January 4th, 1890 — Melody Finch's bedroom window, Wellingtonshire — 11PM

Ben hadn't forgotten that he had promised to come up with a solution for Melody when they had last spoken, but he had been glad not to have run into her yet. He had ideas, but he wasn't sure how she would receive them — or, in many cases, if they were even feasible at all. The rumor he'd heard the other day, however, had spurred him into action. He'd pulled the trigger on something that he had only been researching previously and started making plans for how to see her without anyone else seeing him.

Art likely wouldn't have approved of his flying carpet being used on yet another caper that had the potential to see Ben exiled from the country — so when he'd gone and asked to borrow it, he'd lied about what he intended to use it for. He knew which house was hers already, but wasn't sure of which was her bedroom window. Luckily, he was prepared for that eventuality and had cast a spell to prevent his being noticed as he hovered by the windowsills to see which was the right one. Unfortunately, it was no replacement for an invisibility cloak, and wouldn't keep him from the sight of passersby on the street — at least, not for very long.

When he'd found the right window and was certain that she was alone inside (at least, he assumed due to the darkness that she was) he rapped lightly on the window pane. "Melody," he whispered, not sure whether his voice would carry through the glass or not. "Psst! Melody!"

  

---

MJ made this <3

Melody had retired to her room early this evening. The loud whispers and pointed stares were unavoidable at her luncheon, but she needn't share another meal with her parents after their obvious lack of indiscretion. It was shameful enough that she had failed spectacularly at securing herself a husband - that her intended match was one merely of convenience. She hadn't expected to have the room quiet as she moved through it, nor had she appreciated her friends' polite smiles. Now, more than ever, Melody wished for nothing but a new life.

The transfiguration text was doing little to distract her racing mind. How was she to focus on her animagus studies at a time like this? Her wedding announcement was to be made next week! And following it a schedule full of wedding preparations. Melody dropped the worn book to her lap with a heavy sigh. She could already feel the infinite pin pricks from the seamstress and Penny's tugging at her curls. The wedding was still nearly two months away, and she was already dreading every minute of it.

The knock at her window startled her into dropping her book to the floor with a heavy thud. Rising from her bed, Melody hesitantly drew the curtain back only to see Ben...? Was he flying? What was he sittiny on? Merlin! What was he doing here? She shoved her window open as quickly and quietly as she could, but it still gave a groan as the hinges extended. "Ben! What - why are you doing here?" She whisper shouted at him.

Their night in the shack flashed through her mind, along with his promises. Truthfully, Melody hadn't put much thought into them, for what could he possibly think of that she hadn't already. Unless...no. He couldn't be here for that! Melody leaned on the windowsill as she awaited his explanation for risking everything to visit her tonight.

---

  

---

beautiful set by mj

"I needed to talk to you," Ben said, without further explanation, as if that was reason enough to be here. As if showing up unannounced at the bedroom windows of young women late at night was a perfectly respectable method of talking to someone. Obviously there was more to it than that, but he didn't want to sit around talking about why he was here — particularly not in view of the Wellingtonshire street below. Best to get on with things, and all would be revealed soon enough.

She was in her nightgown, he noticed, but that wasn't out of the ordinary at this time of night. He'd counted on her being ready for bed already by the time he arrived — less change that someone would come up to look for her and interrupt them.

"Come on," he said, holding out one hand to her and using the other to steady the carpet against the windowsill.

  

---

MJ made this <3

The hand extended to her was the leap of faith Melody demanded of him some months ago. The one he'd scoffed at her for. Now that she was faced with one of her own, Melody found herself feeling hesitant. She dreamed of this very scenario for years. Ben coming to whisk her away from her inevitable marriage, the two of them risking everything to simply be together. This, as she was quickly realizing, likely wasn't that. The circumstances hadn't changed, Ben hadn't changed. If anything, the only thing that had changed about their situation was the fact that her wedding had a set date.

She glanced between him and the ground below. Melody had been adamant with her refusal to fly since her first year at Hogwarts. To some, it was an exhilarating experience. To Melody, however, it was a gruesome death waiting to happen. Of all ways to contact her, it had to be with a bloody magic carpet? Already, she was sticky with fear.

Briefly, she attempted to come up with an explanation as to why she couldn't leave with him. He was a former quidditch player, a fear of heights must've been laughable to him. But, Melody couldn't voice her concerns. Not quickly enough to avoid someone glancing out their window and seeing him anyway. "Bloody hell." She muttered to herself before taking his hand. It was only after the carpet took off did she remember her state of dress and the weather. Fuck. If she didn't plummet to her death she would surely freeze to death.

---

The following 1 user Likes Melody Crouch's post:1 user Likes Melody Crouch's post
   Ophelia Devine

---

beautiful set by mj

Ben didn't realize until she took his hand that he had been expecting some sort of resistance or protestation — he was, after all, stealing her away from her bedroom in the middle of the night without so much as telling her where they were going — but it was strangely warming that there was none. He wasn't sure how to interpret it, particularly — as adventurousness? as trust? as a sign of affection? — but in any case, it was probably a positive thing, and he felt the meaning of it even without being able to articulate why it was so powerful.

They didn't need to go far, as far as he was concerned — just out of view of the neighbors and passersby. Initially he steered the carpet up, towards the roof of her house, but thought better of it almost immediately. Getting out of sight was all well and good, but no amount of precaution would save them if he happened to station right atop her father's bedroom and be overheard through an open window. No, it would be better to put a little distance between them. He slipped a hand around Melody's waist (to ensure she was stable and secure on the carpet, really, though he didn't dislike the feeling of having his arm around her when she was so scantily clothed) and headed towards the off-street side of a neighboring rooftop. The house below had no open windows, that he could see, and no lights on — so provided they didn't make a scene, they should be reasonably safe.

Ben put a foot down gingerly to test that the roof was able to hold weight and tractable not to send them both sliding down to the garden below, and finding that it met both conditions, moved to help Melody off the carpet. "We should be able to talk here," he said as she did so. "I heard the news."

  

---

MJ made this <3

Were she not paralyzed by the fear of falling, Melody might've been able to appreciate the easy gliding of the magic carpet. The plush rug had zero similarities to her attempting to navigate a wooden stick through the skies on her own. And the feeling of Ben's arm tight around her waist wasn't one she'd deny. The brief trip to her neighbors rooftop wasn't one she would willingly repeat anytime soon, but it was far from her worst experience in the sky.

The rooftop had a soft dusting of snow, something she realized only as her sock clad foot came into contact with it. Fuck. Did he really have to choose a fucking rooftop in middle of a frigid winter night to have this conversation with her? Melody truly hadn't expected anything of him. The kisses they shared could remain that, and she'd go on dreaming of what they could've been.

She wrapped her arms around herself as he gave only the briefest explanation as to what they were doing here. The rumor swirling about wasn't news, not really. The offical announcement would be coming out soon, and only then would it be news. "I told you of it myself months ago..." She was growing more confused (and cold!) by the minute. Melody didn't even need to feel for her wand to know it resided on her nightstand. Fuck.

---

  

---

beautiful set by mj

While technically correct, Ben didn't think her statement was advancing the conversation much. "No, but — now it's really happening," he clarified. "There's a guy, isn't there? And an actual plan." Granted, he hadn't heard much. He didn't have a name for her soon-to-be-groom, or anything of the sort, nor did he know exactly what the plan might be. There hadn't been a wedding date announced, and surely it couldn't happen without some sort of formal announcement in the paper first. She'd said before that her father would likely have her married as soon as possible, though, which meant that he didn't have much time to waste.

"Anyway, I promised I'd —" Ben started, but as he began he noticed that her stance was... off. Why was she crossing her arms like that? A brief glance over her was all he needed to put the pieces together: she was in a night-gown and stockings and they were standing on a snowy rooftop in January. She had to be freezing half to death already. He should have thought of that before he'd whisked her away from her bedroom — or maybe she should have. She had always been the smarter of the two of them.

"Oh, hell, why didn't you say something?" he asked, moving the carpet so that it lay flat on the roof beside her. "Here, sit down. And take my coat," he continued as he removed it. Honestly, adrenaline would keep him warm enough on its own. It wasn't as though he had any experience with this particular sort of thing.

  

---

MJ made this <3

Had Ben not believed her when she told him about the marriage? The rumor wasn't anything he wasn't already aware of, at least not what she'd heard. Perhaps some other version also included more details than even she was privy to. Melody was somewhat convinced her mother was the one spreading the gossip as a way to elevate the wedding event. Her father couldn't very well skimp on the wedding if society's eyes were pointed directly in their direction.

Before she could expand on any of it, Ben noticed how frigid it was outside. "Thank you." Seated and wrapped in his jacket, Melody stared up at him wondering if this was a dream. Ben had discarded her for years, but suddenly the notion of her getting married was enough for him to pay closer attention? Discreetly, she pinched the palm of her hand. So this wasn't a dream. What in Merlin's beard were they doing here, then?

"He's some American, Mr. ---. The announcement will be in the papers next week or the week after. The wedding is set for sometime in March, I think. Honestly, I haven't been included in much of the planning thus far." It was only her wedding, why would she be included at all?

---

  

---

beautiful set by mj

Ben nodded. Based on what she'd said before, March was much later than he had been expecting, so this news was, if anything, good compared to what he'd been imagining. The choice of an American was... odd. Her parents certainly had some sort of reason behind it, because it wasn't as though England had run out of bachelors and widowers. Maybe he was wealthier than even she was, or had some sort of position of international prestige or power. The former would make his plan go that much smoother. The latter... shouldn't matter. Unless he was the sort of person who might be involved in Aldous' office, and unless Aldous went and got nosy where he didn't need to be. But if Ben knew his brother (and he thought he did, fairly well), he knew Aldous had plenty of reasons to be concerned about Ben's behavior already, and would not be eager to go looking for any more — particularly not if he thought, as everyone did, that the chapter of Ben's life involving Melody Finch had closed for good.

"That's fine, good," he said somewhat distractedly, as he took a seat next to her. The carpet wasn't terribly large, so he was right up against her, but given the circumstances he doubted she would mind. "So I've been thinking about this for months. And what it comes down to is this: you need to marry some bloke with money and status and everything, to keep your family happy and have a comfortable life. And you need him to stay out of your business, so you can keep doing the things you want to do and not just... you know, give up everything and be a wife all the time. Right?"

And we need to be able to keep seeing each other, he thought, but wouldn't dare to add out loud — not yet, anyway. As long as it was unspoken, he could believe they were on the same page about it (with some reason — she had kissed him initially, after all, in the shed). Putting it into words gave her an opportunity to refute it, and... well, he didn't want her to. Certainly not before he'd told her the rest of his scheme.

  

---

MJ made this <3

Melody felt the last strand of hope she'd been clinging to snap as he spoke.  She knew with no degree of uncertainty before climbing out the window that Ben hadn't changed. Not in the way she dreamt he would. Tomorrow morning would not bring about a plan to run and elope, damning their families with their actions but not being able to care. What a stupid, naive girl she was. Melody couldn't even walk away and nurse her pride. She was trapped on this bloody roof in the freezing cold with the love that still wouldn't marry her.

"Yes..." She agreed, unsure of why this couldn't be said in a letter. At least with a letter she wouldn't have to be this close to him with no possibility of ever experiencing more. "That's the plan, anyway. Mr. --- seems ... okay enough. There's no way of telling how he'll treat his wife, though." There was still time to flee, not that she was brave enough to try it. Besides, after her recent misadventure on the Ophelia (which Melody was still pretending wasn't an experiment to see what it was like to be on the seas), it wasn't as though America was an option. She would waste away into nothingness before they made it halfway across the ocean.

"Ben, what are you planning? Why are we out here?" Melody finally asked plainly. Remaining this close to him in the face of her final heartbreak wouldn't be tolerable. She distinctly lacked the ability to pause their conversation and enjoy the closeness she'd never be able to experience again.

---

  

---

beautiful set by mj

Ben smiled mischievously as he reached for his pocket — only to remember that he was no longer wearing his coat. Instead of pulling it out smoothly, he had to reach over her to dig into the pocket on the outside of his jacket. It wasn't what he'd planned, but on the upside... it gave him another quick excuse to be a little too close to her.

"I found this for you," Ben said, revealing a spherical, palm-sized bottle. "It's a potion. It makes people suggestible. So you slip some into his tea, or whatever — beer, I guess, if he's an American — and then the world's your oyster," Ben announced, quite pleased with his plan. It wasn't exactly foolproof, he would admit — nor was it, strictly speaking, legal — but given the circumstances, he thought he'd done remarkably well.

"It's not, like, Unforgiveable level of influence," he clarified. "But you can use more or less of it as you need. The guy who sold it to me said it's nearly tasteless, just a tad sweet. So you slip him some before the wedding and make a suggestion about where you want to go on your honeymoon, say — and voila, there you are. And then tell him you should get your own potion workshop, or spend half your day at the library, or take weekend trips on your own to wherever you like." He was talking quickly now, enthused with the possibilities. He stopped to catch his breath, then added in a slightly quieter tone, "And maybe on some of your weekend trips, we could — you know."

  

---

MJ made this <3

She smoothed her fingers over the vial as he explained. This - this was his grand plan?! The culmination of months of thinking and planning? Melody was to find herself an agreeable husband by, essentially, poisoning him? It wasn't enough for Ben to shatter her heart with his continued refusal to marry her. It wasn't enough that she would have to live her life as a miserable wife and mother. Ben had to humiliate her too!

Melody would never say she was a fiercely loyal person, but she would never consent to cheat on her spouse. Maybe that was why her wedding felt like such a catastrophic end for her. After bearing witness to her parents' mostly happy union, Melody couldn't ever think of straying outside her own. If she desired love, then she would have to find it in her children, in her studies, in whatever hobbies her husband found suitable. Melody could never, would never, stray.

"No, Ben. We couldn't. I don't know how you came about the opinion of me that I'm unfaithful, but I can assure you that I'm not. If ... no, when I wed, that's the end of our story." She explained coolly. The passion of their discussion made it impossible for her to keep her voice to the low murmurs they were previously engaging in, though she wasn't yet loud enough for others to hear. "Would you prefer any husband of mine to raise your bastards? That I could bear to live with such lies? No, Ben. Thank you, but no." As tempting as the potion was, she still managed to press it back into his hand. "I could never bring myself to be dishonorable to someone who thought me worthy enough to wed. Even if it was only for the size of my father's wallet."

---

The following 1 user Likes Melody Crouch's post:1 user Likes Melody Crouch's post
   Reuben Crouch

---

beautiful set by mj

"It's not a matter of faithfulness when we're talking about a man you barely even know," Ben protested, though without much hope of changing her mind. He had expected some level of resistance to at least the last part of what he'd said, because it was so deeply engrained as something that good little girls did not do, but her response — and the fact that she'd put the whole potion back in his hand — seemed more final than he had expected. Melody had talked about her future husband with such vitriol the last time they'd spoken, back when he was only an abstract idea. What had happened since that had raised her opinion of him so much? Assuming that her objection did, in fact, have anything at all to do with him, and wasn't just an objection on the grounds of moral principle.

If it was the latter, there was nothing he could say that would change her mind — at least, nothing he could say now. She might reconsider when she actually got married, and saw that it wasn't the magical fairytale thing that she'd made it out to be — that it did not, in fact, give her any real, meaningful connection to a man, or any inherent need to be loyal to him — but only time would tell.

There were plenty of other things he wanted to say in response — but he recognized that none of them would be helpful. After a moment of tense silence, Ben pressed the potion back towards her hand. "I got this for you," he said simply. "I won't tell you how to use it."

  

---

MJ made this <3

Melody shivered as the silence echoed around them. The potion, while still not one she could envision ever using, was ingenious. As she stared determinedly away from him, Melody came to understand that for Ben this potion was the best solution. He needn't worry about her reputation or being unable to afford her lifestyle if she was safely squared away in a typical marriage. For Ben, this was the way for him to retain his freedom and still have easy access to her. She squeezed her eyes shut against the realization. None of this - not even the (expensive, if she had to guess) potion, was for her. Nothing he did was ever going to be solely for her.

She looked back towards him and pocketed the vial. Mister --- would likely never be subjected to its magical influence, but it couldn't hurt to have stored away as a backup plan. Perhaps she could even use it to help aid her futile dream of starting a new life someplace new. There were a few magical communities across the globe that she was researching. Hopefully one of those would be an easy fit. However, to tell Ben of the dream would be useless. He was too scarred by his time in Canada (which, Melody wouldn't deny wasn't the best planned trip) to aid her escape.

Melody wanted to commend him on the potion. She wanted to ask him one last time - beg him really - to marry her himself. She wanted them to end as they did in the shack: sad but with a happy memory. More than anything else, Melody wanted little to do with what came out of her mouth. "If there's nothing else, I think we should head back."

---

  

---

beautiful set by mj

Ben's shoulders slumped in defeat. "Yeah," he said, but didn't rise immediately. This conversation hadn't gone the way he'd expected it to, to say the least. He may have moved too far too fast, and in so doing ruined what should have been ... maybe not a sweet moment, since it wasn't exactly a page out of a storybook to be handing someone an illegal potion so that they could poison their future spouse, but... well, he had thought long and hard about it, and he'd tried to do the best he could, and he hadn't expected it to come off quite like this.

"I want you to be happy," he blurted, his feelings of helplessness momentarily overwhelming him. "With or without me. That's why I got you that potion. So you could decide what needs to happen for you to be happy, and — make it happen. I didn't — it wasn't — that stuff about having this guy raise my bastards," he said, with a flush. "That wasn't the point. I wasn't trying to... I guess I shouldn't have said anything at all," he acknowledged. Hindsight was twenty-twenty. "I just... thought maybe we could find a way for me to be... a part of what makes you happy."

  

---

MJ made this <3

"You are." She answered far too quickly. There were no visions of her happiness that didn't include him alongside her. Melody knew from experience how miserable life was with him vanished from it. "Haven't you been listening? All I wanted was you. Not wealth or prestige. Not even my bloody books. You. And yes, that might make me delusional and naive, but it's what I want. You, or at least my memory of you, make me happy." She was facing him now, her knees brushing against his side.

Melody couldn't think of what she would do if he still denied her now. She didn't dare hope for a different outcome, but she had to know. The past two years of her life were riddled with questions and uncertainty. Melody couldn't spend the rest of her life wondering what would've happened if she had just put her pride on the line. "Would you marry me if our lives were different? If we were of similar stations... if it was a possibility, would you?" There was a small part of her that didn't want him to answer. If he said no... well Melody would've been proven to be the naive fool all along.

---

  

---

beautiful set by mj