December 14, 1992
"Good morning, Hootini."
"Who!"
"You, that's who!"
The owl ruffled its feathers in annoyance and nipped at her fingers. The poor owl was sick of that joke within two months of having Melissa as an owner. Not that it stopped her from teasing the adorable tawny owl whenever the mood struck her. Bartering with extra bacon as a peace offering, she eventually got the daily delivery and perused through the contents of letters while absently stroking the owl's feathers in apology.
Hootini eventually flew off (with a stolen sausage in the process), and used her now free hand to gander through the Daily Prophet. The daily headline was some boring legislation stuff, but further into the paper had sprinklings of her continued chaos. Op Eds about her Family Tree Prank were still around on occasion, though more subtle this month than the previous. There was even an honour duel between a pair of high-end wizards reported. A duel is far fancier than the usual pub brawls and auror skirmishes that have cropped up, but it did result in the loser (an FTP denier) winding up at St Mungos, so that was a plus.
As she scoured the paper for more fun stories, an excited chatter rippled from two tables over. Soon it washed over to the other tables as news spread.
"What is it?" She heard Jacqueline ask someone at the next table.
"She got it!" Eloise answered excitedly. "Stephanie got the mandrake draught!"
That got Melissa's attention. She perked up from the paper as she and the others turned over to where Egalitaire was now standing. In her hands, cradled as if it were the holy grail itself, was a stoppered flask of an earthly green potion. Whispers murmured through the room as Egalitaire walked over to the head table. Madam Pomfrey clearly saw what was happening, as she immediately stood to meet the girl halfway. An exchange of words was made. Then an exchange of hands. Then, without further adieu, Madam Pomfrey raced out to the corridor.
The chatter grew exponentially. Everyone was eager to hear what this cure would mean. For the muggleborns and Gryffindors, there was relief that one of their own will now be cured. For all else, there was a bubble of curiosity over the story Creevey will tell that seemed fit to burst. Melissa had to confess that she, too, was curious over how the change in canon came to be.
"Maybe we should go with them?" She commented to Domonkos. "Seeing as we helped get the draught and all."
"And because you were there when it happened." Amy pointed out.
"..That, too." She replied bashfully.
The addition caused Domonkos to shake his head. "I don't need to go, but perhaps Merton and the others would be willing?"
"Oh, right, that makes sense." Technically it didn't, as mentioning Merton of all people made it difficult to tell which "others" Domonkos was referring to. That said, either group involved Harry, so the intent didn't matter. Opting to gather the witnesses, she collected Harry, Danny Reid, and Merton -the only ones willing to go- and headed over to the infirmary.
A few other students followed after them. Mainly first years. Notably Ginny Weasley, to Harry and Melissa's awkward realization. That said, the two mutually agreed to silence as they waited for Creevey to be healed. The small group whispered amongst themselves, eager to see the boy, but unable to do much beyond their waiting.
"We should just walk in." One of the first years suggested.
Danny cringed at the idea. "And risk being chewed out by Pomfrey? Wait until he's back to normal before you try anything. She won't settle for anything else."
"How much longer until we see him?" Ginny asked the group.
"It'll be a while." Melissa answered. "First Pomfrey needs to take a look at him. Then I'm sure Dumbledore will want to ask him some questions. Then, if we're lucky, he'll let us see how Creevey's doing."
"Rightly put, Miss Bennett." The group jumped as they turned to find Dumbledore standing behind them. In contrast to their surprise, the Headmaster looked over the group with a grandfatherly smile. "If you all can allow a moment of patience, I need to see to our young patient."
They all nodded and allowed the headmaster to pass into the infirmary. The wait felt like ages. Finally, the man came back to the door, his gaze piercing over the group. "Mister Creevey is ready to see some visitors. However, Madam Pomfrey wishes they be limited to a small number at a time to avoid overwhelming the boy. Miss Bennet, Mister Potter, Miss Weasley, if you could please come inside."
Uh oh. Melissa and Harry flashed each other a quick look, but followed obediently inside. As they approached, Madam Pomfrey tutted over the boy's bed, asking him questions and checking his joints movements all the while. Seeing them from the corner of his eye, Creevey turned towards them, only to shrink back in fear. Double 'uh oh'.
"Mister Creevey," Dumbledore spoke softly to the boy. "Perhaps you can tell us, again, what occurred on Halloween night?"
Creevey's eyes flashed nervously towards Ginny. Then, with a guilty gulp, he recounted the event. "Ginny came to me about two hours after class." The girl in question noticeably paled, eyes wide in shock, but mouth unmoving as he continued. "She was holding a sack in her hand. I'm not sure what was in it, but there were some feathers sticking out and it was a bit wet. She said that she found a wild animal in the school and wanted me to take a picture of it. So I followed her up to the girl's loo and hid in one of the stalls while she lured it into the loo. I heard some weird hissing, and then something sliding and… I guess it was eating whatever was in the sack. Since it was distracted I figured it would be a great time to peek through the door and take a picture. Only, once I did, my whole body froze. I couldn't move, no matter what I tried! I hoped Ginny would be able to unfreeze me; but, once the animal left, she came back into the room, dragged me out, and left me in front of that creepy message." He shuddered at the memory.
The others, too, shuddered at the thought. Not just for what led to the petrification, but to the realization that he had been awake and conscious the whole time!
Ginny, herself, trembled at the story. "I don't remember any of that!" She turned between Creevey and Dumbledore. "You have to believe me! I didn't do that! It wasn't me!"
"Are you sure?" Dumbledore levelled a piercing gaze at the girl.
"Honest! I couldn't have done that! Not to Colin!"
"Miss Weasley, can you recount where you were before the feast?"
The trembling intensified. "I- I don't-"
"Professor-" Harry cut in harshly. "-surely she shouldn't be interrogated like this? You brought all three of us in here, after all."
"What do you mean?" Ginny asked.
After receiving a quick nod from Melissa, Harry rolled his shoulders back and turned fully to Ginny. "I found out about the diary, Ginny. About Tom." The girl stepped back in a panic, but Harry raised his hands in a placating manner. "It's alright! It's not your fault. I figured out what he was doing to you. It's why I… Sorry, but I'm the one that took the diary, Ginny."
Colin spoke up. "I'm sorry, what are you talking about? Who's Tom, and what's a diary got to do with this?"
"Yes, I would like to know that, as well." Dumbledore added.
Ginny and Harry answered them in turns, about the "memory" of Tom Riddle, whom they now know is Voldemort, and how Ginny's memory had been spotty those first two months of school. She'd confide to her diary about her worries, and the ever kind Tom always seemed to know just what to say to cheer her up. Only problem was that she had no memory of how she came to have the diary. It just appeared amongst her Hogwarts books the day they were purchased.
There were also half-answered questions about Harry's involvement in the whole ordeal. A person "who wants to stay anonymous" had warned Harry over the summer break that a student may get possessed by You-Know-Who. As for the diary, it had been sent to a trusted source to be destroyed. As for Slytherin's monster-
"Dealt with, as you already know, Headmaster." Melissa answered quickly.
"Yes. Quite right. Of course." He looked between the two of them, clearly wanting to get the story of how the monster was destroyed; but with neither child willing to answer. "Well, it seems that this mystery has been solved, and the disaster averted. Mister Creevey, I do hope you bear no ill-will against Miss Weasley. My dear girl, you would perhaps benefit to have a calming draught and speak with Madam Pomfrey to remove any lingering effects of the possession. Though I think, perhaps, it would be for the best if the truth of what happened that night, and the subsequent events, remain hidden from the populace."
"You want us to lie about what happened to me?!" Colin asked.
"I only wish to ensure that no one makes any unnecessary accusations. Especially as we've yet to determine how Miss Weasley gained possession of the diary in the first place."
The answer quieted the four students. It was certainly a disturbing implication. After all, You-Know-Who is still out there, ever since Quirrell's demise. He might go after them again if they aren't careful.
"Now," Dumbledore clapped his hands together, "perhaps it's time we move on from this unfortunate incident, yes? After all, there are several others still waiting outside to check on Mister Creevey's wellbeing. Shall we bid farewell, children?"
The three nodded in varying levels of nervousness. Two departed, while Ginny and Dumbledore went over to Madam Pomfrey as per his instructions. Back in the hallway, Melissa and Harry explained to the others that Colin was unable to identify his attacker, but said that the next three could go inside to visit. Once they left and were out of earshot, Harry raged against the visit.
"I can't believe how Dumbledore just… wrote it off like that! Bad enough he didn't want Creevey healed early, but now he's making everyone afraid about telling the truth!"
"Sadly I believe it." Melissa sighed. "The man loves a power trip, and holding all the knowledge to himself is a great way to do it."
"It's ridiculous." Harry muttered. "I should write back to uncle Sirius and ask what he thinks we should do about him." He gave an exasperated sigh, and the two walked on in silence. Near the stairway, Harry fished a letter out of his pocket. "Oh, I almost forgot, Sirius has a list of films we can check out when we're home for Christmas. Interested?"
His friend smiled over the new, entertaining topic. "Sure. What's playing then?"
"Let's see… Home Alone 2 is out-"
"Oh, fun!"
"-there's an animation called The Princess and The Goblin-"
"-Eh, sounds boring."
"A Muppet Christmas Carol-"
"Ah, classic! Can't go wrong with a Muppet movie."
"-and a half-animated movie called Cool World."
Melissa stuttered in her step. "I'm sorry, Cool World?"
"Mhmm. Not sure what it's about, but Sirius said the poster looked interesting."
"...and rated for adults, of course?"
"No." Harry blinked once, then read over the parchment. "He says it's rated 12."
"In what universe-!" She snatched the letter out of his hand and read Sirius' description that, yes, the film is actually rated 12.
"Why? What's wrong with the movie? Is it bad?"
"I don't know if it's bad, but I've heard about this film. It's supposedly the 'evil twin' to Who Framed Roger Rabbit!"
"And that is...?"
She popped an incredulous scowl in his direction. "You've never heard of Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" The boy shook his head. "Lord almighty, how are we related?!"
"Barely, through Slytherin." He smiled cheekily.
Melissa rolled her eyes and started walking again. "Smart ass."
Harry followed after her. "So, bad movie?"
"That depends… do you want to see a movie whose entire premise is a cartoon trying to have sex with a human so that she can become a real woman?"
Harry's eyes practically popped out of his skull, causing Melissa to snicker loudly. A blush crept over his cheeks as he stuffed the letter back into his pocket. "Right. Home Alone 2 it is, then."
Melissa snickered as she slapped the boy's back. "Yeah. That's what I figured."
A/C: Yes, this is the actual, original film rating of Cool World when it came out in the UK. It's since switched to 15, but I find even that rating highly questionable. I actually watched the movie because I put it in the story, and just... why does this exist?