A/N: A new chapter for everyone! I'm trying to get more involved in this story again. I know where it's going, it's just the issue of getting it there. Please read, review, and most importantly, enjoy!
Anomaly
Chapter 17
Christmas Day breakfast at the Burrow was just as much an episode as Christmas Eve dinner had been. They ate in the garden again, with so many blanketing spells cast around them that that Melanie barely shivered once. Almost the entire family was seated by the time Melanie and Rose arrived.
"Good morning," said Grandma Weasley cheerily as Melanie slumped in her seat.
"Speak for yourself, Grandma," said James, clutching his head. "We barely got any sleep last night."
"Hear, hear," Noah mumbled.
From beside Melanie, Rose shot him a very nasty look.
"So, Mum," said a beautiful red-haired woman in an overlarge, bottle green dressing gown, "Christmas dinner tonight."
"Yes, Ginny," said Grandma Weasley, sounding resigned. "Christmas dinner."
"Will you need any help?" asked Mrs. Daniels hesitantly, glancing at her daughter as though seeking approval. "I-I don't have a wand, but I'm useful with my hands in the kitchen."
"She really is," Melanie piped up. "Every Christmas, she makes the best white chocolate cheesecake."
Ginny, Grandma Weasley's daughter, smiled warmly at Mrs. Daniels. "That would be wonderful. I'd love your recipe."
"So would I," said George.
"You cook?" said Melanie, surprised.
"Damn right I do," he said, grinning.
"One of the only things he does." It was a cold voice she'd never heard or imagined could come from Fred. The reaction to his comment was befuddling, because there was almost no reaction.
"Fred," said a woman with thick, black hair next to him. Fred merely gritted his teeth and looked away.
"So," said Grandma Weasley, as though she were passing a law, "I thought you children would do well to get out of the house and into town."
"By themselves?" said Ginny, cocking an eyebrow. "Only Merlin knows what they'd get up to."
"Oh, Mum, you mustn't think so poorly of us," James exclaimed, grinning broadly.
Mum. Melanie watched Ginny out of the corner of her eye. This was Al's mother.
"You are not going out by yourselves," said Harry, but he looked amused.
Melanie glanced up at him; it was the first time she'd heard him speak since she had come to the Burrow. His presence was strong and vast, almost intimidating, and Melanie was not usually intimidated.
"Well then, Teddy and Victoire will go with you," said Grandma Weasley.
"That sounds lovely," said Granddad Weasley from a squashy armchair at the end of the table. "I'm sure they'd like that, wouldn't you two?"
Victoire and Teddy, who had just emerged, giggling and tangled up in each other's arms, from the kitchen door, looked around at the family members all staring at them.
"What?" said Victoire.
"Looks like you're on babysitting duty, Vic," said Ginny apologetically. "Good luck."
"HEY!" cried the Weasley kids in unison.
"You lot better make this easy for us," said Teddy, as they tumbled out of the Leaky Cauldron and into the cold day.
While her friends and everyone scurried off, Melanie hung back with Teddy and Victoire.
"So you two are…?" she said.
"Oh, we're a fling," said Victoire casually. "I like his body and sometimes his face. I guess he makes me laugh."
"Absolutely," Teddy agreed, pinching her bottom. "Nothing like a good summer—er—winter fling to get your blood boiling."
"Hey, yeah!" said Victoire, grinning broadly at him. "'Cause it's cold in the winter, right? Blood boils to keep you warm 'cause it's…"
But Teddy was shaking his head and laughing. "You are the worst."
With a look of disbelief on her face, Melanie had watched the exchange wordlessly. "You're joking, then?" she finally said.
They both laughed together, and Victoire wrapped her arms around Teddy's waist and squeezed. "Of course," she said. "This boy here is the love of my life."
Melanie smiled. "You're lucky," she said, thinking inexplicably of Al.
"Hey!" Rose had run back to them. "What are we going to do in Diagon Alley anyway?"
Teddy shrugged. "I think your Grandmum just wanted you lot out of the house, to be honest."
"Seriously though," said James, who had also tracked back. "It's not like we're gonna have fun going to the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. We get that stuff from Uncle George free, and, like ten times better!"
"Anyway, we wouldn't go in there right now," said Rose darkly.
"What?" said Victoire, looking from James to Rose. "What do you mean?"
"Vic," said Teddy softly. "It's about Fred."
Melanie frowned slightly. Was this all the family talked about? Was it really that much of a struggle? "Is Roxanne okay?" she voiced aloud. "I haven't talked to her all morning."
"I don't know, James, is she?" Rose spat.
James shuffled his feet guiltily.
"James," said Teddy warningly. "What did you do?"
"He, Fred, and Noah took Roxanne with them last night," said Rose accusingly.
"Hey, let's not make accusations!" said James, throwing his hands up. "She came of her own will. Anyway it's neither mine nor Noah's job to look after her."
"What the hell?" said Victoire angrily. "James, it doesn't matter if she's not your little sister or cousin. She's family. We look after each other."
"That's right," said Teddy smoothly. "I wouldn't have gotten out of at least a dozen tight spots if Vic here hadn't been looking out for me."
"It was kind of a bad move, James," said Melanie. "From what they tell me, Roxanne probably hates herself right now."
But as they watched her, talking with Fred and flirting with Noah (more than they'd ever seen her do), they couldn't help but doubt Melanie's words.
"Teddy! Teddy! Vic!" Albus was panting as he ran up to them. "We've got to get out of here."
"What? Why? What's going on?" Victoire demanded, immediately drawing her wand.
"There's—a rally," he gasped, clutching his side. "Lily—Hugo—stuck in the crowd—"
"I'll go get them," said Teddy abruptly, and he strode off.
"What the hell's going on, Al?" said Melanie, grabbing his shoulder.
"That one bloke—the one who's been in the Prophet for a few weeks, remember? He and his followers are all gathered there," Albus explained. "Looks like he's holding a rally. There're about a hundred people…"
"Merlin," Rose gasped. They moved instinctively closer together as the rest of the family gathered around them, all wearing the same worried frown.
"And Lily's in the crowd?" James repeated, glaring at Al.
"Hey!" he cried. "Like I said, there are a hundred people! She and Hugo got swept up."
"There really are about a hundred people, James," said Noah. "Maybe even a hundred and fifty."
"Teddy's taking care of it," said Victoire impatiently. "Let's everyone else get back to the Leaky—"
But before she could finish her sentence, the rally was upon them in all its vastness. Over the heads, Melanie spotted a levitating man, with a sallow face and bright orange eyes, and hair the color (and possibly texture) of last night's rancid turkey that was now floating in the toilet.
"WE HAVE LIVED APART FOR TOO LONG!" he was shouting amongst cheers. "WE MUST REUINTE! WE MUST REUNITE! THE GIRL HAS SHOWN US THE WAY! SHE IS OUR—"
"Bloody hell, let's get out of here before he spots Melanie," Victoire hissed, dragging them away.
"REUNITE!" shouted the crowd. "REUNITE!"
"But what about Teddy?" said Melanie, alarmed.
"He'll catch up with us," said Victoire, glancing over her shoulder as she sprinted down the road. The rest of them followed, and Melanie felt a jolt of surprise when Al grabbed her hand.
"Shouldn't you go wait for your sister?" she asked.
"Teddy will do better without having to keep an eye on me, too," he said, squeezing her hand. "It'll be okay. We'll get back to the Leaky Cauldron before anything happens."
When she saw the door to the dingy pub, Melanie thought she might cry from relief. They all scrambled inside; it was almost empty.
"Wait, wait," Victoire gasped, seizing Melanie's arm as she made for the fireplace. "We've got to wait for Teddy."
Shaking, she sank into a chair and dropped her head in her hands, mind swimming. The man's face had been frighteningly illuminated with fervor, fervor that she had inspired. It absolutely wasn't fair. She hadn't asked to be a witch. If she could go back to her life before the accident and continued to live with it never happening, Melanie would do it. Without a second thought.
Her breath caught as she felt an arm around her shoulders, fingers stroking her upper arm through the heavy Weasley sweater. She peeked through her arms to see Al's green sweater next to her.
"Where the hell is he?" said Rose.
"They're probably just—stuck," said Victoire, and Melanie saw that she was speaking to James rather than Rose.
"Are you sure one of us shouldn't go out to help?" said Fred hesitantly.
"It might be a good idea," said Noah.
"We should," said James firmly. "That's my sister out there—"
"No," said Victoire at once, glaring at the three boys. "Bloody hell, you three. You think you're just so clever, don't you? I know what you're like at school. This is not school. This is the real world, and you will follow my orders. Understood?"
Melanie gawked as the boys quailed under Victoire's ferocity; she had never expected such a furious strength from someone like her.
"But Vic…" Rose whispered. With a pang, Melanie realized that her brother was also caught in the crowd with Lily. She reached for her hand and leaned into Al as comfortingly as she could.
Just then, the door swung open and Teddy burst in, carrying a sobbing Hugo and holding a trembling Lily's hand, dragging her behind him. Without a word, he and Victoire ushered everyone into the green flames, and they all cascaded on top of each other on the Burrow's living room floor.
Coughing and spluttering, Melanie struggled to stand up and drink in the room. A group of shocked parents, including her own, were gathered at the kitchen table and staring at the fireplace.
"What happened?" cried Ginny, leaping to her feet.
"I'm so, so sorry, Aunt Ginny," said Victoire, running forward to clutch her hands. "We had no idea that it would—"
"There was a rally," said Teddy, who was sitting on the floor against the wall, rubbing the still-sobbing Hugo's back soothingly. Rose moved to sit beside her brother and sank her head into her shaking hands.
"What happened to Hugo?" asked another woman with bushy brown hair. Her eyes were crinkled in fear, her mouth a thin line. Melanie realized that this must be Rose's mother.
"He-he and Lily got caught in the crowd," Victoire whispered, hanging her head guiltily.
"Vic," said Bill quietly. "How could you let them out of your sight?"
"She was great," said Melanie from the sofa, still catching her breath from the Floo trip. "She kept…us all under control when Teddy went to look for them." For a moment, she'd almost given away James, Fred, and Noah, but decided against it based on the parents' panicked faces.
The adults erupted into conversation as Al settled beside her; unlike the night before, he seemed to want to be around her at all times. "You doing okay?" he said. "Considering, you know?"
Sighing heavily, Melanie bit her lip and nodded. "The fact that he was talking about me hasn't really sunk in yet, I don't think," she said in a low voice. "I think I'll be more scared when it does."
Victoire was talking in hushed tones with her father and Ron while Melanie watched.
"She's training to be an Auror," Al told Melanie. "Vic. She's really cool."
"I can tell," said Melanie. "What's an—"
With a bang, Harry Potter stormed through the doors furiously. Again, his very presence sent chills down Melanie's spine.
"Dad!" cried Al, Lily, and James all at once, jumping to their feet. It struck Melanie as slightly odd to see the sibling aura around these three people whom she had rarely seen speak to each other.
"How did this get by us?" Harry demanded of Ron, ignoring his children. "How did we not know that on Christmas bloody Day, that lunatic was going to hold a rally?"
"His biggest one yet," added Ron. "I haven't got the slightest idea, mate."
"Well, someone's got to go and get it handled," said Bill.
"Don't worry about that," said Harry dismissively. "There are always Aurors and other Law Enforcement people on call. I sent a couple of owls and a Patronus—it should be taken care of by now."
"What are Aurors?" Melanie whispered, tugging on Al's sleeve. He didn't seem to hear her.
"Should I go in and see if it has been handled?" said Victoire. "I guess it would make up for my mistake…"
"Don't be ridiculous, Victoire," said Harry gently. "You couldn't have seen it coming."
"If it's anyone's mistake, it's mine," said Grandma Weasley, looking stricken. She spoke over the reassuring protests, "I insisted that the children go out today. And, as our dear Melanie has already said, Victoire did an excellent job in maintaining control. Everyone looks quite all right."
Harry glanced at Melanie, and then turned to Mrs. Daniels, who hadn't said anything so far. "I'm so, very sorry," he said. "Our department should have been on top of this. I'm so sorry that your daughter was in danger today because we weren't doing our jobs."
"All right," said Melanie loudly. She would have laughed if she hadn't been so tired and scared. "Let's all just give the self-blaming a rest, shall we?"
They all turned to stare at her. She didn't waver as she continued, "What happened, happened. The best we can do now is just, like, be proactive next time or something. Let's let it go. It's Christmas."
After a long silence, George cleared his throat. "Well put, Melanie," he said, smiling. "We can all enjoy the holiday for the rest of the day, yeah?"
Everyone murmured their assent, but Melanie heard Fred cough behind her and mutter something that sounded like, "Don't be so sure."
A/N: So I know that was a little bit short, but it has what it needs in it. Hopefully a new chapter will come up soon! Leave me your thoughts. What do you think of this new maniac? What about Fred's animosity for his father? What do you think about Al and Melanie? Tell me what you want to see!
~Maya
