Avoiding The Marauders

Falling Apart

The Grand Hall was full of people all crowding onto a bench with their friends to eat their lunch. The teachers moved briskly about, some stopping for food, some grabbing a plateful and leaving to do some of their marking.

This was one of the things I would miss about Hogwarts: all the different people coming together to eat and learn.

James sat next to me, his hand over mine on the bench, hidden under the table. When we had walked in people had stopped eating, spun in their seats and stared. Across the Hall, Dumbledore's shinning eyes met mine and he gave me a satisfied nod, as if to say, It's about time.

I couldn't stop smiling and when Mel came to join us she sat next to Sirius and gazed around the table in confusion at the faces that beamed back. "I'm missing something, aren't I?" She said.

Sirius threw an arm around her shoulder. "This is a day to remember," he exclaimed. "It has finally come to pass that Evans and Potter have become one."

Mel gave a little squeal and then glared at me over the table. "What happened to telling me what was going on?" Then she turned to James. "And I gonna need a word with you, Potter."

James shuffled in his seat, his hand going tense. I laughed. "You could have let me tell her, Sirius. I mean, it's me and James that it involves."

"That is where you are mistaken, my friend," he informed me. "If you are dating one of us, you are dating all of us." He motioned towards Remus and Peter. "So consider yourself the possible girlfriend of me, Moony, Wormtail and Prongs, here."

I shivered. "Merlin, help me."

Remus was still smiling from earlier today. "We're not that bad," he said protectively.

"I know, but-"

I was cut off when Professor McGonagoll came up behind us and said, "Miss Reeds, could I have a word?"

Melody looked at us in confusion, which told me she hadn't done anything that could have caused her to be in trouble or at least anything that she knew off. She got up wearily and began to follow the Professor out of the Hall.

Sirius clasped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "Whatever she did, Professor, I had nothing to do with it, I swear."

Mel turned around and gave him the finger with an amused smile on her face, while leaving the Hall.

I turned back to the others and said, "You haven't pulled a prank in a while have you? What's that all about?" Then I added, "Not that I think you should or anything!"

Peter put down his fork. "Well, James and Remus have a reputation to up hold, don't they?"

"Head Boy and Prefect," added Sirius, rolling his eyes. "It's all very boring."

A terrible scream pierced the air and before anyone could stop me, I was up and running. I knew that voice, that was Mel, and all I could do was run and run until I could find her. Thoughts ran through my head; horrid thoughts of what might have happened too her, but before I could really panic, I got outside of the Hall and rounded the corner, following the noise as she screamed again.

She was falling. I could see her dropping in slow motion, her legs just finding her body to heavy to carry, crumbling in on herself like a rag doll and all I could do was sprint. I wasn't going to let her hit the ground.

I skidded along the shinny floor and caught her just in time, her body flopping into mine like she didn't care enough to hold herself up. She had tears streaming down her beautiful face, her arms came to her head, grabbing her hair and she curled into a ball: she curled into me like I was the only thing keeping her away from the teacher that watched her like she would give anything to not have had too.