and—" said Molly.
"Smoke some Willowsden quills," said Rose.
"What the hell are those?"
"It's Wizarding drugs, Melanie," said Rose impatiently. "It's always Fred who gets a hold of them. He likes to do it when his dad is around just to, like, spite him or something. Not that Uncle George knows-it's more like a private revenge, if you will."
"Roxanne!" called Fred, with perfect timing. "We're heading into the tent. You coming?"
"You shouldn't go with them, Roxanne," said Rose sharply.
"Hey," said Melanie, seizing Roxanne's elbow to steady her. "Just stay here with us. We'll have some eggnog, and then we'll go sleep in the girls' tent."
They urged her otherwise, but Roxanne threw off Melanie's arm and followed her brother into the boys' tent.
"Oh hell," Rose groaned.
"Whatever," said Molly, shaking her head. "I'm not gonna help her tomorrow morning. They can take care of her."
"Shut up, Molly," said Rose. "You're going to be there, and you know it."
"Why can't she take care of herself?" Melanie asked. "It might sound harsh, but it definitely looks like she wanted to join them. And she'll be fine tomorrow, won't she? It's not something really strong they're doing, is it?"
Rose shook her head and said, "No, it's not. But tomorrow she's going to hate herself. It's just 'cause she's so damn in love with Noah."
"She needs to move on," said Molly wisely.
"It's Fred," said Rose angrily. "It's him and his own stupid need to be so full of rage. And her need to constantly take care of him like he's her little brother instead of the other way. It's dragging her down."
"It never really looked like that to me…" said Melanie. Granted, she hadn't seen much of Roxanne's and Fred's relationship, but she knew that Roxanne cared about her brother more than anyone else did.
"You have no idea, Melanie," Rose sighed. "It's getting out of hand. Hopefully after Fred leaves next year everything will be all right."
Melanie stared at the tent, her mind marveling at how she had gotten here. A tragic car accident had completely warped her life and thrown her into a battlefield of drama. If being with the Royal Group for a full term had taught her anything, it was that you couldn't become royal without leaving behind serious damage.
A/N: Please leave me your thoughts!
~Maya
