"The Mudblood" One-Shots

Melyle

Year: Summer of 1995

Canonicity: Canon to "The Mudblood", Chapter 54

Point of View: third person, Melody Flemming

Lyle was coming to visit the mansion for the first time today. And, of course, his stupid sister had to come with him.

When Melody had attached the invitation to Dev's leg, she'd anticipated that the Mudblood would intercept it and Lyle would never even see it. She hadn't suspected that the Mudblood would want to come.

Preparing for their arrival had proven to be quite a feat. She'd removed almost all of the décor because she knew that the Fitzroys would likely find it too "creepy", and she'd barricaded all of her father's old chambers...for obvious reasons. If Lyle stumbled across any of her father's magical torture equipment or anti-Muggle memorabilia, she could say goodbye to her Latchee. And she could not say goodbye to her Latchee.

Goopy had been instructed to stay away from the Muggle—and, obviously, he disobeyed. Euphoni had been commanded not to mention any knowledge of Lyle's existence—and, naturally, she disobeyed. And Harmony had been ordered to entertain the Mudblood—which, surprisingly, she did. It seemed to Melody like her sister wanted to hang out with the female Fitzroy, and Melody was caught between wanting to curse her sister for being a weakling and wanting to appreciate her for distracting the pesky Mudblood long enough that Melody could get Lyle alone.

"The garden," Melody announced now, disinterestedly gesturing toward the intricate display of flowers that littered her backyard. Lyle was flabbergasted by its size, its beauty, his jaw hanging loosely as his eyes absorbed the endless array of colors.

"You planted all these?"

"No," Melody snorted. "My mother's the one that likes to garden. I find it tedious and impractical."

He peeked at her from the corners of his eyes. "What don't you find tedious and impractical?"

"Learning...reading."

"I like reading too," Lyle admitted, shuffling through the garden to observe the flowers. His eyes were as blue as the sky and, somehow, so much more appealing than Harper's. Melody couldn't stop staring at him. Would she feel this way if he wasn't her Latchee? If his very presence didn't strengthen her? No—no, of course she wouldn't. He was a bloody Muggle. The only reason he was here was to tighten their magical bond. If only she could find some way to hurt him...inconspicuously...

"Don't tell Lainey, though," he continued as he crouched down to study one of the purple flowers. "She thinks I still want to be a professional football player, but...I've grown out of that, y'know? I'm fourteen now. I know I'm not good enough to make it to the pros. But Lay'll see it as giving up on my dreams or abandoning my childhood... I think I want to be a botanist."

Melody blinked slowly, processing this information. "A what."

"A botanist. It's a Muggle profession involving the science of plants. I like science, and I like flowers..." He plucked one of the purple flowers, an aster, she realized when he approached her. It took all of her metal will not to flinch when he brushed her hair behind her ear and stuck the stem of the flower there. "And I like Flower Witches..."

"I believe I've told you not to call me that," she said stiffly, unable to breath with his proximity. This bastard was tallerthan her now, and he was gazing down at her in a way that caused her stomach to churn—and not with nausea, like it did whenever Ryan Harper made attempts to woo her. This emotion forming a pit in her gut was something like...yearning. Attraction. Real attraction. To a bloody Muggle.