Mellilla

Chapter Seven

Stepping out of the dingy pub and through the familiar archway Mel quickly tucked her beige sweater into her skirt that was accented with a slim brown belt. Looking down she quickly made sure her boot laces were tied and her tan legwarmers hadn't fallen down her legs before shrugging on her black wizard robes which had a pattern of small silver swirls all over the fabric.

With her head high and back straight Mel made her way through Hogsmeade with straying eyes switching to every shop that piqued her interest, which was almost all of them. [Literally me]

In her daydream Mel had almost passed the very shop she'd visited Hogsmeade for. With a panic Mel turned around sharply and collided with two bodies with a wheeze as her body started its decent to the cobblestone floor.

 With the air knocked out of her lungs she fell onto the cold and hard stone floor with a dazed expression as her head span. Lifting her head the small girl squinted her eyes at the blinding sun and made out two red tall headed figures who scurried to offer their hands to the fallen girl.

"Sorry about that" One boy said.

"didn't mean to knock you down" The other continued

"Are you alright?"

"The names Fred

And that's my brother George".

Mel grinned at her favourite mischievous twins and grabbed the hands of both boys, allowing them to hoist her up off the dirty floor. The 3rd years were quite adorable in their younger years and had a playful air that surrounded them.

Snapping out of her inner monologue the girl responded.

"I'm really sorry about that, I wanted to go into the quill shop, and I didn't even see you, my names Melisandre."

The boys grinned at the small brunette.

"Going to Hogwarts then?" Fred asked in interest.

"sure am" Mel said to the twins "needed to refill on my parchment stock and ended up wandering about -." Mel was cut off by a sudden commotion behind the twins. Witches raised their heads slightly in hopes of witnessing a scandal they could spread word about to other gossiping witches. 

Peeping her head around George's tall figure Mel made out the cause of the commotion to be the clumsiness of one rather large groundskeeper and an unfortunate cabbage stall that stood in his walking path. With a small laugh the girl turned back to the two Weasley twins and bid her farewell with a silent promise to look for one another at the welcoming feast.

With that the girl made her way into Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop, gathering her much needed supplies she made her way back to the Leaky Cauldron Pub before Flooing back to the manor where she told Harry all about her encounter.

Summer had come and gone, as did the twins birthday with the appearance of the infamous Hogwarts letters.

It had been mid-June and Melisandre had taken up the habit of sleeping by the window in her bedroom, waiting for the arrival of her Hogwarts letter. Wrapped up in her fluffy cow print blanket and wearing silk white pyjamas, the girl would leave the window open and listen to the sounds of the night which lulled her to sleep.

And minutes later a scruffy, black-haired boy would slink his way into the girl's bedroom, avoiding the parts of the floor that were creaky and gently made his way over to the sleeping girl who rested her head against the cold windowpane. And with practiced movements the green-eyed boy smoothly lifted the sleeping girl into his arms and tucked her into her bed which swallowed her small frame as she cuddled into the black cat that had tried to scurry away unsuccessfully with a small, defeated meow.

After the 10th night of sleeping by the window the girl had awoken in her bed with the blinding sun in her eyes and attempted to block out the unruly sight with slight disappointment as another day had passed without her precious letter. With an annoyed groan the girl opened her eyes reluctantly and surveyed her room, eyes passing the owl on her bed and settling on her black cat lounging on her desk who rolled his eyes at the girl's obliviousness.

The girl froze before whipping her head towards the small barn owl that sat at the end of her enormous bed and scampered quickly towards the parchment letter at its feet. With the letter in hand the girl ran downstairs to the communal kitchen/living space the Evans family had taken to having meals in as a family, after feeding the small barn owl and giving it some head pats. 

After an embarrassing fall in the corridor that would forever remain a secret, the girl ran into the living area screeching like an owl as she yelled out that she had gotten her Hogwarts letter. 

With practiced brotherly instinct Hadrian caught the small brunette as she launched herself into the boys' arms with a fond smile. With barely controlled excitement the girl ripped open her letter and read the contents with an enthusiastic squeal as her twin watched with a protective glint in his eye. 

The excitement of receiving his first Hogwarts letter had long left Hadrian after re-living his life over and over again; but as he watched Melisandre with a soft look in his eyes, he'd decided that he didn't quite mind it.