Angel Of Mercy

Angel of Mercy--Chapter 1

The summer after fifth year wasn't going well for Harry Potter. He was awoken every morning by the nightmares that plagued him every night. He usually woke up in a cold sweat, his scar stinging.

On top of that, Uncle Vernon's other sister, Julia, and her daughter, Melody, were moving to Surrey from America. Julia had moved there with her mother when Uncle Vernon's parents had divorced when he was about ten years old, and he hadn't seen her in a few years. Vernon didn't even know how old Melody was.

Harry came downstairs one morning to cook breakfast. Aunt Julia and Melody were supposed to be arriving sometime that morning, and were going to stay with the Dursleys until most of their belongings had arrived from America. Harry was cooking the breakfast when the doorbell rang, and Dudley answered it.

"Mum! Dad! Aunt Julia and Melody are here!" he called. There was a lot of commotion in the front hall ans Vernon greeted his long-lost sister.

"Julia! You look absolutely wonderful! And this must be...er...Melody," he said.

"It's Mel," said a rude female's voice.

"Now, sweetie, is that any way to talk to your uncle?" asked another voice, also feminine.

"I'm hungry. Where's the food?" the first voice asked. Oh, great, another Dudley, thought Harry. I wonder if overeating is hereditary?

"It should be ready any minute. The kitchen's through there," said Uncle Vernon. Harry didn't hear any more dialogue, and soon someone entered the kitchen. She was not someone that one would associate with the name 'Dursley'.

The girl was short, with ivory skin, silky black hair and inky black eyes. She had a small silver hoop through one of her eyebrows and a silver stud in her nose. She was wearing all black: baggy black jeans, a shirt that read 'I Leave Bite Marks', and to top it all off, a black leather trench coat.

"Aren't you hot?" Harry asked.

"Nope," the girl replied. "I only wore this to freak Vern out. Mum said he's a stickler for 'normalcy'. I normally don't wear this stuff when I meet new relatives. The name's Mel."

"I'm Harry Potter," Harry said, handing Melody a plate filled with eggs, sausages, bacon, toast and hash browns.

"No wonder Dudley's so fat," remarked Melody. "You give everyone servings this big?"

"No, just Dudley," said Harry. Well, she's different, thought Harry.

"I'm not going to be able to eat all of this. Wanna share?" Melody asked.

"I can't. I have to finish the breakfast for everyone else," replied Harry. Just as he said that, Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, Dudley and a woman Harry assumed was Aunt Julia, entered the kitchen.

"Why are you stopping, boy?" boomed Uncle Vernon when he saw Harry talking to Melody. "Are you corrupting Melody's sweet, innocent mind with your freakishness?" Melody stifled a snicker as Vernon said this.

"No, sir," said Harry meekly. He knew better than to piss Uncle Vernon off this early in the morning. Harry went back to cooking while the grownups, Melody and Dudley sat at the table and caught up on the last several years.

Julia Dursley, or rather Phillips (she had taken her mother's maiden name when she moved with her to America when she was six), was a tall, brunette woman of thirty-six. One of the reasons she moved back to England was because her mother, Vera, had died the previous year and she wanted to reconnect with her brother and sister. She didn't give out any details about her work life.

Melody was sixteen and didn't know who her father was. She had a feeling her mother knew, but wouldn't divulge the information. Harry thought she looked vaguely familiar, but couldn't place who she reminded him of. She had taken her trench coat off, revealing spiked and studded leather cuffs adorning her wrists. She called herself a self-proclaimed computer geek who spent most of her time chatting with friends on her laptop, which she took almost everywhere. She also didn't reveal anything too specific about her life in America.

When breakfast was finished, everyone got up. Petunia, Vernon and Julia were going out onto the back porch to do more catching up, Dudley was going to Piers Polkiss' house for the day and Melody was going to lock herself in the guest room and chat with her friends on the ever-present laptop.

"I just hope you get outside sometime this summer. You're far too pale," remarked Julia.

"Don't worry, mum, I will," said Melody. She grabbed her laptop and headed up to the spare room and Julia went out to the back porch. Harry followed Melody, dragging the luggage up the stairs. He got tho the spare room to see her laying on her stomach on the bed, typing away.

"Who are you talking to?" Harry asked. A message read SUPERFREAK has just signed in. A few seconds later another box popped up saying smrtgurl365 requests to chat. Melody clicked on the box and began typing. Hey Herms, she wrote.

"My friend Herms. She's into most of the same things I like. A little too wrapped up in her schoolwork, though," Melody replied. A message popped up. Hey Mel. Melody quickly typed a response. Are you still drowning in homework? A few seconds later another message popped up. Yeah, and you know it! Melody giggled a bit and typed another message. My plane landed this morning. I'm at my uncle's house and one of my cousins is looking over my shoulder. Melody glared at Harry as she wrote this.

"What? I haven't had any contact with anyone who doesn't cringe at the sight of me!" exclaimed Harry.

"Fine, you can stay," replied Mel. Another message had come up. Is he hot? Harry turned a little red as Mel replied I don't know. Want to meet him? The reply was a simple HELL YEAH!!!! Mel smiled and typed What's your address again? The reply was quick. 179 Magnolia Crescent.

"Hey, that's jut a couple of streets away!" exclaimed Harry.

"Very cool. Think we'll be able to go?" Melody asked.

"Yeah. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon would love to get me out of the house for a few hours," replied Harry. He and Mel bounded down the stairs and went out to the porch.

"Hey, mum, Harry wants to show me around the neighborhood. Is that okay?" Melody asked.

"It's alright with me. What about you, Vern?" asked Julia, giving her brother a pleading look.

"Fine," said Vernon gruffly. "But I'm warning you, I catch wind of you causing any trouble and you'll be locked in your room until school starts. Understood?"

"Yes, sir." Harry and Melody left the house and were walking down the sidewalk.

"That punishment seemed a little harsh," Melody commented when they were about halfway to Magnolia Crescent.

"That was nothing. Until I was about eleven, I was locked in the cupboard under the stairs for days on end," replied Harry. They were looking for 179. They found it and Melody knocked on the door. A short (but not as short as Melody, though) girl with curly brown hair and hazel eyes answered. Her eyes lit up as soon as she saw Melody.

"Mellie!" the girl exclaimed, giving Melody a hug.

"Hiya, Herms," said Melody. They broke apart and Herms noticed Harry standing there, a surprised look on his face. Herms was the first to speak.

"Harry?"