𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢 ⸝* 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐏𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫

001: 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

Melinda Potter spent most of her time at a local skating rink down the street from her home. It was a way to pass the time throughout the dreadful summer. Without the warm weather—and the Dursleys—she could skate more freely and comfortably.

She slid on the ice and waved her arms around like an elegant swan. The use of fake snow flurries and her all-white attire made her feel like she was in her very own winter wonderland. The scene around her was painted over in a lavender haze, her favorite color. The owner of the rink allowed her to tweak the color of the spotlights as much as she pleased.

Her hair had begun to fall out of the sprayed-down bun hairstyle it had once been, so she decided to leave the rink. As soon as she stepped off the icy floor, a heat wave washed over her body, and she groaned as her previous energy vanished.

"I hate summertime." She mumbled angrily to herself and wiped the sudden presence of sweat off of her forehead. "It's only beautiful and magical when I'm not drenched in sweat." She quickly sat down to take her skates off, longing to escape the heat.

"You were here longer than normal." Melinda didn't need to look at this person to know who they were, it was a voice she'd heard her whole life, and it brought her comfort.

"I wanted to get more practice before we leave for Hogwarts." She stood up, immediately feeling better as she saw him.

"Well, you have to get back and wash up now. They want you home for dinner since they have guests." Harry said with a hint of sarcasm.

Melinda scoffed a bit. "I specifically told them I didn't want to join in. I thought they were okay with me being a bit late." She said.

The two had left the rink, saying goodbye to the owner as they did. Opening the doors to the street, they were hit with hot rays of sunlight. Luckily the sun had begun to set lower into the sky, hopefully taking the heat with it as well.

"I guess they want to show off the other 'good' child." Harry laughed. "Give the guests their facade of a real perfect family."

"Too bad I can't sabotage it," Melinda muttered, feeling sorry for her brother.

The streets had begun to clear out as evening set in, leaving only Harry and Melinda on the sidewalk. The two walked in comfortable silence, enjoying the solitude, but they both began to tense up as they reached their home.

Something had begun to burn inside Melinda's body, which was the beginning of her foul mood.

They walked together into the house, where they were greeted by their noisy cousin, Dudley. He had always hated them; fortunately, it was a mutual hatred. "To the kitchen, cousins." He said aggressively as he pushed past them.

"Harry Potter!" Vernon exclaimed from the other room. The siblings cast one last tired glance at each other before walking into the kitchen.

Petunia looked up from the cake she was decorating and spoke to Harry, "He's in there." Harry walked away. Petunia turned to Melinda and smiled. While they weren't fond of wizards and others of that kind, she always had a soft spot for Melinda. She claims that it's because she's the daughter she never had. Of course, this will change when Melinda receives her letter.