Chapter 9: July, 2014
Draco Malfoy strode over to where the Weasleys were sitting and gave Ron and Hermione a long, thorough once-over. Both Ron and Hermione squirmed ever so slightly apparently a little self-conscious in their muggle garb.
"Weasley...Granger," Malfoy said in his sneeringly slow tone.
"Malfoy," Ron growled.
"Have you heard the good news?"
"Yes. We were...informed. Two days ago."
"Two days? Well, I myself heard of it just this morning when I got back to my house and saw it first as a headline in the daily prophet and then in a lovely owl sent to me by my son and your daughter."
Draco started scanning the crowd, searching for the pair.
"So you felt the need to come all the way out here?" Hermione asked.
"Of course. I must speak to my son right away in order to clear this mess up."
"Who are you calling a mess?" Ron asked loudly.
"I wasn't calling anyone a mess, Weasley, but if I had to say…"
"That is enough!" Mr Potter interjected as Ron made a move toward his coat pocket. "Malfoy, can't we discuss this later? There are muggles around."
"Ah, yes," Malfoy said looking around him and spotting Melony and Al. "I heard about your little...celebration. Your boy is marrying a muggle, is he? You must be so proud."
Melony rose out of her chair, guided by annoyance and anger. How dare this man come to her wedding and disrupt it over a silly family feud. She was about to say something when Mr. Potter beat her to it.
"Malfoy, you need to leave now."
"What seems to be the problem?" one of Al's cop buddies asked breaking out of the crowd that had formed to watch the fight.
Following the cop were two more officers who were dressed in uniform. Malfoy looked over the three cops who had interjected themselves into the feud and raised his eyebrows amused.
"How cute," he said before turning back to Mr. Potter. "Don't worry, I do not plan on staying here any longer than necessary. Once I find my son, we will be out of your hair for good."
"Good riddance!"
"What are you saying Weasley? Are you trying to imply that Scorpius is to blame for all of this? Because I can assure you that it was your daughter who tricked him with her newfangled muggle ways."
"Scorpius is lucky that a girl like Rose would even look at him! She took pity on your son for coming from such a low-life family!"
One of the men who had arrived with Malfoy moved toward Ron, but Malfoy stopped him.
"As always, Weasley, you are delusional. It would be amusing if it weren't so pathetic."
Melony scanned the room, looking for Rose and Scorpius and spotted Rose frantically running through the crowds, her red hair bouncing and flying around her. She burst through the crowd just as her father had opened his mouth to retort to Malfoy's comment.
"What is going on?" she demanded.
Draco stared at Rose with extreme disgust. "Pathetic," he said. "What Scorpius sees in you, I will never understand."
"That's it!" Ron shouted, moving toward Malfoy who watched his outburst calmly.
"Dad, stop!" Rose said, grabbing her father's arm.
"Malfoy," Mr. Potter said, "I am only telling you this one more time, leave."
"Or what? Unlike the rest of the world, Potter, I don't bow down to your every whim."
"Scorpius and I are grownups," Rose said. "We can do what we please, and you two will just have to deal with it!"
"Little girl, you do not know your place," Malfoy snarled.
"Look, Malfoy, I am not happy about this either but if Scorpius and Rose want to get married we can't do anything about it," Ron said in a surprising moment of calm clarity. "I for one am not going to tell my daughter what to do. She is smart enough to make this decision."
Rose let go of her father's arm and looked up at him in surprise. "Really?" she asked.
Ron took a deep breath and looked down at his daughter. "Of, course," he said. "I love you."
"That's all well and good, Weasley," Malfoy spat, "but I am still taking my son out of this muggle cesspool."
"Mr, Malfoy," Melony said coming out from behind her and Al's table and heading toward the group, "why don't we all-"
"Get back girl!" one of Malfoy's men interrupted her, whipping out his wand and sending a spell at Melony which hit her squarely in the chest.
Melony stumbled backward into the table, clutching her chest and sputtering. Pain vibrated through her lungs and into her throat, making it impossible to breath. Al leaped over the table and sent a spell at her attacker which he rebounded with a shield charm.
"I am so, so sorry, Melony, are you alright?" asked Rose who had hurried over, Lily and Mrs. Potter right behind her.
"What did he hit her with?" Lily asked.
"I think it was a burning charm," Mrs. Potter replied.
"Melony, you need to close your eyes and concentrate on breathing," Rose said.
Melony nodded, but it was the last thing she wanted to do. What she wanted to do was tell the ladies to stand back so she could see what Al was up to, but she couldn't breath, much less talk.
No sooner had she thought this then a rogue spell came soaring at the group, hitting a champagne glass and sending glass flying. This caused the three women to dodge just enough for Melony to see Al taking on both of Malfoy's men while Mr. Potter and Hermione tried to separate Malfoy and Ron who were magically and physically fighting. Behind all of this, the cops who had tried to intervene earlier were holding back the crowds, half of which were trying to burst through to join the fight while the other half watched dumbfounded and confused.
Melony closed her eyes, concentrating, and heaved herself upright. After what felt like a thousand years, she was able to catch her breath and gulped in mouthfuls of air.
"She's breathing," Rose said beside her.
"I'll stay here, you two go help," Lily said to her cousin and mother who took off to replace Mr. Potter and Hermione who then moved over to help Al.
By this point, spells were flying everywhere, shattering lanterns, upturning tables and soaring into the canopy overhead, leaving gaping holes. One of the spells hit one of the trees and set it ablaze making the guests scream and scatter. Some of the more well-meaning wizard guests started trying to put out the fire with champagne, making it worse, while others had given up the pretense altogether and were spraying it down with their own wands. In the midst of all this, Melony could see Fred and Hugo running around to the different Muggle guests, calmly pointing out spells while oohing and awing.
Al left the fight up to Mr. Potter and Hermione and ran over to Melony. He started fussing over her and saying over and over how sorry he was and asking her if she was okay. Melony gingerly pushed herself away from the table, her chest searing, and grabbed onto Al's arm.
"Finish this," she said hoarsely.
Al nodded, spun and signaled the three officers who were keeping the crowds back. The two officers in uniform knelt and shot tasers at Malfoy's two men who fell spasming to the floor, while the other officer tackled Malfoy, and then Ron taking them down to the floor and handcuffing them. Al stepped over the two men now laying on the floor and and walked over to Ron and Malfoy who were still arguing despite the fact that they were now sitting on the floor handcuffed. Al spoke to the officers briefly who nodded before picking up the two men, one in each hand, and heading out of the room.
"Rose!" he shouted over his shoulder toward his cousin. "You come too."
Rose hurried after the three men and the door clicked behind them leaving a still silence which was broken by Fred and Hugo who started clapping as they nonchalantly walked toward Melony, smiling as if this were one big lark.
"What do you want us to do?" Fred asked Melony out of the side of his mouth.
"Should we confund them?" Hugo asked. "They're looking pretty suspicious."
"No," Melony said. "Play it off as our entertainment. Tell them Al and I love Harry Potter so much we hired some actors to put on a skit."
"I don't know," Hugo said. "It's a really big stretch."
"I know," Melony said, "but I think we should try."
The boys nodded and turned to the crowd who were murmuring to themselves.
"Wasn't that entertaining?" Fred said loudly to Hugo.
"Yes! I think we should all give it up for the New York City Theater Club! What a performance!"
Fred and Hugo clapped loudly and were joined enthusiastically by the witches and wizards in the crowd and timidly by the muggles.
"And, we have one more final trick, don't we Hugo?" Fred said. "The final two performers have decided to exit by floating out the door!"
The two men on the floor began to rise and floated in the air at eye-level. Melony could see Fred and Hugo holding their wands at their sides guiding them. As the men floated toward the double doors that Lily opened and then closed behind them, Fred and Hugo dropped their wands and a loud thud could be heard right outside the door.
The witches and wizards exploded in applause as the muggles clapped, looking perplexed, but nodding their heads impressed.
"Well," Hugo said as soon as the clapping died out, "I think it's time for cake."
He and Fred looked at Melony who nodded.
"Splendid!" Fred said. "If everyone could-"
A huge crash interrupted Fred. He, Hugo and Melony turned slowly to see an extremely large beast with random tufts of hair come lumbering out onto the stage located directly behind Melony. It was so tall it began running into the stage lights, sending them cascading down, bouncing off its head and crashing onto the floor. The monster looked up in stupid curiosity to see what was hitting it and looked directly into one of the lights, blinding itself. It roared in anger and began stopping its huge feet, causing the ground to shake.
Melony looked over at Fred and Hugo who were watching the whole thing in guilty horror.
"What did you do?" Melony asked in such a deadly voice it made the two men wince.
"Do you think they'll buy that it's Sasquatch?" Fred asked, trying to lighten the mood, but still looking sick.
The beast jumped down off of the stage and started blindly fumbling around, crashing into tables and stomping on chairs, sending splintered wood and glass everywhere. People started screaming and running from the room. A few were sending spells at the monster which were ricocheting off the tough hide and streaming over people's heads. Hermione and Mr. Potter were shouting at the witches and wizards who were sending spells, telling them to stop and sending them outside. People were trampling over each other as they all simultaneously tried to get out of the door. A few muggles were staying behind, standing on chairs or tables with their phones out, recording the whole thing.
Melony sighed and turned back to Fred and Hugo. "Okay," she said, "gather up some extra confunders. You're going to have to catch all the muggles before they leave the hotel."
Fred and Hugo nodded solemnly and headed off.
"Make sure to get everyone's phone!" Melony yelled after them.
She wasn't sure if they had heard her, but she couldn't worry about it. What mattered right now was getting everyone out of this room and into the lobby. Hugo was already going around to the muggles who were taking video and cunfunding them. Once the spell hit, he handed them off to a nearby wizard who gently led them out of the room. Melony helped heard out the rest of the stragglers and then proceeded to go around the room locking doors.
By this time the troll had regained its sight and was looking around the room stupidly. Mr. Potter and Hermione were the only ones left in the room. They were standing a few feet from the troll, whispering to each other calmly. Melony sneaked around the troll to the stage and clicked the lock to the last door that was hidden behind the curtain. All she had to do now was make it over to the double doors leading into the lobby. She started tiptoeing across the stage and was almost to the far edge when she stepped on a piece of broken glass and slipped, losing her balance, letting out an involuntary shout as she crashed to the floor. The troll turned slowly and fixed its beady gaze on Melony who froze. It started lumbering over to her letting out a roar and lifting its huge fist. Melony rolled out of the way just as the troll's fist went through the floorboards where Melony had just been laying. The troll started thrashing wildly, trying to pull his still clenched fist out of the floor where it was now stuck.
"Melony, run!" Mr. Potter shouted at her.
Melony tried to get up, but kept slipping on the broken glass, cutting up her arms and legs, ripping her dress and splattering it with blood. She was finally able to find her footing and leap off the stage just as the troll pulled itself free, sending ply boards raining down on her head. She ducked and covered, bracing for impact...
But it never came.
Melony looked up and saw a heavy piece of plywood floating over her head, held in place by Hermione. Melony dodged out of the way and Hermione let go of the board which came crashing down.
Without another word Melony took off, leaping over upturned chairs and weaving in and out of upside down tables until she finally made it to the double doors. Before going through, she turned to look at the room one last time.
What was once her beautiful reception room was now a shambled mess. There were no more butterflies, no more dancing fireflies, and only small patches of the canopy were left. The last image she had as she closed the doors behind her was of Hermione and Mr. Potter squaring off to fight the beast together.