Power of the Musea

I know it took me a while to update this, but I swear it was for a good reason. I decided to stop updating it a chapter at a time since I had the rest of the story already written. So, instead of six more chapters, there will be two (because I had to give you one more suspenseful ending, haha). This one's really long, I know. But I figured that most everyone would like to read the majority of the ending at one shot rather than waiting for each chapter to come out. So, find a point when you have a lot of time on your hands and enjoy!

Chapter 21: Real Life Defense

The next morning Melanie anxiously awaited the usual flurry of owls into the Great Hall, curious to see whom her parents had sent letters to and who would respond. An owl did fly up to her, dropping a roll of parchment tied with a violet ribbon onto her plate. She opened it up and began to read what was written inside.

Miss Brienwald,

I hope that your Christmas break was quite enjoyable and that you are settling back into the pattern of classes fairly well.

Now that classes have begun again, it is my desire to address the issue of a unique letter that I received from your parents a little after Christmas. As I am certain that you are already aware of this letter, so I will not mention it here further.

I would, therefore, wish to meet with you after potions class tomorrow afternoon to discuss the effects of this letter.

I hope to see you this afternoon.

Professer H.E.F. Slughorn

Melanie sighed. "Number two," she said to herself.

"What? Rhonda asked, turning her attention from her breakfast to the letter. "Oh. So, your parents sent letters to Mrs. Malfoy and Professor Slughorn. Could be worse. Do you think that's everyone or that you have more letters coming?"

"I don't know. I have no clue who my parents were friends with while they were here."

"But what about that picture you saw?"

Melanie thought for a second. "Let's see, there was my parents, Mrs. Malfoy, my uncle, and..." she trailed off. "Professor Snape," she finished in a whisper.

"Do you think they sent something to Snape?"

Melanie shook her head. "No, they wouldn't," she reassured herself. "My mom was angry with him-she blamed him for my uncle's death."

"Good. Staying with Snape for a summer." Rhonda shivered. "I'd almost prefer the Malfoys."

Melanie laughed. "But it doesn't matter, anyway, since I'm staying with you. Anyway, I better go, because I want to do a bit more herbology studying before defense."

Rhonda rolled her eyes. "That's all you do anymore-study herbology."

"It's my worst subject, Rhonda," Melanie pointed out as she stood up. "How am I going to get any better if I don't study?" Rhonda rolled her eyes as Melanie left the Great Hall and walked back up to the Ravenclaw common room.

In potions that afternoon, Professor Slughorn quickly explained the concept of Golpalott's Third Law and sent them off to brew an antidote to an unknown poison. Of course, Hermione, like always, scurried off and worked at a lightning quick pace. Melanie took her vial of poison and inspected it.

"Melanie," Rhonda hissed. "Do you have any clue about what we're doing?"

"You're supposed to create an antidote," Melanie answered, carefully writing down the poison's contents on a piece of parchment.

"That I figured out. My question is how?"

Melanie tried to explain Golpalott's Third Law to Rhonda, repeating it again at her friend's confused look. When she tried the third time, Rhonda just shook her head and just started to mix random ingredients in her cauldron. Melanie giggled before she continued to work at a somewhat slow pace, trying to remember the fifth year lesson on poisons that she had been reviewing a few days ago.

By the time class ended, Melanie felt like she had figured out what to do, but her poison sat in front of her, nearly untouched. Slughorn nodded past her before, as always, he began to praise Harry.

Melanie looked sympathetically at Hermione as Slughorn went on and on about Harry.

"This class is starting to become a full-out drama," Rhonda whispered to Melanie as Slughorn dismissed the class.

"Definitely," Melanie agreed, quickly cleaning up her things. "All right, here I go."

"Good luck," Rhonda told her as they parted ways. As Melanie approached the front of the class, she heard Slughorn actually chastising Harry.

"If you've seen that memory, Harry, you'll know that I don't know anything about Horcruxes."

"Sir, I just thought there might be a bit more to the memory," Harry responded.

"Did you?" Slughorn yelled. "Then you were wrong, weren't you? Wrong!" Slughorn turned to charge out of the room, but instead nearly ran into Melanie.

"What now?" he exclaimed, an angry look over his face until Melanie finally registered in his brain. "Ah, Miss Brienwald. I did tell you to meet with me this afternoon, didn't I?" he said nervously, throwing a look back towards Harry.

"Yes, sir."

"Well, come up to my office, then, dear, and I shall discuss with you the, er, matter we came here to discuss," he continued, throwing another look at Harry as he led her out of the room. Melanie sent Harry an apologetic look as she followed Slughorn out of the room and into his office.

"Yes, my parents' letter," she reminded him when they arrived in his office and she sat down in the chair in front of his desk.

"Of course," he agreed, sitting down behind his desk and pulling out a piece of parchment. "Yes. I must say I was very surprised when I received this letter from your parents. I assume, of course, that you know about this letter?"

"Yes, sir. My parents told me that they were going to send letters to old friends."

Slughorn nodded. "Well, I must say that their request is among the oddest I have ever encountered. Not that I cannot understand their predicament. I understand the fear and the need to flee and lie low. Yes, I do. And I cannot imagine adding two young children to the mix. Fleeing to America was a very smart solution, very smart; it reflected the intelligence and creativity of your parents. Oh, and they were, yes, very intelligent and very talented. Your mother was the best in her year at potions, yes," he looked dreamily into space. "There is always one every year-one student who stands heads above the rest. Your mother was that for her class, and there was Severus Snape-Professor Snape now-Lily Evans, Harry's mother, and, oh yes, Harry seems to be following in her footsteps quite nicely. I was tickled when I found I would have both Violetta's and Lily's children in the same class! Of course, you are unfortunately working from a disadvantage. Had this been your sixth year of potions study rather than your first, I would say that you would be challenging Mr. Potter quite nicely."

He looked at her as though he was inspecting her. "Yes, yes. What you have done is truly remarkable-to gain your O.W.L.s after but one summer of study, to successfully take N.E.W.T. level classes your first year at Hogwarts. Yes, all of it is truly remarkable! What potential you have!"

He looked back down at the letter. "Well, as for your parents' request, I am afraid I cannot offer you as much assistance as they would like. However, I will happily give you all that I can supply. I have contacts, you see-yes, contacts with some of the most influential witches and wizards in England. I can happily recommend you to any one of them as a bright, upward bound witch. Yes, once you leave Hogwarts I will give you a step up in whatever career you choose to pursue."

Melanie blinked, not knowing what to think. "Thank you, sir."

He shook his head. "No problem, my dear. It pleases me to assist talented witches like yourself in your chosen field." He paused. "What career are you intending to pursue, my dear?"

Melanie blushed. "I don't know, sir. I have been focusing more on my studies."

"Of course, of course! Nothing is more important than your studies. After all, the grades get you the job. Well, let's begin with this: what classes are you taking?"

"Well, potions, obviously," Melanie answered, "and defense against the dark arts, charms, and herbology."

Slughorn laughed. "Ah! Almost the exact making of an auror, if you could manage to somehow add transfiguration. Much like Mr. Potter. Is that a hidden ambition of yours, eh?"

"Oh, no, sir. You see, when Professor Dumbledore asked Hermione to tutor me this summer, they chose what I studied."

He nodded. "Of course. How silly of me to jump to conclusions. Those subjects are, after all, the most common subjects studied. With a solid background in all of them, you are eligible for almost any job you could want. How very smart of Albus." He shifted in his chair. "However, I would suggest that you focus on your talent with potions. Your talent is not lacking, only your previous experience. I could possibly give you extra lessons to make up for that. If we start now, you could be giving Mr. Potter a run for his money by the end of term."

Melanie gave a faint laugh. "That would be wonderful if I had the time, but I'm trying to catch up in my classes, Professor. That, combined with all of my regular work, is keeping me busy."

"Not to mention the whole musea thing and all the other problems I have outside of the classroom," she added under her breath.

"What did you say, dear?" Slughorn asked, bending to move his ear closer to Melanie.

"Oh, nothing, sir," Melanie said, smiling innocently.

"Oh, yes. Anyway, it's very unfortunate that you have not the time for extra study. It would greatly benefit you."

"Thank you very much for the offer. Perhaps I would be able to take advantage of it next year after I've had another summer to catch up."

He nodded. "Yes, that would be excellent, and just in time for your N.E.W.T.s as well."

Melanie smiled and nodded as a low rumbling came from behind the desk.

"Oh! I do believe that means it is time for dinner," he announced, standing up. "Let's make our way to the Great Hall."

Melanie nodded and walked with him out of his office.

"Of course, Miss Brienwald," he continued as they walked towards the Great Hall, "you know that if you should ever require career advice or an introduction to someone, please send me an owl. Per your parents' request, I am making it my goal to lead you to future success, so please let me know what I can do to assist you."

"Of course, sir. Thank you for your help," Melanie told him as they reached the Great Hall.

"Oh, it is nothing for a talented young witch like yourself. Enjoy your dinner."

"I will, sir," Melanie answered as she walked towards the Ravenclaw table.

"So, how did it go?" Rhonda asked as Melanie sat down next to her.

"Not too bad," she answered. "He's making me into his little project-going to give me all of the training and contacts I need to become a successful little witch."

"Well, there you go, just like Mommy and Daddy wanted."

"Mommy and Daddy want me to go back to the U.S. and become a successful cheerleader. This is their fallback plan, I guess."

Rhonda laughed. "Not that it would be hard. You're from an old pureblood family. Who isn't going to want to help you?"

"I don't know. I don't think that Professor Slughorn called me into that meeting knowing he was going to help me. It's like he spent the first half of our conversation feeling me out and trying to decide if I was worth it."

Rhonda shrugged her shoulders. "Doesn't sound unlikely. Why would he put forth the effort to help you if you just end up going back to the States or something?"

"That sounds so shallow."

"Welcome to the real world. People help those who can help them back."

Melanie laughed. "I'll scratch your back if you'll scratch mine-it's how the world turns." She shook her head as she began to eat her food.

~*~*~*~

"Melanie, how did you manage to learn how to do this?" Hermione asked in surprise. It was Saturday, they were all gathered once again in the organ room, and Melanie had managed to effectively guard Rhonda, Ginny, and Hermione from various hexes.

"Over Christmas," Melanie admitted, sending Rhonda a warning look. Rhonda nodded. "It worked with my brother, and...I guess it's easier to do it since I know I can."

Hermione nodded. "Well, I guess it's about time that we should tell Dumbledore what we've accomplished. He'll know what to do from here."

"How are we going to tell him?" Melanie asked.

"I can tell him," Harry suggested. "I'm meeting with him next week, so I can tell him then. If he wants to meet with all of us, then he can arrange a meeting from there."

"I should really be the one to tell him, since I am the leader," Hermione complained. "How about I write a letter that you can give him. That way I know he'll hear everything important."

"Do you not trust me?" Harry asked.

Hermione pretended to not hear him and looked over the room. Ginny was lazily throwing hexes at Rhonda, who simply stood there. Melanie's protection was working perfectly and it looked like Ginny was just casting the spells to thin air. Ron was in the corner, working on a herbology paper.

"Well, I guess that's it for a while," Hermione announced. "Until Dumbledore tells us what we should do next, there's no reason for us to continue. I guess we'll say this is it for now, and I'll find you all and tell you what we're doing next after Harry talks to Dumbledore."

"Great, now I will have time to finish all of this homework," Ron said, standing up happily and collecting his things.

"Yes, you don't have a lot of time now that you're sucking Lavender's face off," Hermione whispered under her breath as Ron walked out. She walked off with Harry. Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Gryffindor's become a war zone with those two," she commented to herself as she walked off.

"Trouble in paradise, I see," Rhonda said as they left behind everyone else.

"Yeah, I'm suddenly glad to be in Ravenclaw," Melanie returned. The two girls laughed as they made their way up to the Ravenclaw common room.

~*~*~*~

A few days later, Melanie received a letter from Dumbledore asking for her to meet with him that night. When she went up to his office after dinner, she found that Harry and Hermione were already there.

"Good, I see that we are all here," Dumbledore announced as the three of them sat down. "Now, as Miss Granger explained in her letter, it would seem that Miss Brienwald has indeed discovered that her abilities can be transferred to others."

"Yes, sir," Hermione chirped. "She threw hexes off of Ginny, Rhonda, and me."

Dumbledore nodded. "I see. Miss Brienwald, have you discovered the continuous factor behind all of this? Over break, you mentioned something about 'deep emotional bonds'. Does your power just relay over lines of emotional bonds, or can it be expanded?"

"I think the transfer like I had over break," Melanie explained, carefully wording her statement in an attempt to hide her protection of Draco, "relied on emotional bonds. But now I think I just have to consciously establish a connection. Because, with no offense, I'm not that close to Ginny, and I don't think that she would fall in the category of 'deep emotional bonds.'"

Dumbledore nodded. "That is what I assumed. But, assuming that you were willing, you could in fact establish a connection with a very large number of people?"

"I don't know if there's a limit to people I can connect to, but, yes, sir."

"Have her connect to the Order!" Harry suddenly exclaimed. "She could protect everyone!"

"I have thought of that, of course, Harry. However, I remain doubtful as to whether that is the best option at this time."

"What do you mean, sir?" Hermione asked.

"You will notice that I did not invite everyone from your team here this evening. I chose to meet with you three for three very specific reasons. Melanie, as it is your abilities that we are discussing, it is quite obvious that you should be present. Miss Granger, you are the leader of this research group, and you need to be present in order to be able to suitably judge which is the best course of action for your group. And then, Harry, you have information that also requires your presence."

Harry gave him a confused look. "Sir?"

"We are walking on very delicate ground," Dumbledore explained, standing up and beginning to pace around his desk. "Judging from Melanie's experiences over Christmas break, I think it would be unwise to quickly connect her to a large amount of people. Since we do not know if the connection can be broken, I do not want to expose her through connections to several individuals who are constantly in grave danger." Dumbledore turned to Harry. "Has she yet established a connection with you?"

Harry shook his head. "No, sir. I was busy and arrived late to the meeting."

Dumbledore nodded. "Then I would suggest that you refrain from establishing such a connection until Miss Brienwald fully understands all of the risk."

"What do you mean, sir?"

"I mean, if you feel that you can trust her, by fully explaining everything. I would suggest, if you had time, to start from your first year at Hogwarts, but at least include all details relevant to any risk she would accept by establishing a connection with you. Of course, if you do not feel that you can trust her, I understand if you choose to leave her in the dark."

Melanie looked at Harry with a confused look. "I don't care sir," he said. "I trust her."

"Good," Dumbledore said as he sat down again. "Now, I would suggest that Miss Brienwald continue to train and strengthen her skills. However, I would suggest that you use caution with whom you establish connections to. Be sure to thoroughly examine all of the risks involved to that individual, and therefore you. After your experience over break, you can see why it is important that you are careful in whom you choose to establish connections with."

"But, sir, I didn't choose to establish that connection," Melanie argued, looking worriedly at Hermione and Harry's confused faces.

"True, but as that weakness has already been revealed, I would recommend that you do not purposefully add any more."

"Yes, sir," Melanie agreed weakly.

"Good, then I do believe that is everything we needed to discuss," he said, standing up. "Unless any of you have questions?'

"No, sir." All three of them shook their heads as they stood up.

"Good. I shall see you three later, then," Dumbledore added as the group walked out.

When they reached the hallway, Hermione turned to Melanie.

"What did Dumbledore mean by what happened over break?"

"I already told you, it was when I learned how to actually distribute my powers."

"But the way he was saying it, it sounded like someone was attacked or something," Harry said.

"Look, it's nothing, and I don't want to talk about it," Melanie told them, starting to walk a bit faster.

"Melanie, I'm in charge of helping you figure your abilities out, and if this has anything to with them then keeping the information from me is irresponsible. I have to know!" Hermione shouted, running to catch up to her.

"It's nothing you need to understand. And I just don't feel comfortable telling you yet."

Harry gave her a hurt look. "Then maybe I don't feel comfortable telling you everything about me."

Melanie looked at him in surprise. Hermione gasped. "Harry, she needs to know that! Dumbledore said..."

"Dumbledore said I should tell her if I trusted her. And I don't feel like trusting her if she can't trust us."

"It's not that I don't trust you," Melanie explained, searching her mind for an explanation. "It's just that this...What happened during break includes something I'm ashamed of, and I'm worried that you'll think less of me if you knew."

"Melanie, we wouldn't think less of you," Hermione comforted. "We're your friends." When her plea didn't seem to sway Melanie, her face hardened. "And we need to know."

"Look, what I'm going to tell you isn't so happy, either," Harry admitted. "You might decide that I'm not the kind of person you want to be around." He took a step towards her. "I'll trust you with my secrets if you trust me with yours."

Melanie sighed. "Look. I'm still not comfortable telling you. How about we keep this purely business-like? You can tell me just what is necessary for me to know being a musea, and I'll tell you just what you need to know to help me."

"Fine. In that case, Hermione can give you all of the information you need and I don't even have to be here," Harry huffed, walking off.

"Harry!" Melanie shouted after him.

"It's all right, Melanie. He's just upset that you won't trust him."

"I do trust him, Hermione. But he won't like what I tell him, and I'm scared that he won't talk to me anymore because of it."

"What could be that bad?" Hermione asked.

Melanie just looked at her. "It is. Look, it's late. Let's set a time where we can both sit down and have this long discussion."

Hermione sighed and nodded. "Fine. We both have a free period after lunch tomorrow, how about we meet in the organ room then?"

Melanie nodded. "Works for me," she said as she walked off towards the Ravenclaw common room.

~*~*~*~

Hermione was right on time for their meeting after lunch the next day. She sat down in a desk across from the one Melanie was sitting in.

"Okay, who wants to go first?" she asked.

Melanie bit her lip. "Well, since my whole Christmas experience will help you understand what Professor Dumbledore was saying, I guess I should start." Hermione nodded and Melanie took a deep breath.

"When I was at home during break, my power went off to someone else. But, because it was the first time my powers were transported somewhere, I caught some of the remainder of the curse. My parents were rightfully worried and brought me back here, hoping that Dumbledore could figure out what had happened."

"Of course," Hermione agreed.

"And I guess that's why Dumbledore is being cautious now, since I actually suffered when my power went out."

"But you haven't been having any problems when we're been practicing?"

"I know. That was just because it was the first time. My body wasn't used to it. I should be perfectly fine now."

"But Dumbledore's still concerned," Hermione finished. "But I don't understand why you didn't want to tell us, Melanie? What, were you ashamed?"

Melanie shook her head. "No. It's not that at all." She sighed. "I was just scared of Harry's reaction when he found out who I helped."

Hermione looked at her in confusion. "How can that be a problem? Melanie, your power only goes out to those you want it to-to the people you care about. Why would Harry be upset by...Oh, I see. It's another boy, isn't it?"

Melanie nodded. "That is part of it," she admitted.

"Melanie, you don't have to worry," Hermione assured her. "Look, I've been noticing things...with Harry." She lowered her voice. "I honestly think that he's starting to like Ginny. You shouldn't worry about that. He might be slightly surprised at first, but he'll be fine with it. Actually, I think he'd be hurt more by you not telling him than by admitting you protected another boy."

"I wish it was that simple," Melanie said, sighing.

"Well now I think you're just being silly," Hermione scoffed. "I think you should just tell him."

"Just like you're telling Ron?" Melanie threw back.

Hermione threw her a hurt look. "Maybe you don't have to hear about Harry," she said, standing up and walking towards the door.

"Hermione, wait!" Melanie shouted after her. "I'm sorry." She managed to get Hermione to stop before she marched out the door. "But I was just trying to point out that sometimes, even if we know what we feel and what we should do, it's harder to what we want than we would like."

Hermione sighed. "I guess you're right. Okay, on to Harry," she said, walking back to her desk.

"Now, I already explained most of Harry's history over the summer," Hermione started. "About his parents and Voldemort and everything."

Melanie nodded.

"Well, we found out a bit more last year. How much do you read The Daily Prophet?"

"Every once in a while, if I happen to see Rhonda's copy sitting around."

"Have you been reading anything about Harry?"

Melanie thought for a while. "You mean all of that "Chosen One' stuff?"

Hermione nodded, and the color drained from Melanie's face. "It's true?!"

"You can't tell anyone, not even Rhonda. Dumbledore, Harry, Ron, and I are the only people that know."

Melanie nodded. "So it's all true, everything in the Prophet about the prophecy and such?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes. Harry heard it from Dumbledore at the end of last year, after everything that happened at the Ministry, and he told Ron and me at the beginning of term. Apparently, Harry is the only person who can kill Voldemort."

"Harry, having to face Voldemort? That's horrible."

Hermione nodded. "Actually, from the way the prophecy sounds, one of them has to kill the other. Either Harry must kill Voldemort or," Hermione swallowed, "Voldemort will kill Harry."

Melanie turned white and there was silence.

"So, you see why Dumbledore is telling you to be cautious of forming a connection with Harry? It's liable that that connection could result in your death, if Harry is attacked by Voldemort."

Melanie nodded solemnly. "That's something to think about."

Hermione nodded and stood up from the desk. "I'll let you think about it for a while. Between Harry and deciding if you are willing to establish connection with others, I think it should be your decision on what to do next."

Melanie nodded.

"But, I do think that you need to at least increase the strength of your power. So I think that you should continue to practice with those of us that you have already established a connection with."

Melanie nodded, still trying to process everything. Hermione started to walk towards the door, stopping and turning around at the last moment.

"Who is it? Who did you help?" she asked.

"I'd rather not say," Melanie admitted, looking away.

"It can't be that awful. I mean, I took McLaggen to the Christmas party. Who can be worse than that?"

"Trust me," Melanie told her. "You don't want to know."

"It's not Ron, is it?"

"Oh, no! It's nobody you're close to, don't worry."

Hermione threw her a suspicious look

"Suit yourself," she said, walking out the door. Melanie waited until she knew that Hermione would be well on her way to Gryffindor tower before she left the room.

When she finally reached the Ravenclaw common room, Rhonda pulled her into one of the alcoves.

"So, how'd it go?"

Melanie shrugged. "I managed to get by without telling her exactly who I helped. So, she, at least, is still talking to me."

"Harry still mad that you wouldn't tell him?"

"He ignored me in all of my classes today," Melanie pointed out.

Rhonda sighed. "Are you sure that you're right with all of this Malfoy stuff? Maybe it's not what you think it is?"

"What else could it be?"

"Maybe you protected him because he's your cousin or something. C'mon, I've seen you and Harry together. You're really cute."

"Are you still trying to push for that, Rhonda? It's not going to work like that. First of all, I don't think of Harry in that way. Second, well, Hermione told me she thinks he likes Ginny."

"Ginny?!" Rhonda asked in disbelief. "What does he see in Ginny?"

"Shhh! I don't know; I'm not him. But, the truth is, we both care about different people. There is never going to be a romantic relationship between us, Rhonda." Melanie sighed. "And right now I'm just trying to figure out how to save our friendship."

"Well, I hope you figure something out. In the meantime, I'm going to sleep," Rhonda said, starting to climb up to their room.

"Yeah, I probably should, too," Melanie agreed, following her up. The two girls changed into nightgowns and climbed into bed.

"Melanie?" Rhonda whispered.

"What?"

"You're not mad at me for wanting you to like Harry, are you?"

"Of course not. Why would I be?"

"I know, but you can't blame me for trying to get you to choose Harry over Malfoy. I mean, I've been watching him since we came back, and I still think he's a cruel, unfeeling git and that you can do much better."

Melanie laughed. "You're most likely right. But, I can't shake the feeling that there's something decent and worthwhile under that."

"For your sake, Melanie, I hope you're right," Rhonda told her as she rolled over and went to sleep.

~*~*~*~

Life at Hogwarts progressed. Besides lessons, Melanie, Rhonda, and the rest of the sixth years started attending apparition lessons on Saturdays. Hermione still met with Melanie to help her with homework, but not a lot happened by way of developing Melanie's musea abilities. Harry was still upset at Melanie for not explaining everything, and he, and therefore Ron, kept their distance. The uneasiness was so high that Melanie did not even feel comfortable visiting Ron in the hospital wing when he was poisoned in March.

Class continued in its usual manner, and, without the extra meetings anymore, she threw herself back into her review. She managed to catch up on all of her classes except herbology, and started to relax a bit in the rest of her classes. Of course, as they delved deeper into the dark arts in defense, Melanie always felt a little uneasy listening to Snape lecture in the dark classroom.

Melanie became particularly uncomfortable one day when Snape had them open their books and read about the Cruciatus Curse.

"Does anyone have any questions?" Snape sneered as he quickly scanned the room. "No, good, because..."

"Excuse me, sir, but I have a question," Draco's voice interrupted from the back of the room.

Half of the class turned to look at him in surprise; it was the first time that any of them could remember Draco saying anything in class aside from snide comments.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy?" Snape asked, barely managing to hide his own surprise.

"Is there absolutely no way to shield yourself from the Cruciatus curse?"

"No, Mr. Malfoy. As the book states, there is no reliable method of protection from Cruciatus."

"Are you absolutely positive, sir?"

This caused another shock wave of whispers to pass through the classroom. Nobody had ever second-guessed Professor Snape.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy, I am absolutely positive. The only way to avoid the Cruciatus Curse is to duck. If you wish to ask for even more clarification, I will ask you to write two feet on the subject." He paused. "Do you need further clarification, Mr. Malfoy?"

"No, sir," Draco answered. As soon as Snape had moved on with the lesson, Melanie saw him begin to whisper hurriedly with Crabbe and Goyle.

After class was over, Hermione caught up with her and grabbed her arm.

"Organ room, now," she whispered. Melanie managed to catch Rhonda's eye as Hermione pulled her to the organ room.

"What is it, Hermione?" Melanie asked as they walked into the classroom.

"It was the Cruciatus curse that hit you over break, wasn't it?" she asked hurriedly.

Melanie nodded. "Did I not mention that? I'm sorry..."

"It was Malfoy, wasn't it?" she interrupted.

The color drained from Melanie's face. "Where would you get an idea like that from?" she asked, attempting to sound innocent.

"Just now, in defense. Why else would Malfoy actually be asking questions in class that he already knew the answers to, then start whispering to Crabbe and Goyle about how it can't be right, that HE somehow blocked the curse at Christmas."

"I don't know, there could be other explanations," Melanie lied, fidgeting and looking down at her shoes.

"Oh, stop it, Melanie, you're a bad liar. You're not looking me in the face and you're beet red."

"Well, don't I have a reason to lie about it?" she asked. "I already know what your reaction's going to be. I knew when I first figured it out what everyone's reaction would be. Why else do you think I tried to hide it all?"

"But Malfoy! Of all of the wizards in the world, why did it have to be Malfoy?"

"I don't know, it wasn't like it was a conscious choice."

Hermione didn't respond. Instead, she started to pace rapidly around the room.

"Look, Hermione," Melanie told her, trying to calm her down. "Don't get yourself all worked up over this, it's nothing."

"Nothing? You call the fact that you like a spoiled, evil, maniacal, possible Death Eater nothing?!?"

"Yes, because I know that's what I would lead to-nothing. Hermione, it's just a little crush. I don't expect him to feel the same way about me. I'll get over it."

Hermione shook her head. "This isn't something that you can just get over, Melanie. That was a strong bit of magic you did. A little crush isn't strong enough to facilitate that kind of magic."

Melanie sighed. "I know, Hermione, but I'd rather live in blissful ignorance thinking that it's just a little crush. I mean, it's not possible for him to feel the same way about me-Draco's too cruel and unfeeling to care about anyone."

Hermione kept shaking her head. "Melanie, you don't understand..."

"Don't understand what?"

She sighed. "Imagine that two people are like two cliffs-completely separate from each other. In order for something to pass between them-like your musea powers-you need a bridge of sorts, in this case a strong emotional bond."

"Yeah," Melanie agreed.

"What's one thing that every bridge must have? It must be strongly secured on both sides. It's why your powers can't be given to someone you don't want them to-because they require an emotional bond that you won't accept. But the same is also true of whoever receives the magic. You can transfer your powers to me, Ginny, and Rhonda because we are willing to accept them, so..."

"No," Melanie interrupted. Hermione was quiet for a second.

"So your powers were able to be transferred to Malfoy because he feels the same emotional bond to you," Hermione finished.

"I said, 'no,'" Melanie told her. "I didn't want to hear it."

"But you needed to," Hermione returned quietly. There was silence in the room for a long while.

"I still can't understand what you possibly see in him," Hermione broke the silence. "He's such a spoiled and cruel little git."

Melanie let a smile cross her face. "He has his moments."

"Yeah, like a grand total of three the entire time I've known him," Hermione scoffed.

"But that means that there might be something worthwhile underneath it all."

Hermione laughed as she picked up her bookbag. "Good luck with that," she said as she walked towards the door.

"Hermione, wait, you're not going to tell Harry, are you?" Melanie asked worriedly.

"Why on Earth would I do something like that? He'd freak out even more than I am. He's positively convinced that Malfoy's a Death Eater, and I'm inclined to agree that he is leaning in that direction. He's not a good choice."

"Hermione, it's not like I sat down and thought all of this through. I almost wish that I could make my feelings disappear."

Hermione nodded. "I know, and that's why I'm trying to be understanding about this and trying to control my temper."

"Thanks."

"Of course," Hermione answered, shifting her bookbag a little. "Now, I have to head off to Arithmacy. I'll talk to you later, all right?"

Melanie nodded as Hermione headed out of the room. After she had left, Melanie decided to take advantage of the quiet to write the newly-assigned paper for defense. She shivered as she wrote about the effects of the Cruciatus Curse. She remembered her slight encounter with it and imagined how horrible it must be for someone who had experienced it fully. Then her thoughts drifted to Draco and why someone had attacked him with it over break.

The next thing she knew, it was time for lunch, and she was putting away her book and half-completed essay.

"What did Hermione want?" Rhonda asked as Melanie sat down beside her at the Ravenclaw table.

"She figured it out about Draco," Melanie whispered, "because of his questions during defense."

Rhonda gasped.

"But don't worry, she's not going to tell anyone, especially not Harry."

Rhonda nodded. "Oh, they had a sign up in the common room about the apparition test. They're going to have extra practice sessions in Hogsmeade for everyone whose birthday is before April 21st."

"Are you serious? Three stupid days and I'd be old enough," Melanie grumbled.

"Boo. Well, now I'll be able to tell you what to expect when you take it."

Melanie laughed. "Well, with how you're doing in apparition, I wouldn't be surprised if I will be the one to tell you what it's like to actually pass the test."

"Hey, I'm getting better!" Rhonda returned, gently pushing her. Melanie continued to laugh as she finished her lunch.

"Oh, do you want to work on the defense essay during our free period?" Rhonda asked.

Melanie nodded. "I'm already about half-done; I was working on it before lunch."

"Oh. I was spending that time to finish the potions essay due this afternoon."

Melanie laughed. "I finished that this weekend."

"It's not fair," Rhonda complained as they left the Great Hall. "You've only been here a year and you're already better than I am at potions."

Melanie flipped her hair over her shoulders. "I'm just talented," she sighed dramatically, and the two girls laughed as they walked towards the library.

~*~*~*~

The rest of the week seemed to fly past, and soon Rhonda was leaving for Hogsmeade with a majority of the sixth years for more apparation lessons. Melanie tried to read the last of the fifth year herbology lessons she was trying to cover, but found that a group of third years sitting around the common room fireplace were making too much noise. Melanie sighed, grabbed her book, and decided to head to the organ room for some quiet.

As she approached the seventh floor, she ran into Harry, who also seemed to be making his way upstairs.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"The common room's too loud, and I decided to go up to the organ room to study. What about you?"

"Oh, I was just walking around, since Ron and Hermione are in Hogsmeade. Is that where Rhonda is?"

Melanie nodded. "It sucks having a birthday after April, doesn't it?"

Harry laughed. "Yeah, but that means that we get more time to practice than everyone else."

"True," Melanie agreed as they reached the door to the organ room. "Well, I guess I'll see you later, unless you want to skip your walk and join me."

Harry though for a moment, and Melanie saw him finger something in his bag. "No, I think I'll finish my walk."

Melanie nodded. "Of course you wouldn't, you're still mad at me. Sorry, I forgot."

"No, Melanie. I just, well, I need to be alone to figure something out."

"You don't have to lie, Harry. I know you're mad at me for not telling you what happened during break, and you have every right to be..."

"Well, about that," Harry interrupted. "Hermione talked to me the other day and told me that it wasn't something I should be upset about. She said that she talked to you and you had a really good reason for not telling anyone."

Melanie nodded and looked down at the ground.

"She also said that it's not a trust issue-it's a personal thing."

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," Melanie agreed, still avoiding looking directly at Harry.

Harry nodded. "Well, was Hermione's explanation of everything suitable? Do you have any more questions?"

Melanie looked at him in surprise. "No, actually. Hermione's explanation was very good."

"I assumed it would be. But I thought I would make sure. Well, I'm going to go, there's things I have to do. But would you like to have another flying lesson tonight, when I get everything done and Ron and Hermione are back?"

"Yeah," Melanie agreed, smiling. "That would be great."

Harry nodded. "Good, I'll find you after dinner." He waved good-bye as he walked down the hall. Melanie closed the door and smiled as she opened her herbology book.

A few hours later, the Phantom appeared from the organ. "You seem happy today," she commented.

Melanie looked at her with a big smile. "Because I am. Harry's not mad at me anymore, Hermione knows about Draco and is still willing to talk to me, I'm finally getting the hang of apparating, and now," she closed her book with a flourish, "I have successfully learned everything from the fifth-year herbology book, rather than just the general overview Hermione gave me to help me pass my O.W.L.s."

"So you are caught up?"

"Well, I still don't quite understand what we're doing now, but I completely and totally understand everything up until this year!"

"Just in time to start studying for exam week," the phantom commented.

"Of course, but I'm caught up! I might actually have free time! All term, I've been spending almost every spare moment trying to catch up. Defense wasn't that hard, since almost everyone was behind and we've been catching up in the normal class, and I love potions, so I've been doing really well in there. I caught up in charms right after Christmas. Well, I can't come up with every spell right off the top of my head, but I understand and can do them all, and now herbology! I'm a normal student!" Melanie stood up and spun around happily.

The phantom laughed as Melanie stopped spinning. "Well, I still say that I am quite impressed. To cover six years of schooling in one year is quite an amazing feat."

"Oh, it's not as amazing as people make it out to be. I just studied five subjects, and I've dropped one of them since. I didn't learn any history or astronomy like the others."

The phantom nodded. "True. So, what do you plan on accomplishing with your free time?"

Melanie sat down. "I don't know. Next year I could maybe take one of the classes that I didn't take earlier-learn Astronomy or something. Or, I could take extra lessons with Professor Slughorn, like he suggested." Her eyes brightened. "I know what. I'm going to study being a musea."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I'm going to see exactly how far I can push my abilities, see what all I can do with them. Then, when I die and the spirit moves on, maybe the next musea will be able to continue it."

"We have been trying for centuries to get the wizarding community to believe in our existence, Melanie. What makes you think that you can succeed?"

"I'm not trying to convince the entire wizarding community that I exist-only the next musea," Melanie answered with a smile.

The ghost laughed. "I wish you luck, then," she replied with a nod of her head.

"I'm already starting to get ideas. But, for now," she said, jumping up from her seat and grabbing her books, "I am going to go down to supper and then go flying with my friends."

"Enjoy your evening," the ghost replied, disappearing into the organ as Melanie skipped out of the room. She didn't stop until she had skipped right into her seat next to Rhonda.

"You look mighty happy," Rhonda said. "You haven't gone crazy, have you?"

"No, I simply feel as though I am at peace with the world," Melanie said as she started to eat her dinner.

"What happened to make you so happy?"

Melanie sighed and looked around the Great Hall, just allowing herself to take everything in-the other students jabbering happily to one another, the ceiling above that was starting to reflect a gorgeous sunset. She saw Ron waving his hands around as he explained something to Harry and Hermione at the Gryffindor table, and she even gathered the courage to look outright at the Slytherin table. Draco happened to be looking her way, and Melanie just continued to smile happily as she turned back to the Ravenclaw table. "I don't know," she explained to Rhonda, "I'm just happy. Oh, Harry asked if I wanted to go flying after dinner. Do you want to come along? I think he was going to have Ron and Hermione join us, as well."

"Sounds like fun, except that I don't have a broom."

"Oh, I don't either, and he knows that. Actually, I don't think Hermione has one either."

"I guess we'll borrow some of the school's broomsticks, then."

Indeed, that was Harry's plan. When Rhonda and Melanie walked with Ron and Hermione down to the pitch, they found Harry standing their with his Firebolt, and then three of the school brooms, since Ron had brought along his own broom.

"Maybe I'll just sit and watch," Hermione said, looking warily at the worn school brooms that Melanie and Rhonda were getting on.

"Oh, come on, Hermione," Ron encouraged her. "You took flying first year."

"And you can't possibly be worse than I am," Melanie added as she kicked off of the ground. She had never been on one of the school brooms before, and found that it was not as easy to control as Harry or Lisa's.

"Wow, Melanie, you've gotten loads better," Harry said as the rest of them took to the sky.

"I borrowed a roommate's broom a few times," Melanie admitted, her mind suddenly remembering Draco teaching her how to play catch. "You can trust me, Melanie," his voice echoed in her mind. She shook the memory away as Ron counted the group.

"We almost have enough to split into teams," Ron announced. "We should have asked Ginny or someone to come so that we could have an even number."

"You could go back and get her," Harry suggested quickly, and Hermione threw Melanie a look.

Ron shook his head, "Nah. We should just play girls against guys. Three girls against two Gryffindor quidditch players should be an even match-up, don't ya think?"

"Are you saying that girls can't beat you, Ron?" Hermione asked indignantly.

"I'm saying that three girls who have hardly ever flown on school brooms can't."

"We'll see," Hermione said, flying over to one side of the pitch. Rhonda and Melanie followed her.

"All right, girls, now we have to figure out a strategy that can beat the guys," she began as Melanie saw Harry go to retrieve a quaffle.

"Don't look at me, I don't know anything about quidditch strategy," Rhonda said.

"Me, neither."

Hermione sighed. "Okay, we're smarter than they are. Use your brains."

"And if all else fails, your wand," Rhonda added with a raise of the eyebrows.

They all giggled as the turned to face the boys.

"All right, first one to five wins," Ron shouted from across the pitch.

"We'll see you at five," Melanie shouted back

"Come and get it," Harry taunted, holding the quaffle in front of him.

Melanie shot off straight at him, but he quickly tossed the quaffle to Ron, who took off towards the opposite goals. Hermione tried to stop him, but Ron quickly flew around her as she wobbled on her broom. Rhonda snuck up behind him, though, and knocked the quaffle out of his hands. She caught it and started to take off towards the boys' goal. Harry headed her off, and Rhonda tossed the quaffle towards Melanie. She fumbled it a bit before catching it, then tried to beat Harry to the goal.

"I have a Firebolt, Melanie, you can't beat me!" Harry shouted as he quickly caught up to her. Melanie screeched to a stop, and Harry passed her up. But he quickly rebounded and headed back to her. Melanie fumbled with the quaffle trying to gain enough control over both her and the broom to toss the quaffle into the goal.

Harry stopped and watched her. "Can you even toss that through the goal?" he asked, amused.

Melanie gave him a defiant look. "Of course I can!" She took a deep breath, grabbed hold of the quaffle and gave it a hearty toss towards the goal. She smiled triumphantly at Harry when it went in. "All those years of playing basketball against my brother really helped. That's one."

"Oh, it's on now," Ron said, catching the quaffle after it went through the hoop. "Oi, Harry!" He threw the quaffle over to Harry, who immediately zoomed past everyone else to easily toss it through the girls' goal. "That would be one for us," he smirked.

"C'mon, Firebolt boy, let's see you do that again!" Rhonda shouted as she grabbed the quaffle. She zoomed around, but Ron grabbed the quaffle from her and quickly threw it back through the girls' goal.

"Two." He looked at Rhonda. "You're not half bad-for a Ravenclaw."

"And your head isn't too inflated-for a Gryffindor," Rhonda shot back, grabbing the quaffle again. She motioned for Hermione and Melanie to come by her.

"How about Operation Head-Deflate?" Rhonda asked, slightly pulling out her wand so the girls could see it.

"Hey, I'm a Gryffindor, too!" Hermione said indignantly.

"It's just a bit of fun," Melanie told her. "Just like being a Ravenclaw makes me a bad flier."

Hermione smiled. "All right, but use nonverbal spells. Let's see how long it takes them to catch on." She grinned as they spread out over the pitch again. Rhonda, quaffle in hand, started to fly towards the boys' goal. Ron was the first one to approach her, but Hermione subtly took out her wand and Ron noticeably slowed down.

"Ron!" Harry yelled as he dodged by Melanie and headed towards Rhonda. Melanie took out her wand, but she couldn't manage to slow Harry down.

"The Firebolt has an anti-jinx," Hermione whispered in her ear. Melanie nodded and turned her wand to Rhonda, who suddenly took off past Harry. She had thrown the quaffle through the goal before Melanie let her slow down.

"No fair, you're using wands!" Ron yelled as Harry grabbed the quaffle.

"So?" Melanie asked with a smile, shouting "Accio quaffle!" and letting the quaffle fly into her arms. She headed back towards the boys' goal and was about halfway there when she heard music in her mind.

"No fair, my jinxes can't hit you!" Ron shouted as Melanie tossed the quaffle in.

"Tough," Melanie answered.

"Okay, no more magic!" Harry yelled as he retrieved the quaffle. "The score's still two to three, but no more magic."

"Fine," the girls agreed as the game resumed again.

The boys easily outflew the girls and soon brought the score up to four to three.

"One more!" Ron shouted happily as Rhonda grabbed the quaffle and tried to run it down to the other end of the pitch. Harry and Ron headed toward her, and she threw the quaffle to Melanie. The boys shifted course towards Melanie, and she looked over at Hermione, who was floating close to the goals.

"Hermione!" she shouted.

"I can't catch!" she returned helplessly as Melanie tossed her the ball. She reached out to grab it, and it miraculously fell right into her hands. As she turned towards the goals, Ron sped towards her.

"Don't you dare come near me, Ron!" Hermione shouted at him as she threw the quaffle at the goals. The quaffle bounced off of the rim and into Ron's hands.

"Harry!" Ron shouted, speeding off and throwing it towards Harry. Rhonda tried to intercept him, but Harry threw the game-winning point through the highest ring.

Ron threw his hands up in triumph as he and Harry cruised around the pitch. The girls sneered at them as they flew back down to the ground. The boys joined them a few seconds later, getting off of their brooms and starting to walk towards the castle.

"You're quite good on a broom, Rhonda. Where'd you learn how to fly like that?" Harry asked.

"Oh, my cousins are big quidditch fans, and I was always brought in to make equal teams."

"Have you ever tried out for your house team?"

"Oh, no, I'm not that good," Rhonda said. "Plus, I'm really not that interested. It's fun every once in a while, but I don't like it enough to actually be on a team." The girls returned their borrowed brooms and the group started to walk back to the castle.

"So, how was practicing in Hogsmeade?" Melanie asked.

"All right, I guess. I might actually manage to pass the test now," Rhonda answered. "I'm still not really sure."

"I wish I could take the test," Melanie groaned. "Three days!! How silly is that?"

"Rules are rules," Hermione answered.

"You're just saying that because you're already of age," Harry threw back as the two groups split off to head towards their respective common rooms.

"I am getting a bit worried about this test," Rhonda said as she and Melanie approached the common room. "What if I don't pass?"

"Then you take it again," Melanie said as they walked into the common room. "Besides, you said that you did all right in Hogsmeade."

Rhonda shrugged. "I did manage to apparate-but that's been the first time. What if something goes wrong on the test?"

Melanie chuckled. "You'll do fine. Mark my words."

Sure enough, a few days later Rhonda returned to the common room from the apparition test with a giant smile on her face. "I passed!"

"Told you so," Melanie said, not even looking up from the essay she was working on.

~*~*~*~

The next weekend, Melanie continued practicing on her musea abilities with the group again. She still hadn't decided whether or not to establish a connection with anyone else, so she used Harry and Ron as hexers to experiment on whether she could assist several people at once. She had thought out a plan to systematically experiment with her powers and extend her ability, and her planned out lessons worked well. As the weeks passed, she could feel her powers growing within her.

"What are we going to do this weekend?" Rhonda asked as they headed down to dinner one night.

"Well, this weekend is the Gryffindor match against Ravenclaw, so we'll have to wait until afterwards to do anything," Melanie said.

"Oh, yeah, how could I forget? Everyone's talked of nothing else in the common room."

Melanie laughed, but stopped on the stairs.

"What is it?" Rhonda asked as their classmates walked past them.

"I'm hearing something, it's really faint, though," Melanie said, concentrating.

"Can you tell who?"

Melanie's eyes widened. "It's Draco, but I don't recognize the second melody-it's something I've never heard before," she said, turning and running back up the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Rhonda asked, trying to catch up to her.

"I think he's up here, I saw a bathroom," Melanie threw back. As she was running up the stairs, she forgot to jump the trick step and fell, hitting her head and blacking out.

She woke up in the hospital wing, Rhonda looking down at her. "Are you all right?" she asked.

"Yeah, my head just hurts," Melanie answered, sitting up.

"Madame Pomfrey says you hit it pretty hard on the stairs," Rhonda told her. "But you should be all right. You just knocked yourself out, nothing serious."

Melanie nodded, looking around her. "What about..."

"He's over there," Rhonda answered quickly, motioning towards a bed by the door. Melanie followed her motion and saw Draco sitting in a bed, Pansy Parkinson by his side, practically drooling over him.

"Are you all right, Draco?"

"Yes, but barely. Lucky Professor Snape found me, actually. It was horrible..."

Melanie wasn't listening to their words anymore, her attention went to Malfoy's paler than usual face and his blood-soaked robes. Malfoy saw her gaze and gave her a look that Melanie couldn't decipher.

"Well, you seem to be all right," Madame Pomfrey said, walking up to Melanie's bedside. "You can go back to your common room now."

Melanie nodded and got up out of the bed. When Madame Pomfrey turned to get something out of the cabinet, Melanie whispered to Rhonda, "Go on ahead." Rhonda gave her a confused look before nodding and walking out of the room. She bent down to pretend to tie her shoe. When she stood back up, Draco was staring at her, Pansy gone.

"See what your little boyfriend did?" he said.

"What?" Melanie asked, walking up to his bedside.

"Potter, your little boyfriend. See what he did to me? Not the little angel you though he was, eh?"

Melanie looked at him blankly. "Harry's not my boyfriend," she stammered.

"Oh, no?" he asked, a smile spreading across his face. "Turned down by 'The Chosen One?"

"Well, I don't see Miss 'Oh, Poor Draco' sitting around here anymore," Melanie returned.

"I asked her to get something for me from the common room. She's very worried about me."

"Good for her," Melanie commented, starting to walk towards the door. She stopped and turned back towards his bed. "Are you all right?"

"For now. And what about you, Yankee? Did you hit your head and get a boo-boo?"

"You know, I am trying to have a civilized conversation here. You could return the favor."

"Fine, then. What happened to your head? Are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I just tripped on the stairs. No big deal."

He nodded, then looked at her curiously. "Where you knocked out?"

"That's usually what happens when one falls on the stairs and hits your head," Melanie answered.

"Hey, what happened to a civilized conversation?"

"Sorry, I thought it was a slightly silly question."

He didn't answer, and just nodded. "When did this happen, right before dinner?"

"Yes," Melanie answered, slowly nodding her head. He opened his mouth to ask another question, then closed it.

"Well, you are probably wanting to return to your room. I don't want to keep you from returning to 'The Boy who Cursed' and hearing him exaggerate how much I'm exaggerating what he did to me."

Melanie let her eyes catch on a slight scar on his face. "Get better, Draco," she said before she turned and walked out.

She made her way back to the Ravenclaw common room, where Rhonda was waiting for her.

"Well?" Rhonda asked. "Why did you want to lag behind in the hospital wing?"

"Well, apparently he was attacked by Harry."

Instead of the surprise she had expected, Rhonda just nodded. "That makes sense."

"What?"

"Well, after dinner, someone came in and said something about how Harry wasn't going to be playing in the match on Saturday. The common room's been on cloud nine, actually."

Just then, Cho walked in with a group of her other friends. Rhonda and Melanie could hear their conversation as they approached.

"Can you imagine? Harry has detention every Saturday for the rest of term-so he won't be in the match. We're going to win the House Cup-easy!"

The girls smiled. Rhonda looked back at Melanie, who had turned white. Cho turned and saw her.

"Are you all right, Melanie? You look a little pale, and you weren't at supper."

"I forgot the vanishing step and hit my head," Melanie answered softly. "I'm still feeling a bit out of it, so I'm going to go to sleep. Good night." She changed and went to sleep before anyone could say anything else.

~*~*~*~

A good night's sleep didn't help, and she couldn't stop thinking about things. Every time she saw Harry in class, she tried to turn over everything she knew, trying to figure out exactly what had happened.

"Been preoccupied lately?" a voice asked behind her as she was working on a potions essay in the library.

"What?!" she asked, startled.

"Woah, are you all right?" Harry asked, sitting next to her.

"Oh, yeah. I'm sorry, I was just absorbed in my, er, essay." She looked at her piece of parchment. There were the three sentences that she had written twenty minutes ago.

"I see," Harry said, looking at her three sentences. "Is something wrong, Melanie?"

Melanie sighed. "What happened in the bathroom, Harry? What kind of curse did you use?" she blurted out before she could stop herself.

Harry turned white. "I didn't know what it did, Melanie. Otherwise I wouldn't have..." he trailed off.

"What was it? I've never heard a spell like that."

"I found it in, in my potions book. Wait, what did you say?"

"Your potions book?" Melanie asked.

"Yeah. But, what did you say?"

"What, oh, I, er, I asked what it was, I had never heard of a spell doing something like that."

Harry shook his head. "No, you said 'I've never heard a spell like that.'"

"Oh, it was just a slip of the tongue," Melanie said nervously, but she couldn't get by Harry's stare.

"It was Malfoy, wasn't it? Hermione said that you had, over break, IT WAS MALFOY!"

"Hush!" Madame Pince said, appearing from a stack of books.

"You protected Malfoy!" he whispered in disbelief.

"Shhh!"

"How could you, he's a Death Eater!"

"I don't know," Melanie pleaded.

"I trusted you! And all of this time, you were on his side!" He came as close to shouting as Madame Pince would allow.

"Harry, please," Melanie pleaded, tears starting to form in her eyes.

"No, don't talk to me, traitor," Harry said, storming away from the table. Through the tears forming in her eyes, she could see other students staring at her. She quickly gathered her books and ran up to the Ravenclaw common room.

"Melanie?" Rhonda asked as she saw Melanie's figure rush past towards their room. She followed, and found Melanie face down on the bed, crying.

"Melanie! What happened?" Rhonda asked, sitting down beside her.

"Harry figured out about Draco," Melanie told her between sobs. "He called me a traitor, said I was working for the other side." She rolled around to face Rhonda. "He thinks I'm working for Voldemort!"

Rhonda didn't say anything, she just hugged Melanie, and the two girls sat there for a while.

~*~*~*~

Melanie wanted to refuse to go to the quidditch match on Saturday morning, but Rhonda convinced her that she needed to support Ravenclaw. So, reluctantly, Melanie followed her housemates down to the quidditch pitch. Everyone else was excited, positive that Ravenclaw would beat Gryffindor and, therefore, take the House Cup. During the game, Melanie could barely concentrate. Her gaze kept going to the Slytherin section of the stands, where Draco stood, watching the game intently. Her heart dropped when she saw Pansy next to him, jumping excitedly whenever Ravenclaw would score. She sighed, trying to figure out how her life had gone so off track.

Her melancholy was well-hidden when Ravenclaw lost and she followed everyone as they trudged back to the common room amidst the cheers of the Gryffindors. She went back to her room and sat there. She looked over at her picture frames, floating about on the windowsill next to her bed. The picture of her and Sophie kept catching her eye. Melanie couldn't help but wonder how her world would be different had they never decided to come to London, or had Melanie's abilities been great enough then to protect Sophie, too.

She finally became frustrated and decided to head back to the common room.

"Gryffindor has a good team, they beat us soundly," Cho was saying. "They deserved the Cup."

"Even without Harry?"

Cho shrugged her shoulders. "Ginny's a good seeker, too."

Melanie tried to ignore them and sit down in an open chair.

"No surprise Harry's going after her, then. He seems to have a thing for seekers."

Cho was silent. "C'mon, Marietta, let's go down to dinner."

Melanie looked at them curiously as they walked out, thinking to herself as they left.

"Melanie, you're not going to guess what I just heard," Rhonda said, suddenly bursting into the room.

"What?" Melanie asked, drawing her attention away from the pictures.

"Harry's walking out on the grounds with Ginny Weasley! People are saying that he just walked into the Gryffindor common room and kissed her!"

Melanie laughed to herself. "Good for Harry. Hermione's been figuring he's liked her for a while, now."

"Are you okay?" Rhonda asked, eyeing her suspiciously.

"About Harry and Ginny," Melanie answered, standing up, "yes, I'm fine. I told you before, Rhonda, I knew he liked her. What I'm not so fine with is the fact that he won't talk to me, even as a friend."

Rhonda nodded. "Well, shall we go down to dinner?" Melanie nodded weakly as the two of them walked down to the Great Hall. The Ravenclaw boys were still complaining about the quidditch match, but the girls were all gossiping about Harry and Ginny. Melanie stayed out of the conversation, but threw a few looks towards the Gryffindor table. Harry was sitting happily by Ginny's side, chatting with Ron and Hermione.

"You know what?" Rhonda asked, looking at Melanie from her seat across from her. "Draco Malfoy has quite a happy look on his face despite Gryffindor winning the House Cup."

Melanie turned and saw Draco sitting at the Slytherin, where he was sitting facing the Ravenclaw table. He wasn't exactly smiling, but he had a pleased look on his face as he looked out over the Great Hall. Melanie just sighed and returned to her dinner.

When dinner was over, Melanie and Rhonda walked up to the organ room as usual.

"I don't know why I'm even going up here. I don't think anyone else is going to show up, now," Melanie said sadly as they walked into the empty classroom.

"You never know. Maybe Hermione talked some sense in him," Rhonda said hopefully.

"I doubt it. He seemed too upset to listen to reason," Melanie said, randomly starting to practice her charms homework. "And I don't know how much we can practice with just us two."

They practiced their charms for a few minutes, when the door opened unexpectedly.

"Hey, girls," Hermione greeted as she walked inside.

"Hermione! I didn't know if anyone else was coming."

"Well, Harry refuses to even mention you, and Ron's taking his side," Hermione sighed. "I've tried to talk to him a bit, but nothing yet. Maybe I'll try to get Ginny on my side..."

"Well, I'm glad you came, Hermione," Melanie said gratefully.

"Of course. I'm in charge of helping you expand your abilities, aren't I?"

"Well, I was scared that you'd think I was a Death Eater, too."

Hermione scoffed. "That's stupid. Nothing against Harry, but he's been really accusatory this year. He keeps trying to convince us that Draco and Snape are in on something for Voldemort. Not that I think he's completely wrong, but I think he's jumping to conclusions a bit fast."

"Well, at least having your trust helps."

Hermione nodded and took out her wand. "Now, what are we moving on to next?"

Melanie's mood brightened a little at being able to work with Hermione. Her mood was bright enough that she was able to drag out her potion kit the next day and brew a random potion that sounded interesting.

When classes began on Monday, however, her dark mood returned when Harry and Ron noticeably avoided her in all of their classes. Luckily, Rhonda was in all of those classes, too, and Melanie was able to avoid being completely alone. Curiously enough, as much as Harry and Ron's demeanor towards Melanie grew colder, the Slytherin's demeanor towards her warmed. When she couldn't find any daisy roots in potions, the Slytherin at the table next to her had immediately tossed her some. Later in the week, when they were told to form groups of three in Defense, Melanie and Rhonda were quickly joined by none other than Malfoy himself.

"Morning, ladies," he greeted as they started their practice.

Melanie noticed Harry throwing her a dirty look as he worked with Ron and Hermione. She sighed and focused her attention on their group work.

"Now, you girls must forgive me if I'm a little rusty on the nonverbal part of all this," Malfoy began charmingly. "I haven't had much time to practice since Christmas break." His gaze fixed solidly on Melanie.

She turned away as Rhonda drew Malfoy's attention away. "What have you been doing to take up all of your time, Draco?" she asked.

"The usual," Draco answered, not moving his attention and eyes from Melanie. "I always find that I'm very busy when I'm at school. Christmas break is one of the few times when I actually have time to study and practice. What about you, Melanie? Don't you find that Christmas provides the best opportunity to practice magic?"

"It especially helps when she's at Hogwarts for break," Rhonda added jokingly, stopping suddenly when Melanie threw her a look.

But she didn't stop quickly enough. "At Hogwarts?" Draco asked, looking at Melanie in surprise. "I thought you went home."

"Something came up," Melanie stammered. She took a deep breath and returned his look confidently. "And I had to return early."

"Of course," Draco agreed disbelievingly. He gazed at her one more time before they busied themselves with their assignment.

~*~*~*~

Melanie gradually became used to this new order. The shuns from Harry and Ron gradually died down a little, and Hermione continued to join Melanie and Rhonda for practice on Saturday evenings. So, one Saturday in June, they sat around, having finished their practice for the night.

"So, you never got Ginny to be willing to come back up here, then?" Rhonda asked.

"No," Hermione answered, letting several of her books whirl around the room as a diversion. "I don't think she agrees with Harry that you're, well, evil, but she's so busy spending time with Harry that she hasn't been remembering to come."

"Makes sense," Melanie agreed, watching the books fly around. "I just wish he'd realize that I am on his side and talk to me again. It hurts to loose a friend."

Hermione nodded. "Don't worry. We've been through loads of fights while we've been here. Sooner or later things will get settled and everything'll be right again," she comforted her.

Melanie smiled. "I just hope it's sooner than later."

Hermione set her books back into her bag. "I'll see if I can talk to Harry again. Ginny's been starting to study for her O.W.L.s, so maybe I can find him when he's not around her." She stood up.

"Thanks, Hermione," Melanie said as Hermione nodded and walked out of the door.

"See," Rhonda told her. "Everything's starting to get right back to normal. Before you know it, you'll barely remember this. Now, do you want to go ahead and go off to sleep? Tomorrow I need to finish that essay for Snape."

Melanie laughed as they gathered their things and headed off to the Ravenclaw common room. "Well, if it's a pretty day tomorrow, we can work on it outside," Melanie suggested.

The next day dawned dark and rainy. Melanie and Rhonda sat in the common room for most of the morning, finishing their Defense essays for Snape. After lunch, they reviewed the latest assignments in charms. As they sat down for dinner, Melanie grumbled.

"It's June, it shouldn't be all rainy and icky. I'm tired of being stuck in here all day. I want to go outside and do something!"

"Well, you'll have to deal with it, unless you want to go walking in the rain," Rhonda teased.

Melanie's eyes sparkled. "Maybe I will."

"What? You'll catch your death of a cold."

Melanie took out her wand and smiled. "Not with this. I'll see you in the common room later."

Rhonda gave her a confused look as Melanie walked out of the Great Hall. Before she walked outside, she waved her wand over herself, covering herself in delicate light purple lights. When she walked out into the rain, she felt a comfortable, warm rain falling over her. She laughed as she walked around, her arms spread wide to accept the rain.

"What are you doing out here?" a voice asked. Melanie turned around and saw Harry standing there, and umbrella in his hand. "You're going to catch a cold."

"No, I'm not," Melanie told him. "I've cast a charm, the water's warm, just like taking a shower. And I'm going to dry myself off once I get inside."

"Where'd you learn that charm?" he asked.

"A book my parents got me for Christmas," Melanie answered. "What are you doing out here?"

"I thought I'd talk to you."

"You're talking to me, now?" Melanie asked in surprise.

"Yeah, well, Hermione's been telling me I need to come and...I guess I did jump to conclusions just a bit." He sighed. "It's just-Draco!"

"It wasn't like it was a conscious choice," Melanie argued. "It just....happened."

Harry gave her a concerned look. "He's a Death Eater, Melanie."

"And do you know that for sure?"

"I'm almost positive. Look, he was bragging about it on the Hogwarts Express, he's been up to something all year, and I've heard him talking to Snape. He and Snape are up to something."

Melanie shook his head. "But couldn't it be a misunderstanding?"

"Have you been noticing what's been going on? Katie Bell was cursed, Ron poisoned. Something's going on, and Malfoy's the best candidate."

Melanie sighed. "But still. Harry, someone attacked him with the Cruciatus curse over break. Doesn't that mean..."

"Voldemort curses his own followers all the time. I've seen him do it," he added with a shudder.

"Well, maybe. But I can't change how I feel, and I can't help but hope for the best."

"You're hoping for the impossible."

"I'm not asking for you to approve of him, Harry. I know you hate him; I know he hates you. But Hermione says that we have an emotional connection that means he has to feel the same way about me. Maybe there's hope." She paused. "All I want is for you to believe that I'm still on your side and to trust me again."

Harry looked at her. "I am sorry for what I said. I don't actually think you're working with the Death Eaters, I was just upset."

Melanie nodded. "Thanks."

"But," Harry continued, "how do I know that you won't let something accidentally slip to Malfoy or something?"

Melanie laughed. "There's no risk of that. We don't even talk." Her laughter stopped when she saw Harry's serious face. "Look, I know how to keep a secret. I haven't even told Rhonda about what Hermione told me."

"But they have ways of getting information out of you."

"I'm immune to all spells, Harry! And I'm smart enough not to have Malfoy charm it out of me. Don't you trust me anymore?"

Harry sighed. "I just don't like the idea of having someone close to me close to...to him."

Melanie nodded. "I understand. You don't even have to trust me with your deep, dark secrets, just...stop avoiding me."

"I'm sorry about that."

"Friends, then?"

Harry nodded. "Yup. C'mon, even with that charm of yours, I bet you don't want to stay out here." Melanie laughed and followed him back into the castle. Once they were back inside, Melanie waved her wand around her and dried her robes. Together, they both started to return to their respective common rooms.

"Oh, I wanted to tell you that I've decided that it's okay to establish a connection. I mean, I don't care if you have to face Voldemort at some point, because, by the time you do, I'll be strong enough to handle it."

Harry looked at her, suddenly serious. "Maybe there's something else that you should know first."

"I thought you couldn't trust me?"

"You need to know this," he said, pulling her into an empty hallway. "You know I've been having private lessons with Dumbledore all year, right?"

Melanie nodded. "Yeah, you've been talking about the pensieve and looking back on memories of Voldemort."

"Yeah, but the most interesting part came a few weeks ago. You remember when I was trying to get Slughorn to tell me what horcruxes were?"

"Of course, he seemed really upset."

"Well, it turns out that horcruxes are ways that wizards can split their soul-it's what makes Voldemort immortal. When the killing curse bounced off me to him, it didn't kill him because he had parts of his soul surviving in other places."

Melanie gave him a confused look. "Then how are you supposed to defeat him?"

"Defeat each of the horcruxes one by one. Once I do that, Voldemort will be mortal and I can fight him."

"Each...how many are there?" Melanie asked, her eyes widening.

"We think there's seven. But I defeated one of them my second year here, when I fought against the diary, and then Dumbledore has destroyed one."

"So that leaves five."

"Minus the one that Voldemort has in his body right now," Harry interrupted.

"All right, so, four," Melanie corrected herself. "Harry, I don't understand, why does this matter to me. Why do I have to know?"

Harry took a deep breath. "Dumbledore has a lead on another one. He said that I can go with him whenever he goes to get it-meaning that I might be in danger sooner than you are able to cope with."

There was silence, and Harry looked at Melanie's pale face. She took a deep breath. "But that also means that you might be needing my protection more than I thought."

"Melanie, we've just been practicing with little jinxes and hexes. I might be facing dark curses, and I don't know if you can deal with that."

"Hey, I've survived the Killing Curse, just like you," Melanie told him with a glare. "What else is out there that I can't handle?"

Harry closed his mouth that he had opened for a reply. He sighed. "Look, I don't want to put you into any more danger than is absolutely necessary. If you have a connection with me and something happens..."

"Look, don't you think that I've weighed out the risks!?" Melanie suddenly shouted. "I know very well what can happen to me! But have you stopped to think what the risks are if I don't!? I've had to live every day this year remembering that the girl I had spent every waking moment with since I was a child is gone forever, and knowing that, deep down, I had the ability to save her." She lowered her voice. "From what I hear, that's something that you've had to deal with, too."

Harry nodded, remembering Sirius and how his death might have been avoided.

"Look, I've been thinking about Sophie a lot recently," Melanie continued, "and I've decided that I'm not going to let one of my friends down when I have the strength to avoid it."

Harry looked at her, not knowing what to say. "But what about your friends? What if they don't want to put you at risk like that?"

"Then they'll just have to deal with it," Melanie said firmly. "I'm not putting myself at any more of a risk than they are putting themselves in."

Harry nodded. "Fine," he sighed. "I'll be there next Saturday night."

Melanie smiled. "Good. I'll see you in class tomorrow."

~*~*~*~

A few nights later, Melanie and Rhonda were sitting in the Ravenclaw common room, looking through Melanie's charm book.

"Oooh, that one sounds fun!" Rhonda said, pointing at a particular incantation for a bird chirping charm.

Melanie giggled and waved her wand. One of their books on the table started to burst out in musical chirps. They both laughed as a heated discussion began amongst a group of fifth years in the corner.

"Get out of here, Loony!" they shouted, and Luna Lovegood cowered away from the table. Melanie gave her a sympathetic look.

"Come over here, Luna!" she shouted, pushing a chair away from the table so she could sit down.

"Thanks," Luna said, taking the empty seat. She absorbed herself in her History Magic book as Melanie and Rhonda continued to flip through the book. As it grew later, the common room began to empty.

"That's interesting," Melanie said. "Here's something about a ---protean charm."

"What does that do?" Rhonda asked, bending her neck to read the writing.

"Protean charm. Interesting. I wonder how you could use that."

"I've seen it used," Luna answered dreamily.

"What?" Melanie asked.

"Last year, in the D.A. Hermione used it to tell us all when we had meetings. She applied the charms onto galleons."

"Really?" Rhonda asked in interest.

"Of course," Luna answered, pulling a galleon out of her pocket. Melanie grabbed it and inspected it.

"That's ingenious," Melanie said, flipping it over. She suddenly let it drop to the table with a loud bang.

"What?" Rhonda asked.

"It got hot."

"That means that it's changing," Luna said. She bent down to look at the galleon. "Funny, that's now. Hermione's called a DA meeting for now. I guess I should go."

She stood up and started to walk out. Melanie and Rhonda exchanged looks, then followed her.

"Wait, Luna! Can we come with you?"

"I dunno. I don't think Hermione would care," she said she walked down towards the seventh floor.

"Where are you going?" Rhonda asked as Melanie and Rhonda tried to keep up.

"The old meeting room. It's just around here," she answered as they turned the corner. There stood Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville.

"Good, more people," Hermione said when she saw them. "How many more do you think are coming?"

"I think that's going to be about it, Hermione," Ginny said sadly. She looked at Melanie and Rhonda. "Why are you here?"

"They followed me," Luna answered.

"Good, the more the better," Hermione said. "Okay, we need to split up into two groups. One needs to stay here and watch this room, and the other group needs to go down to the dungeons and keep and eye on Snape."

The group all exchanged looks with each other.

"Well, Ron, Ginny, Neville, and Melanie can keep watch here, and I'll go with Luna and Rhonda down to Snape's rooms," Hermione suggested. "Does that sound good with everyone?"

"Hermione, what's going on?" Melanie asked as the rest of the group nodded their agreement with Hermione's plan.

"Harry's gone with Dumbledore, and he thinks that Malfoy may be doing something tonight. He asked that we keep an eye on him and Snape."

"We know Malfoy's in here," Ginny added, motioning to the wall.

Melanie stared at the wall. "Is there likely to be any danger?" she asked quietly.

"Why? You can go back to your common room if you want," Ron said.

"No, it's not that," Melanie said as she pulled Luna closer to her. "Hermione, hex her."

"What?" Luna asked.

"Don't worry, it'll help protect you," Melanie explained as Hermione took out her wand. A second later, Luna looked at Melanie.

"You're a musea, aren't you, possessed by the spirit of Euterpe?"

"We should have just asked her right off instead of looking through all of those books!" Ron said.

Melanie ignored him as she grabbed Neville and Hermione hexed him, as well. "Okay, Ron, you're next."

"What?"

"Look, if there's any chance of any danger, I want to make sure that everyone's protected. I already have a connection with Ginny, Hermione, and Rhonda. Now I'm going to make sure that you, Neville and Luna are safe."

"But we have Harry's Felix Felicis," Ron protested as Hermione pointed her wand at him.

"Too much protection can't be a bad thing," Rhonda pointed out.

"And we've had so little of it that the effects'll end soon," Hermione added.

"C'mon, Ron, or else I'll throw a bat-bogey hex at you," Ginny threatened.

Ron gulped and nodded as Hermione cast the hex. "Are you good, Melanie?" Hermione asked.

Melanie nodded.

"Okay, let's go!"

The two groups split up, and Melanie stayed in the hallway with Ginny, Ron, and Neville. As they stood silently in the hallway, Melanie continued to look around for where Draco supposedly was.

"Ginny, what did you mean when you said Draco was in there?" Melanie whispered, pointing to the wall.

"It's the Room of Requirement," Ginny answered in a whisper. "Most of the time, all you see is a wall, but if you walk by it thinking about something you need, a door will appear. The room inside molds to fit exactly what you need."

"Wow," Melanie said, looking at the wall. "So, does anyone know what he's doing in there?"

"We think he's been in there working on something all year," Ron explained, "but Harry said that Malfoy was in there celebrating earlier and that we needed to keep an eye on it."

Melanie nodded. She didn't know what to think. Everyone seemed to be almost positive that Draco was in the room, and that he was up to no good. She sighed. All they could do was wait.

So, the minutes slowly passed. Every once in a while, someone would ask a whispered question, but they didn't talk long to avoid being heard or missing Draco emerge from the room.

After about an hour, an opening appeared in the wall, and a single figure appeared, holding a shriveled hand.

"Eeew," Ginny whispered.

The figured glanced in their direction, then tossed something from his pocket. The hall suddenly became pitch black.

"Lumos!" Ginny whispered, holding out her wand. Nothing happened.

"Incendio!" Ron tried, but nothing happened.

As they tried every lighting spell they could think of, they heard a line of figures shuffle past.

"They're going this way!" Ginny hissed, and the group felt their way in the direction they heard the figures walking. It took time, but they slowly made progress.

"Neville! That's my foot!" Ron whispered loudly.

"Sorry, Ron," Neville whispered back.

"C'mon Melanie, speed up!"

"I can only go so fast in this dark!"

After a while, the darkness finally started to lift, and the hallway was light again.

"Hallelujah!"

"But where'd they go?" Melanie asked, looking around at the empty hallway.

"They can't be far, let's go!" Ginny encouraged them, and the group took off running down the hall. They slowed down when they saw figures appear further down.

"I don't recognize them," Melanie whispered. One mousy-looking man turned his face towards them.

"It's Lupin!" Ron cried out, running down the hall.

"Professor Lupin!" Ginny yelled after him, Melanie and Neville following.

"Professor?" Melanie asked as they reached a group of wizards. She vaguely recognized some of them from the meeting in Dumbledore's office.

"What are you doing out of bed?" Lupin asked.

"It's Malfoy! He just led a big group out of the Room of Requirement!" Ginny hurriedly explained

"There are Death Eaters in the castle!" Ron added.

"Where?"

"We don't know, it was too dark."

Lupin turned to the others. "Come on."

The group started checking everywhere, searching for anyone else.

"There!" someone shouted as they saw the tail of a black robe turn a corner.

"Expelliarmus!" a red-haired wizard that Melanie assumed was related somehow to Ron and Ginny yelled as he turned the corner. There was shouting, and soon there were spells flying throughout the corridor. Everyone took off in different directions, chasing the Death Eaters. As Melanie chased a tall blonde Death Eater with Ginny, she saw a boy in Hogwarts Robes run past. She breathed a sigh of relief when she finally recognized him-it wasn't Draco. It was Nott.

The music started playing in her mind immediately, the melodies flying past so fast that she couldn't tell who was being attacked or what was being used. She couldn't keep up with Ginny and the blonde Death Eater, and couldn't concentrate enough to think of a hex to shoot off. She lost track of what was going on, all she could see were figures moving in the dark, the flashes of spells flying around her.

"Melanie!" she heard Hermione's voice coming from somewhere. "Melanie!" Melanie couldn't tell where she was until Hermione grabbed her arm.

"Melanie," she asked. "Are you all right?"

Melanie nodded, trying to discern her words from the music playing in her mind. Suddenly, the loudest melody yet echoed through her mind, covering all of the others. The darkness of the hall deepened, and she couldn't hear or see anything else.

"Melanie!" Hermione shouted as Melanie collapsed. "Oh, no." She bent down by her side. "Ennervate. Ennervate. Ennervate!!"

A bright blue dome formed around them, almost the full height and width of the hallway.

"Melanie!" Rhonda shouted, seeing the dome form. She ran through the dome's boundaries and to her side. "Hermione, what do we do?"

"I don't know!" Hermione said, running her fingers through her hair as she tried to think of something.

The dome started to shrink as the Death Eaters turned their attention to the dome, shooting hexes and curses at it.

"What's going on!?" Rhonda yelled as the dome came closer to their heads.

"She must be weak...this dome is the last of her protection," Hermione told her. "Block the incoming hexes, we have to keep the dome up. If it collapses, she'll die."

Rhonda nodded and started to pick off the incoming curses with shielding spells. The dome still continued to shrink, although slower. Several Death Eaters moved past the dome once there was room in the hallway, but a few others tried to walk through the dome to get to the three girls. To them, the dome acted as a solid wall. However, they grinned as they threw curse after curse at the dome, causing it to slowly shrink.

"We've gotta do something," Hermione said, not being able to shoot of shield charms as fast as the Death Eaters could shoot off curses.

"What?!" Rhonda cried desperately, between shouts of "Protego!"

Hermione looked down at Melanie. "Get the phantom!"

"What? Protego!"

"She might be the only one who knows what to do. Protego! It's not far. Protego!"

Rhonda nodded and started to run as fast as she could away from the battle and towards the organ room.