I felt like a criminal, about to hear the death sentence.
I would've preferred if they had screamed at me, to be honest. The silence, the waiting, the disappointment on their faces - it was the worst.
"I am very disappointed with you, Melanie," came grandpa's deep voice, as he shook his head slowly.
"Why would you sneak out, Melanie?" grandma wanted to know, as she leaned forward in her seat. "What made you act like that? Do you realize how worried we all were?"
"Well," I began, taking a deep breath. I heard Mr T sigh, almost expecting my next move. "If it wasn't for him," I said, pointing an accusing finger at Sirius, who stood in the corner - completely comfortable. "I wouldn't have gone bonkers and snuck out in the first place!"
"Right," Sirius snorted, his arms folded. "Because you were such a big fan of rules before that, right?"
"Your rules suck," I shot at him, my eyes narrowed. "And let me inform you," I told the elders. "That I was with Daniel - totally and utterly safe, right?"
Another silence stretched between my grandparents, as they exchanged glances. Finally, grandpa sighed, shaking his head again. "You know we adore that kid," he began slowly, glancing at grandma, who pursed her lips.
"But we don't think that he... he..." she said, searching for the right words.
"Is very suitable company for you at the time being," grandpa finished carefully.
I stared at them, utterly shocked. "What?"
"We think you should keep a low profile for the time being," grandpa suggested. "We've been discussing it a bit lately, actually..."
"'We'?" I demanded, clutching my hands into tight fists in my lap. "'WE!?'"
"We - your grandparents, Chuck, and myself," Sirius put in, smirking at me.
"Chuck?" I hissed, glaring at Mr T, who blushed, and avoided my glare.
He never let me use nicknames.
"Nickname from Hogwarts times," he muttered.
"Anyway," grandpa said, trying to get back to the point. "We've come to the solution that you should move to the cabin upnorth."
I stared at them, my mouth wide open.
No.
Oh no.
Oh no, no, no, NO!
NOT UPNORTH - ANYTHING BUT THAT!
"No," I said, standign up to protest. "You can't do this to me, you can't just--"
"We're leaving the day after tomorrow," Sirius said, already strutting out of the room. "Sir," he nodded to grandpa, making his retreat.
"'WE'!?" I screamed.
"Well, of course you and your bodyguard, m'dear," grandma said, blinking in astonishment at my reaction.
"WHAT THE--"
"Tea, Miss Melanie?" Mr T chirped in, holding forward a small silvery tray with tea on it.
This was his subtle way of censoring any rudeness from my part.
"I--"
"End of discussion," grandpa said, his tone finalizing the subject.
It was no point of making a fuss about it - I had already lost the battle. I had probably lost the battle the moment I had walked into the room.
So instead of objecting, I put on the best martyr-look I could muster, and stormed out. I heard Mr T hurry after me, the tea tray clinking audibly as he tried to catch up with me.
"Miss Melanie!" he called, as I stomped up the stairs, shaking with fury. "Miss Melanie, wait!"
I stopped, and looked around at him. I flinched, as I looked down at his anxious face; there were rare moments like this one, when I suddenly would remember the young and awkward Charlie Tyler at the age of 15. Even if he was my senior by many years, I had helped him a lot with the details no one really cared about - but it made him look good in my grandparents' eyes. When we were alone, he played games with me, and taught me how to do magic tricks - you know, like Muggles?
Back then, he would often look anxious - like now - almost begging me to reconsider whatever I was thinbking about doing - like now.
"Chill, Mr T," I told him, mustering out a smile. "You're going to get prematurely old if you stress like that!"
"Have some tea, atleast," he said after a moment, admitting his defeat.
I pursed my lips, as I slowly reached for the tiny cup with tea. I took a sip, and sighed. "You'll never deny anything from me, will you?"
"A lady's happiness is the most important thing," he said quietly, sighing. "I wish I would've been more stern with you, though..."
I raised my eyebrows at his comment, speechless. I slowly put the cup back on the tray he held, and came down one step. "Charlie," I said, watching him react with a startle as I used his first name. "What are you talking about?"
"If I had thought about your well-being more than about your happiness," he said seriously, gazing right up at me. "The situation would be different, I think."
"What--"
"It's late, Miss," he said quickly, turning around. "Sleep well, Miss."
I watched him disappear in the direction of the kitchen, his words echoing in my head.
Now even Mr T had lost it.
Sirius Black would have a lot to answer to.
~ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ~
I wheeled to my room to get my wand, but froze as soon as I saw Sirius Black - Satan himself - throw random clothes in a small backpack.
There are two things I hate most in the world; one - someone touching my stuff without my permission, and two - someone who has no fashion sense at all, and then the same fashion senseless dimwit PACKING MY SUITCASE WITH MY CLOTHES.
"Just what do you think you're doing!?" I roared, shaking with anger.
"Packing," he said simply.
I was blinded by pure rage. I lunged myself forward, ready to strangle him with my own hands. Of course, Sirius Black being Sirius Black, was faster. He almost lazily moved to the side, making me fall on my face on the bed. I wrestled with myself to get up, as Sirius sighed loudly, and continued with the packing.
"I don't care," I began, my voice shaking. "If you're my bodyguard, or personal trainer, or whatever!" I hissed, frustrated at how easily my thoughts sprinted off on their own. Sirius stopped packing, and turned to gaze at me expectantly. "But I'd like to ask for some consideration, and respect, for my individual privacy! It's a basic human right!"
Sirius blinked, before snorting. "Being the Minister of Magic's granddaughter, you have no privacy... Miss!"
He threw another set of shirts in the backpack, and closing it smoothly. He picked it up, and threw it under the bed. With a smirk, he left the room.
"OI!" I called after him, stunned. "Where d'you think you're going, huh!? You think you can just walk away!?"
"Yes!" he said, turning around. "Get some sleep - we have a long day tomorrow."
ARGH!
"I HATE YOU!" I screeched after him, feeling like a little child.
But he was already gone.
Well, he had a whole other thing coming if he expected me to happily follow his orders and join him on a trip upnorth - LIKE HELL I WOULD!
I would rather be fed alive to an angry herd of Hippogriffs.
~ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ~
I was restless that night.
I simply couldn't get sleep. I kept tossing and turning in my bed, beating my pillows to make them more comfortable - but something was wrong. At first - of course - I blamed Sirius Black for existing, and prancing all over my perfectly-fine-until-now-life, and ruining it for me. Then, I realized I was hungry.
Quietly, I got up, and tip-toed to the door. As I reached for it, I froze. I remained frozen, my hand on the doorknob, as I frowned with concentration. There was teeny, tiny sound, that just wasn't right. Carefully, I pressed my ear against the door, and listened.
Suddenly, someone grabbed me around my waist, and as I was about to shriek, my mouth was covered, and my body was wheeled away from the door. My heart was about to explode out of terror, until I heard a familiar, deep voice hiss in my ear. "Be - very - quiet."
It was Sirius.
I closed my eyes in relief, trying to clam down. Was this another sick test or something? Scare Mel Shitless? Well, mission accomplished!
"They're here," he whispered, eyeing the door intently. He glanced at my pale face, raising one eyebrow. "Can you stay quiet?" he asked mockingly.
I glared at him, and waited until he removed his hand from my mouth. "WHAT--"
Sirius shoved me quietly against the wall, one arm across my chest, pressed against my jaw so that I couldn't utter a word. He looked terrifying, and serious - almost like some kind of monster. I stared at him with wide eyes, his face only inches rom my own.
"Listen to me carefully, Mel," he said, and I blinked. "I need you to do exactly what I say, okay? This is not a test, this is not an excercise. This is a real situation. Behind that door," he said, as my eyes flitted towards my bedroom door. "Is fenrir Greyback - you've heard of him, haven't you? Just a minute ago, you were ten seconds away from being his late night supper. Downstairs seven Death Eaters are about to attack. I'm here to take you away, and hopefully, not let them know their plan has failed."
"What about my... my... my grandparents?" I whispered, feeling tears burn my eyes, as the real fear took me over. "Are they--"
"They're safe," Sirius assured me, slowly releasing me. "As far as I know, the Detah Eaters think everyone's fast asleep. It's strange of them to attack so quietly..." he said, saying the last part more to himself than to me.
"What should I do?" I asked him, sniffling.
Sirius seemed to snap back from his thoughts, and turned his attention back to me again. For a moment, he looked shocked as the tears rolled down my cheeks. "I... um... we should leave," he said quietly, awkwardly putting a hand on my shoulder. "It'll be okay... you'll be safe, I promise."
I nodded once, biting my lip. He walked over to my bed, pulling out his wand, and aimed it at the door.
"The last thing they expect is for us to knwo they're here - or to actually escape right through them," he said, sneering. "Mel," he said, trying to get my attention. I quickly hurried to stand next to him, giving him a helpless look. I had never in my life been in this kind of situation. "You have your wand?" I nodded, pulling it out. "Good. Don't be scared to use it. Every hex, jinx or spell you know - use them. Don't think, just do. But..." he said, glancing at the door. "More importantly - run. Run, as fast as you can. When I tell you to run, you run, okay?"
"I run," I repeated with a nod. I faced the door, crouching a little, as if to preparing myself to sprint off. I looked at him, frowning. "What about you?"
Sirius shot me a look of disbelief, as if he couldn't comprehend the fact that I had actually asked such an idiotic question. "Don't worry about me - you're the one who will most likely fail!"
Even at such a situation, he could joke? Infuriating.
"Ready?" he siad, clearing his throat.
I remained quiet, staring at the door. This was it? He wanted me to run, run right through the enemy lines?
Right.
"Ready!?"
I snapped out of my thoughts, and found an annoyed Sirius stare at me. "Yes!" I hissed back.
"One... two..." Sirius counted, as he raised his wand. "RUN!"
I took off, right towards the closed door.
"EXPULSO!"
I felt something swish right past me, and hit the door. I closed my eyes, duck my head, as I continued to sprint forward. A loud explosion boomed, and a wave of resistance hit me, making me almost lose my balance. I looked up just in time to see the door gone, and thick smoke float everywhere. Just before it was too late, I noticed someone sprawled on the floor, and I jumped over the limbs that would've tripped me. I hurried along, hearing Sirius right behind me.
"RUN FASTER, DAMN IT!"
I cursed under my breath, as I barrelled down the stairs. The moment I appeared, a wave of different spells were sent towards me. I duck again, and kept running, my only goal to reach the front door.
"EXPULSO!" I heard Sirius roar. "EXPULSO!"
Several loud explosions took place everywhere around me, creating more smoke and fire behind us.
"MELANIE!" someone screamed, and I got quick glance of my grandma through the thick smoke.
I made a move to wheel toward her, but Sirius shoved me int he other direction. "NO TIME!" he screamed.
I looked over my shoulder, and saw one of the Death Eaters aim their wand directly at Sirius's back. I came to a stop, wheeled around, and raised my own wand.
"SECTUMSEMPRA!" I called out.
It flew right past Sirius' head, hitting the Death Eater straight in the chest. I had no time to feel triumph over my trick, before Sirius grabbed me around my waist, practically dragging me with him out from the house.
We ran across the lawn, breathing heavily, before an explosion - one so much stronger than the ones from before - echoed in the night. I came to a full stop, turning around to stare at the house collapsing down in flames.
"N-no..." I whispered, my throat thick and dry. "NO! NO! NOOOOOOOOOO!"
As I threw myself back towards the house, Sirius locked both of his arms around my waist, holding me easily back.
"THEY'RE STILL IN THERE! I SAW THEM! I SAW THEM, I SAW THEM WITH MY OWN EYES, I SAW THEM!" I cried, kicking and screaming against his iron-hold.
"LET IT GO! IT'S TOO LATE!" Sirius screamed back at me.
"LET GO OF ME, YOU MISERABLE ASSHOLE!"
A jolt threw me on the ground, and Sirius threw himself on top of me. He easily pinned my hands above my head, as I wrestled against his grip. He calmly held me pinned down, letting me thrash myself against him as much as I could. Soon enough, all my strength and energy were used, and I could do nothing else but sob hysterically.
"Mel," he said, his voice somewhat far away. "Mel? Can you hear me? Mel!"
I opened my eyes, looking up at him through the tears. It had started to rain, but I couldn't even feel it. The only way I knew this was the fact that Sirius' dark hair was drenched of water, and the water was running down his face, which sported a neat cut - when had that happened?
"We need to move on," he told me firmly, trying to catch my attention. "Do you hear me? We have to move! Your grandparents got me to keep you safe, damn it, and I sure as hell will not leave you here to die, not on my watch!"
He was back on his feet, and scooped me up his arms. I didn't even struggle against it this time, but let him carry me. He took off running, and I wondered where he got the strength from to carry me after all this.
Before I knew it, I closed my eyes, and began to cry again. My grandparents were probably dead, I had no one left - I was all alone.
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