(kevin) caught in the act

[amelia susan bones]

It was late. It was Thursday night. It was lonely. It was cramped. It was becoming a new routine to her. And Mellie wouldn’t have ever wanted it any other way. There she was in mid-September, hiding away with a new looking cassette recorder in hand, her wand up against it working at a new kind of magic she’d been tampering with since last term. Her hair was a mess of flyaway locks. Her eyes had circles beneath them, blatantly displaying her exhaustion. She’d busted three fourth years in a bathroom smoking weed that night and her voice still had traces of anger at yelling after them as they skittered down the corridors. Amelia knew this year, her final year, would be the hardest yet.

She didn’t know what exactly had caused her to do the things she was doing. All of it seemed so risky, so unlike her usual ways. Amelia had a secured internship with the Ministry of Magic after she finished out school. Why would she jeopardize all of that just so she could go on the radio once a week and talk about everything? After that first broadcast, she’d felt like such an idiot. What if she’d been caught? What if she’d really been caught, by the You-Know-Who supporters, and was killed? She had trouble sleeping because a new level of paranoia had settled inside her. Was it worth it?

Yes. Yes, it was worth it. Amelia was a pureblooded witch. She was also considered a neutral family. The Bones family had spoken up and taken no sides when popular Wizarding families began to verbalize the debate about rights and morals. While everyone began bickering about blood status, Amelia’s parents sat down and told everyone they’d not be part of any of it. Part of Amelia knew that was a wise decision, a safe choice. But another part of her was so, horribly ashamed. How could they do that? How could they just watch these terrible things happen around them and never speak up? Amelia knew that she was like them. She wanted to be safe. But some small part of her wouldn’t back down, couldn’t. She wasn’t like the Mckinnon girls or Lily Evans or James Potter or anyone else. She couldn’t jump up and speak her mind and throw her opinion in everyone’s faces because that would be harming her family. She could, however, do this. She could be an anonymous voice. She could reach out to those who needed hope and she could give that to them. She had to give that to them because, if she didn’t, who would?

She’d just been finishing off another Thursday night broadcast when one of Amelia’s worst fears came true. Someone had discovered her. Amelia had been mid-sentence, she’d been signing off, when the door to her broom cupboard went scraping open. Amelia practically jumped out of her body, she’d been so shocked. It was like all the paranoia had been building up to this. ”Just a moment…” She murmured to her captor as if this were all very normal and expected. She finished her broadcast and turned off the recorder. All the color had drained from her face and she could feel herself shaking from being so startled. She knew the damage couldn’t be too horrible. She wasn’t dead or being told off by a professor. It had to be a student, and hopefully not a Death Eater. So, Mellie pushed the door open as gently as she could and peeked her dirty blond haired head out. There, standing in the corridor, was Kevin Willis, one of the last people Amelia had expected. Without thinking, she grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into the cupboard with her.

She stumbled back, falling into what was very obviously a mop bucket with some murky water still sitting in the bottom of it. Mellie’s bottom was damp and she was still too shocked to care. This was gong to be a lot messier than old mop water. ”How much did you hear?” She asked. There was no point keeping a normal conversation. This was the most serious thing Amelia had ever done.

Notes: Sorry for the bit of god-moding. Just needed to get this things started off well enough.

[kevin donovan willis]

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There was something interesting to note about the new broadcasts coming through on Thursday nights. Most people simply heard a generic voice of the students, but Kevin was hearing more than that. His instincts told him that Amelia Bones was the very witch broadcasting these reports, these dangerous reports. Tonight she was due to be back on the air, Kevin left his common room where most students were crowded around the radio listening to her voice. As he passed it sent chills down his spine. He might have been head boy, one of the smartest students of Hogwarts, but he wasn't brave. Not the kind of brave she was talking about, the kind that stood up for something that was bigger than yourself. If it was really her, Kevin could afford to take a lesson out of her book. He left the common room, heard the voice cut off as he stepped out into the corridor, and he began his search.

A group of third years were huddled around a radio on the stairs. They looked up at Kevin with worried eyes as he pounded around the corner thinking he had found her hiding place. They scrambled up and ran to their common rooms on either end of the castle, but Kevin was far too distracted to follow any of them. At least they had been listening to her message instead of setting traps for unsuspecting first years. He let it slide this time, something he'd rarely did, and continued on his search for the real culprit of the night. She could be anywhere. In a broom closet like last time, or up in the towers. Amelia was certainly smart enough to conceal herself well. She could be in the restricted section of the library, or sitting in the middle of the room of requirement. Kevin couldn't pin point her location any better than he could imagine why she'd be making these broadcasts. Amelia was someone whose psyche always perplexed him.

So imagine his surprise when his first stop, the first floor, turned out to be the very location of her secret news station. He had expected to start there and work his way up, he hadn't expected to pass the broom cupboard and stop dead in his tracks. What was it he had just heard coming from behind the door? This has been another broadcast... Surely no student would sit in a broom cupboard just to listen in, it had to be her. He lifted his fists and pounded on the door. The voice that chased after him was all too familiar. A grin spread across his face as he stood, nonchalantly waiting for Amelia to open the door and invite him in...her captor. The broadcast clicked off, the door opened, and Amelia's frightened eyes stared up at him. "Well hi!" He said, a laugh escaping through his somewhat jovial voice. "I've only just heard that last bit, was too busy trying to find you." He coughed out as she dragged him inside the cramped room and questioned him seriously. Really now, shouldn't he be questioning her?

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[amelia susan bones]

Jovial, laughing Kevin Willis! Wasn’t this just hilarious? Amelia couldn’t help but feel a bit cross about his laughter. What if he’d been a You-Know-Who supporter? Amelia had to start getting creative with hiding spots. No more last resort broom cupboards because she couldn’t race off to some other spot in time! That just wasn’t going to cut it, apparently. Now, she’d been given away and Kevin would probably turn her in to Dumbledore or something. ”Could you not laugh? This is serious!” Amelia glared at Kevin half-heartedly.

”What’s the damage control? Are you going to tattle on me to a professor and make me quit broadcasting?” Mellie asked sourly. She was staring down at the floor and she felt small. Part of her wanted to think that Kevin was better than that, that he was her friend and would risk it. But another part of her screamed inside the back of her mind saying, Yeah, right Mellie, like you could just have friends like that! Aside from Ted, you’re pretty much an outcast and a freak! People only know who you are because they like to make fun of the Head Girl! But, that was the funny thing about these broadcasts. People did know who she was, but they didn’t know it was her. She was becoming both famous and infamous around the school. Mellie hadn’t noticed much change other than her paranoia levels rising rapidly.

”And why were you trying to find me? Is something wrong?” Amelia asked, suddenly remembering that the world didn’t revolve around her. She was the Head Girl and she and Kevin had a lot of duties together. Maybe something had happened and they were supposed to take care of it. And she’d neglected her duties because of the broadcast! A wave of guilt flooded Amelia’s body at the idea of abandoning her post. She was always so responsible! What had the broadcast turned her into?