Facing The Music
May 20th, 1963
It was a beautiful sunny Sunday when Vivi and Belle shut the store and decided to venture out a bit together. Belle had decided not to travel this particular weekend because Brownie had recently laid a nest of eggs. Belle knew she couldn't keep all four of the birds that would eventually emerge. Vivi had already claimed a pair for herself, asking for Belle's help in raising them and eventual breeding.
Vivi had also recently offered Belle a full partnership in the business. Belle was considering it, but knew that there was still so much of the world she wanted to see yet. Would she want to be tied down to one place?
She pondered it greatly as they visited the nearby muggle town. It wasn't much of anything, it was as Vivi explained, a 'blink and you will miss it,' sort of place. There were a few shops, a theater, a few restaurants, a church and a record shop. Otherwise it was just old looking homes and a school that sat at the end of town.
They wanted to visit the record shop. She and Vivi shared a love for muggle music. Belle could choose her own music now, she wasn't contained to what was smuggled into school. For the town being incredibly small, they somehow always procured the best music. Vivi suspected it was because a lot of Moda residents visited it, so albums sold quickly and there was a big demand.
Belle had another reason she liked this particular record shop. There was a muggle there who she couldn't stop thinking about.
There was something different about this muggle. He was certainly handsome, no doubt about that. She really liked his light blue eyes and his broad shoulders. What she liked most was the color that seemed to surround him. It was a deep blue color that sparkled and danced around his frame. She wondered if it was her imagination, but there was something magical about him.
Every time she'd been to this record store, they didn't exactly speak, but they nodded at each other. She'd even seen him smile at her and his whole face would turn completely red.
It felt different when he smiled at her. No one, not even Gideon, had made her heart flutter like this. She hadn't attempted dating while in Moda, she was honestly too busy and too focused on her own personal freedoms. There had been a few blokes who had showed interest at a few of Vivi's parties, but they were never very serious. She was somewhat still feeling the slight guilt of never actually breaking up with Gideon. McGonagall said he was doing great as an Auror though. Besides, she hadn't been in contact with him in nearly a year. He must know things were over.
"You could just say hello to him you know?" Vivi suggested over her shoulder as Belle looked at him at the cash register. "In my experience, staring at people from a distance doesn't exactly get you anywhere."
"He's a muggle." Belle answered sharply back. She'd only spoken to muggles when it was completely necessary.
"So?" Vivi asked with a giggle.
Belle laughed, it was just her parent's prejudice coming out of her. "So, isn't it more complicated with Muggles?"
Vivi laughed leaning her elbow on Belle's shoulder, "Not since Rappaport's Law was repealed."
Belle laughed a little. It had been illegal in America for muggles to marry magical folk. Her father had thrown a fit when it was made legal, saying America was a foul country.
It became more interesting as Belle considered it. It would be thrilling to at least flirt with him. She could figure out something to say.
Belle nodded to Vivi, "I'll give it a go. I guess. I'm a bit rusty though."
"You are barely eighteen Belle, you can't be rusty." Vivi mentioned, "And he's probably nicer than those British school boys you went with."
Belle laughed, "I mean, more than likely."
She took a deep breathe and fixed her hair. She walked up to the counter and blurted out the first question she could think of.
"Excuse me." Belle said as the man turned around. "Do you have the new Bowie album?"
"Of course we do." He laughed and leaned onto the counter. He smiled and her insides turned to pudding. "Not my personal preference, but it isn't bad."
"That's good." Belle remarked smiling back.
"If you like Bowie, I recommend Pink Floyd, their newest album, Dark Side is pretty trippy and fun." He laughed a little. "Maybe too trippy for me normally, but it really does take you on a journey."
"I heard that last month, it's really good." Belle said excitedly.
He smirked a little, "Houses of The Holy, the new Zeppelin album is pretty cool too."
"I've heard that as well, I'm really into Zeppelin." Belle didn't lie, she really was into Zeppelin. "My favorite band is Fleetwood Mac."
"You like your music. If you'd like, I can help you find something new." He suggested stepping out from behind the counter.
"That would be wonderful." Belle said as he lead her through a few aisles of records. She could see Vivi watching her from a few stands away. She had a big smile on her face as she pretended to look at an album. Ed found her a debut album of a band called Aerosmith.
"I'm Edward Fyre by the way." He reached out a hand to her as they returned to the register. "Call me Ed. Can't mess it up, it's only two letters."
Belle nodded and shook his hand back, "I'm Belle Greene. Just call me Belle, only five letters, so I bit harder to remember."
"I've seen you in here before." Ed mentioned leaning against the desk. "You, and your friend over there. I swear she has different hair every time."
"She likes to express herself." Belle blurted.
"She seems pretty far out." Ed laughed and his eyes traced her, "So do you."
Whenever she went in the muggle world she dressed like they did. She still kept her own slight spin on it. Today she was wearing black trousers with a white tucked shirt and a light blue jacket. She had a shiny moon belt on her belt loops.
Her heart flipped a little, she looked to his green and yellow shirt, trying to think of something to say, "Thanks. I like your shirt."
"Thanks, you like the Packers?"
"Are they a band?" Belle asked wondering if they had good music.
He burst out laughing and she wondered if she'd said something wrong. "No, football team. You sound like you aren't from here so I'll let it slide."
Belle had been trying to work on her accent, but she hadn't been able to. "No, we don't have football where I'm from."
"So where are you from?"
"Scotland." Belle said knowing the accent wasn't going to be conducive to say anywhere else.
"But you moved here?" Ed asked his eyes looking her over, "You look like you belong somewhere fancy like New York."
"I like it here. It's quiet." Belle partially lied, if only he knew beneath their feet was a whole loud and crazy world.
"I mean, it's not too quiet, we do have some fun stuff around here." He insisted as he rang her up. "I could show you sometime."
"I'd like that." Belle insisted, her heart beating very quickly now. He had handed back her change, and she felt a weird spark in her hands.
"Can I maybe have your number?" He asked leaning over the counter and whispering.
She realized he was referencing the muggle telephone, she'd learned about that in Muggle Studies. "Well, where I'm staying, I'm not supposed to use their telephone."
His eyebrows descended and his shoulders went up, "I've never heard that one before. If you don't want to give me your number that's fine."
"Oh, please don't take that as a form of rejection, I could totally meet you sometime though." She said suddenly nervous she'd made a mistake.
Ed's smile returned, "Ok, how about you meet me here after my shift tonight? I'm off at four, we can go somewhere fun."
Belle smiled and nodded. "Yeah. I can do that." Her heart was beating a thousand times a minute.
"Ok then Miss Belle Greene, I'll see you around four." Ed said with a quick wink.
She and Vivi left the record shop and Belle couldn't stop smiling. She couldn't wait for this date with the muggle boy from the records shop. She was wary to go somewhere with a complete stranger, but she was a witch after all, if he tried anything inappropriate, she could stun him and then obligate him.
She returned a few hours later. He was waiting outside for her and looked excited when she showed. He'd combed his hair since earlier and changed his shirt. He was in a gray striped shirt now.
He asked as she arrived, "You ever played Putt Putt?"
Belle shook her head, "No, I don't think so."
They went to his car, something Belle had never been inside of before, and he drove her to what looked like an outdoor obstacle course. There were other people playing as well.
He explained the game of Putt Putt to her. She had a club with a ball. She had to hit the ball into each of the holes. There were other rules and he insisted he'd help her. He also said he wouldn't keep score so she wouldn't feel pressure.
"So what do you do?" Ed asked as she watched him hit the first ball right into the hole that was barely a foot or two away in a little dome. He explained normally he'd insist 'ladies first', but he wanted to show her how to play. She watched him carefully, not that it was difficult.
"I'm an artist." Belle revealed as she stepped up to try, "And I design clothing a bit."
"You do seem like one of those artsy types." He exclaimed making her giggle. "I'm horrible at art."
"So you like working at the record store?" Belle asked as she swung and barely tapped the ball. It didn't go very far.
"Yeah, it's ok." He admitted with a shrug as he watched her try and get her ball into the hole, "I get free records. I only work there on the weekends, during the week I work for a heating and air company. I help to install that new central air model."
Belle had no idea what any of that meant as she finally hit the ball into the hole.
"Good job, see you've got that down." Ed exclaimed and they moved to the next one. It had a miniature windmill you had to get the ball through. "Does your family live around here?"
"I don't really talk to my family." Belle said as she tried to aim correctly, she didn't want to think about her family. Not now.
Ed tilted his head a little bit at her, "Oh I'm sorry."
"I'm not." Belle laughed a little as the ball bounced off the corner edge of the windmill. She might have hit it a bit hard.
"My family is pretty close." Ed said as he took his turn. The ball went through the windmill and hit the ball close to the hole. "They live close too, well I live with them anyway. How old are you? You seem kinda young to be in another country without your family."
"I'm eighteen. I'm old enough." She hadn't thought about it before. She missed the hole again. "You seem a bit old to be living with yours."
"I'm twenty-three next month." Ed chuckled coming closer to her as she swung.
She swung again and completely missed the hole.
He laughed stepping closer to her and touching her hand, "You need to swing a bit softer."
She felt that weird electricity again in her hand and she swung softer. She got the ball right into the hole.
"So what kind of art do you do?" He asked, taking his hand off of her's.
"Painting mostly." Belle answered looking away from his staring eyes. She grabbed her ball and continued onto the next one.
"Why painting if you don't mind my asking?" He asked following behind her.
Belle answered before she could think about it, "It makes me feel free. Like the brush strokes are my wings and I can make anything I want."
He stopped and just smiled at her.
"I'm sorry is that odd?" Belle asked as she set her ball onto the tee.
He crossed his arms and smirked a little, "No, that's really cool actually. I can't paint or draw to save my life, so I'm really just impressed."
There was a weird electricity during the whole date. It was so refreshing to be on a date and just talk like a normal person. There was no discussion of war, no discussions about futures, just friendly conversation. She felt comfortable with him, even though she barely knew him. They finished their game. Then they had a little dinner at a nearby diner, still talking and joking. They got into his car and he offered to take her home.
"Oh, just take me back to the record store. I'll walk from there." She insisted, knowing it'd be odd if he dropped her off at an abandoned barn in the middle of nowhere.
"Don't want me to see where you live?" He asked as he started his car. "Trust me, I've seen it all."
"No, it's just where I live is complicated." She lied, somewhat and he took her back to the record store.
It was dark now. A streetlight shone beautiful shadows through the car.
"I had a really nice time." Belle said out loud looking back at Ed. "You are right, there is fun stuff to do around here."
"I told you." He smirked, "I'll take you roller skating next time if you want. Or even, there's a Beach Boys concert coming two towns over next month. Would you want to come with me?"
"Beach Boys?" Belle was so excited, she loved the Beach Boys so of course she'd say yes. She'd have gone anywhere with Ed Fyre at this point. She'd do anything just to feel so comfortable again. "I'd love to."
"Cool, it's the tenth of next month. Till then, maybe we could go out again?" He asked sitting up a little in his seat.
"Yes please. I'm free on Sundays and Mondays." Belle answered with a laugh.
"Next Sunday then. I'll take you roller skating." He said with another big laugh.
"It's a date." She giggled before turning her head to reach for the car door.
She felt his lips beside her ear and she turn her head back to look at him. He'd leaned to kiss her and she'd turned away at the wrong moment.
"You missed." She observed looking back at him.
"I'm sorry." He was breathing quickly and his eyes were bulging out, "I normally don't kiss girls on the first date."
"You can try again if you'd like." Belle suggested before taking his face into her hands and kissing him this time. If there had been electricity when they'd touched hands, there was an orchestra of music playing now.
May 1st, 1998
Music played as Belle and Ed waited to hear if Potterwatch would have another show. They'd had a quick one earlier, something about a dragon and Gringotts, but something in Belle's intuition said they might have another show.
"Do you think Samantha's alright?" Ed asked as they listened. "She wasn't in the Potterwatch broadcast this afternoon."
"Maybe she was just tired or sick Ed." Belle suggested. "She's been through a lot lately."
"I know, I just worry every time I don't hear her." Ed admitted as he leaned his head onto her shoulder. She could feel the tears rolling from his eyes.
It had been a long six months. For several of those months they had worried their daughter had been killed when the Potterwatch show went completely silent. They still listened every night. When it restarted they breathed a big sigh of relief, but were terrified to know that she'd been attacked by Death Eaters.
"She's alive Ed. I'm pretty sure Lee wouldn't have much of a show without her." Belle said kissing her husband's worn face.
Ed's breathing became faster, "I just don't want to lose another child Belle."
Still no sight of Jack and the war was worse than ever. They'd almost completely halted their search now. It was becoming too dangerous to look and much of the Quidditch tryouts had ended. With no leads, and no hope they just traveled and stayed in hiding.
"Jack's not dead Ed." Belle reminded, she felt like she would know if her boy was dead.
Ed's tears continued, "I miss him Belle. I miss our daughter."
"I know dearest." Belle said calmly, "I do too."
"Sometimes, I can't believe my life used to be so different than it is now." Ed asked, wiping his tears from his face.
"Would you do anything different?"
"Maybe I'd not miss when I kissed you the first time."
Belle began laughing, grateful for his humor and what he meant by it. "You'd still do all of this?"
"I love you Belle." Ed insisted, "And I'll love you till the day I die. You and our children, wherever they are."
"I love you too Ed." Belle insisted. "We're going to find our children."
"All members of The Order, The DA, or really anyone willing to fight-Harry is at Hogwarts! Apparate to the Hogshead inn!" The radio began loudly sounding.
As it repeated several times Belle and Ed both stood from the sofa.
"Our children are probably there." Belle said closing her eyes, knowing they'd be on opposite sides.
"We need to go!" Ed said reaching for his shotgun beside his bed.
"No Ed!" Belle cried out as he began loading it, "You can't go! You'd be killed!"
"I've got the shotgun!" He said clicking it one time.
"That's nothing against a wand!" Belle argued before quickly changing her clothing. "You have to stay here."
"I want to fight. I want to protect our children!" Ed yelled now, his forehead becoming wrinkled.
"You have to stay here please!" Belle insisted disarming his gun from him. "Please."
He looked at the gun which was across the room. His shoulders receded.
"If I can do that, just imagine what they'll do to you." Belle said her voice trembling. "I need you alive. Our children need you alive."
"Just promise you will come back." Ed said grabbing her into a hug.
"I will come back." She said as calmly as she could. She'd avoided the war long enough. She'd hid from it long enough. She didn't want to fight, but she wanted her children back.