Until the very End - [Harry Potter xF!Oc]

January-July 2002

Mel entered the familiar dark room and walked right through the door in front of her. She'd been assigned to the testing department. Mr Greengrass believed she'd be of use but she wasn't allowed to try anything yet. Not until she had "one of her brilliant ideas".

Mr Greengrass didn't know her that well, more importantly, not even Mel was sure she'd ever had a brilliant idea in her life. Not the kind he was expecting of her, anyway.

That morning she found her boss talking to a young man, he had his back turned to her, but she assumed that had to be her coworker, she remembered two Unspeakables had retired, therefore two had to go in.

"Miss Dumbledore, come here for a moment," Mr Greengrass welcomed her.

As soon as she was close enough she recognized the man a tug of excitement made her gasp. "Erick!"

Her friend smiled. "Surprised?"

"Yeah!" She laughed. "Are you going to work here?"

Erick nodded. "Mr Greengrass heard about us and what a good team we are, and he wants to see it for himself."

"I assume Daphne was the one who told you all about it, Mr Greengrass?" Mel grinned.

"Well, if what she told me has any bit of truth, I reckon you two are the right fit for this department," the man said.

"We won't disappoint, Sir," Erick shook hands with him. 

"I hope so, Mr Flint," he nodded shortly at her. "Give our new man the tour, will you? I'll see you later."

Once Mr Greengrass left, Mel and Erick shared a look and she let out a short squeal, the young woman wrapped her arms around him and squeezed tight. "An Unspeakable!" She exclaimed. "You just had to prove you're as smart as me, huh?"

"I don't need to, everyone knows that," he smirked. "Why do you think I got hired?"

"You bribed them, certainly," she teased, grabbing his wrist and pulling him along. "Come, I'll show you around..."

***

"Can't say I'm surprised," Ron told them once Erick and Mel joined to have lunch with him, Harry and Hermione. "You two were always doing your own plans outside ours. Remember when he stole Pansy's hair?"

"He never lets me forget it."

"And when they were the school's committee? You did a wonderful job then," Hermione mentioned.

"Yes, Erick enjoyed getting on my nerves," Harry raised a brow. "Flirting with Mel and setting her up with his cousin..."

"It worked, didn't it? You guys ended up together that year, and you would've stayed that way hadn't you been a twat," Erick replied.

"The point is that we work well together," Mel intervened. "Knowledge was never a conflict between us, was it? You used to help me figure things out and I taught you new things."

"Absolutely," Erick replied. "I believe that we're going to make some big findings, Miss."

She smiled, although her chest tightened at the thought. What would her "brilliant idea" be? 

__________________

Regulus continued to hate Harry. The young man didn't know how to fix it, and he didn't want to tell Mel. She was busy with the wedding preparations as much as he was and adding "your brother hates me" to the list sounded a bit unfair.

He had to tell her, though, one day Regulus couldn't stand it any more and ran up to his sister crying. "Don't be a wife!" He pleaded. "You'll get older, and you'll have grey hair— and you won't play with me anymore!"