Secrets of the Musidora

I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. I had to do a massive rewrite. Many thanks for everyone's patience!!

Masquerade

Theodora's funeral was held a few days later, and afterward the occupants of Brienwald Hall sat gloomily in the living room.

"When are we going back home, Mom?" Simon asked uneasily, breaking the silence.

"Later this afternoon, I suppose," Octavian answered quietly. Next to him, Violetta cleared her throat purposefully and raised her eyebrows. Octavian sighed. "Violetta..."

"Octavian," she replied firmly. "Don't just ignore me."

"But Violetta, I don't think..."

"She's my daughter, too!"

There was a long silence.

"What's going on?" Melanie asked. Her parents exchanged looks.

"I think you should come back to the States with me and Simon," Violetta told her quickly.

"No!" Draco protested suddenly.

"Where did you get that insane idea?" Melanie asked at the same time.

"They're bound to try to get you again, Melanie," her mother began to rattle off.

"Violetta..."

"We need to throw something at them that they won't expect," she finished, sending her husband a stubborn look.

"Violetta, we've gone over this. With all the protection the Hall's been given, I think it's best that Melanie stays here."

"But Octavian..."

"Violetta, not here."

Violetta gave him an angry look before storming out of the room. Octavian sighed and followed her out.

"Well, so much for leaving tonight," Simon said. The rest of the room was quiet.

"I think I'll go to sleep," Narcissa announced, getting up. "Good night, everyone."

"Do you think your parents will be all right?" Draco asked after she had gone.

Melanie shrugged her shoulders. "Who knows? The way things are looking I might be heading back to New York tomorrow." She stood up and headed out the door. She heard raised voices coming from her parents' room as she walked into her room and slammed the door behind her. She stared for a moment at the pictures floating around on the shelf before she laid down in her bed.

The next morning, Melanie tentatively sat down across from her father at the table in the tea room.

"Your mother and Simon headed back home this morning," he greeted her, not looking up from the Daily Prophet he was reading.

Melanie looked at him curiously for a minute. "Does that mean I'm staying here?"

"Of course you are. Now, I've no time to sit here and chat. I've got to head to the Ministry. See you tonight."

"Bye, Dad," Melanie said, watching him leave the room. He passed Draco as he left. "Good morning, Draco."

"Good morning, Mr. Brienwald," Draco returned as he walked inside and sat down by Melanie. "How are things this morning?"

"All right, I suppose," Melanie replied. "My mother and brother are back home."

"I guess that mean's you're staying here, then."

Melanie nodded. "It's a relief."

Draco nodded as Trinket ran into the room and placed two plates in front of them. "You're telling me." He started to eat his breakfast. "Maybe things can start getting back to normal around here."

Melanie laughed nervously to herself. "What's normal?" She pushed her plate away with a sigh.

"Well, I've been thinking about what to do with the barn now that there aren't any horses now," Draco continued as he ate his breakfast. "Maybe we can get some real magical creatures-maybe even a few unicorns if we can manage it-instead of those silly horses."

Melanie looked at him suddenly. "What?"

"Well, now that we don't have to have the horses anymore we can get some real..."

"Can't you stop it?" Melanie asked.

"What?"

"Stop it. What does it matter, what happens to the barn? Why does it matter what we have in it?" She stood up. "Theodora's dead, and I was about two seconds away from being caught by a Death Eater! So why does it matter what we do with that barn!" She turned and stormed out of the room.

"Melanie, wait!" Draco shouted after her. "I didn't mean to..."

"Of course you didn't mean to!" Melanie spun around quickly. "You never mean to, Draco, but it still comes out of your mouth!"

Draco reached over and gently grabbed her hand. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize that it would upset you."

"Of course it upset me, Draco. I never want to hear about that barn again, I never want to see it again, I never want to go out into those woods again! All I want...is...is just to work on my potion." She pulled her hand out of his and headed towards her lab.

"Melanie..."

"I'm all right, Draco. It's just, well, been a bit too much reality these last couple of days." Melanie sighed. "I just need something to help me forget everything for a while." She turned and walked slowly into her lab. She spent most of the day there, finally going to sleep late that night.

~*~*~*~

"Mistress," Melanie heard a voice call. Melanie grumbled and rolled in her bed. She opened her eyes and saw her dark room around her.

"Mistress," the squeaky voice repeated. Melanie sleepily looked down at the floor and saw Trinket standing there.

Melanie groaned. "What is it, Trinket?"

"It's Mister Malfoy. Oh!"

"What?" Melanie asked, sitting up hurriedly. "What is it, Trinket?"

Trinket squeaked nervously as Melanie climbed out of her bed.

"Trinket, what happened? Is Draco okay?"

"Oh, Mister Malfoy is all right."

Melanie sighed and relaxed. "Then what's going on?'

"It's Malfoy Manor-it's on fire."

"On fire?" Melanie asked.

"On fire," Trinket repeated. She started to explain, but Melanie grabbed her robe and ran into the hallway.

"Draco!" she shouted, seeing him downstairs. She ran down to his side. "What's going on?"

"Malfoy Manor is on fire. The Death Eaters are burning it."

"That's what Trinket told me, but why would they burn it?"

"As a warning, I guess." He shook his head. "I think they're getting tired of me hiding out here." He turned and started to walk down the hallway. There were sounds from above, and Narcissa came running downstairs, Kreacher following on her heels.

"Draco!" Narcissa cried, throwing her arms around him.

"It's all right, Mother. We're perfectly safe."

"But the Manor!"

"It will be all right, Mother. We're safe here." Draco gently freed himself from his mother's embrace. Octavian stepped up behind her.

"Come on, Narcissa. You should get back to sleep; there's nothing we can do." He gently led her up the stairs.

When Narcissa and Octavian had disappeared from view, Draco turned and started to head towards the front door.

"Where are you going?" Melanie demanded, running up behind him.

"To take care of this," he answered calmly.

"You've got to be kidding! You can't leave, they'll find you!" Melanie ran to block him from getting to the door.

"At this point I don't care."

"Oh, yes you do!" Melanie countered, grabbing his arm and pulling him away from the door. "You're not thinking, Draco. That's what they want you to do. Can't you see they're trying to draw you out?"

"Let them, I'll show them..."

"No you won't!"

Draco looked at her seriously for a moment. "I'm sorry, Melanie, but I can't just hide anymore. I'll be all right."

"No you won't! It's a trap, can't you see?"

"I don't care if it is a trap! I can't just sit back anymore hiding; I can't take it." He turned and reached for the doorknob.

"Oh, and you think it's easy for me?"

He stopped and turned to look at her. "Don't try that argument-it's an entirely different situation."

"How is it an entirely different situation?" Melanie glared at him.

"It...it just is," Draco stammered. "Don't keep trying to stop me, Melanie. I'm going."

As he reached for the doorknob again, Melanie reached out and grabbed his wand out of his pocket.

"Stupefy!" she yelled. The music ran through her head and Draco turned, a look of surprise on his face.

"Did you just try to hex me?"

"Yes," Melanie told him uncertainly, her lip quivering.

Draco looked at her curiously for a moment. "Well, that was a really stupid thing to do, wasn't it?" He grabbed his wand out of her hands.

"What's going on down here?" Octavian interrupted, walking quickly down the stairs. "Draco, where are you going?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Brienwald, but I have to go."

"You're not going anywhere. I've contacted the Order, and they're handling it. They'll salvage what they can and bring it here."

"But Mr. Brienwald..."

"That's all, Draco. I think, and the Order agrees with me, that this was meant to draw you out. You need to stay here."

Draco scoffed. "Since when does the Order care about me? Half of them would rather see me dead."

"The Order does not want to see anyone dead."

"My father's a Death Eater!"

"And you are not." Octavian looked at him seriously. "And the day you made that choice was the day you earned the Order's protection." He looked from Draco to Melanie. "Now both of you need to head back to sleep, it's late."

Draco looked from Octavian to Melanie. "Good night," he muttered, pushing past them roughly and heading upstairs.

"He's in a fabulous mood, isn't he?" Melanie remarked as they walked upstairs.

"He'll get over it," her father returned. "Now, get back to sleep."

~*~*~*~

The next day, Lupin came to the house with a few burnt items.

"We didn't have a lot of time. We think the house is still being watched in case you return," he said, handing the box over to Draco.

Draco grabbed the box. "Thanks anyway." He set the box on the floor and pushed it to the side.

Lupin rolled his eyes. "Well, that's it for me, then. I'll see you two later."

"Goodbye and thanks," Melanie told him, following him out of the room. When she returned a few seconds later, Draco was staring the box down.

"Aren't you going to open it?" she asked, sitting down beside him.

"I don't know," he replied, not moving his eyes from the box. "I almost don't even want to think about it."

"Well, will your mother want to look through it?"

"Probably. Maybe I should just wait for her."

"Where is she?"

"Still asleep in her room. Probably still in a bit of shock from last night."

"Should you check on her?"

Draco shook his head. "No, I'll let her rest. Kreacher'd let us know if there was anything wrong."

Melanie nodded and looked over at the box. "Yeah." Draco followed her gaze and the two of them sat there for a moment, just staring at the box.

"It's hard to believe that it's gone," Draco began softly. "Generations of Malfoys have lived in that manor...and it's gone."

Melanie sighed. "Yeah. I bet that's how Mom felt when Buxley Hall burnt down. But that's how life is, isn't it? Nothing's permanent."

Draco gave a soft laugh and nodded his head. "No matter how much you want it to be," he finished. "But all of those memories. You know, my father used to hold a Halloween masque every year for all of his friends. I used to look forward to that, and it was what I missed the most when I went to Hogwarts. I always dreamed of hosting my own when I was lord of Malfoy Manor." He shook his head. "I guess that's over now."

"Maybe not," Melanie told him, a mischievous look flashing in her eyes. "We could have one here."

"What are you talking about?"

"Have a Halloween masque here. We could invite Rhonda and her family and the Order and..."

"And my mother and myself, I hope," he added with a laugh, a small smile forming on his face.

Melanie gave him a look. "Of course. But it'd be nice to have something to look forward to now, with...well, with everything going on."

Draco nodded, smiling. "I think that would be a most excellent idea."

Melanie gave him a smile back, and they spent the rest of the afternoon planning until they smelt Trinket beginning to prepare dinner.

"Is it really that late?" Melanie asked in surprise, looking at her watch.

"I guess so," Draco replied, looking around. "My mother isn't out of bed yet?"

"Should we tell her it's almost time for dinner?"

Draco nodded. "Yeah, I'll head upstairs and see how she's doing. I'll be back in a minute." He stood up and left the room, giving Melanie a kiss on the top of her head.

Melanie looked temptingly at the box in the corner of the room before shaking her head and returning to work on the plans for the masque. There were hurried footsteps and an out of breath Draco reappeared in the doorway.

"She's gone."

"What?"

"My mother, she's not in her room."

"Then where is she?"

"I don't know."

Melanie stood up and walked up to him. "Well, it's a big house, where could she have wandered off to?"

"I've already said I don't know!" He sighed. "Will you help me look?"

Melanie nodded and followed him out of the room. They spent the next hour searching every room in the house, but neither of them could find any trace of Narcissa or Kreacher. Dinner was forgotten when Octavian arrived and they covered the house one more time. Trinket finally walked up to them while they were nervously pacing the living room, searching for new ideas.

"Sir, are you going to want dinner?"

"No, not now, Trinket," Octavian told her, sighing as he looked around the room.

"Very good sir." The little house-elf turned and started to walk out of the room.

"Wait, Trinket!" Draco called, stopping her before she could leave. "Have you seen my mother or Kreacher at all today?"

"Of course, Mr. Malfoy, sir!" Trinket chirped.

Everyone looked at her in shock.

"When, Trinket?"

"This morning, sir, before anyone else awoke. I heard noise in the kitchen and went to see what it was and found Kreacher there."

"And what was he doing, Trinket?" Octavian asked.

"Packing food, sir. I asked him what for and if he needed help, but he refused, like always. He said he only needed enough for him and his mistress, sir, and that he was almost done."

"Bloody hell, they must've gone."

Melanie looked at her father in shock. "What?"

Her father just shook his head. "This can't be good." He walked out of the room.

Melanie turned to Draco. "What's going on?"

"Don't you see? She's gone. Probably went to the Manor. Now Death Eaters have her for all that we know." He shook his head and just walked out of the room.

~*~*~*~

No hint as to where Narcissa and Kreacher had gone appeared. Octavian and a few Order members went to the ruins of the manor to search for clues, but didn't find anything. Draco became understandably moody and Melanie tried to use the plans for the Halloween masque to cheer him up (most of the time unsuccessfully). Melanie went on with the preparations, though, as an attempt to cheer up everyone's spirits.

With Draco gloating around the Hall, Melanie quickly got Rhonda to help, and she would show up at Brienwald Hall every morning with a large box of assorted items. As Halloween approached, Draco had to try harder every morning to hide his curiosity. When Draco finally gave way and asked what they were planning, the girls just flashed him a smile and told him, "You'll see."

Simon and Violetta arrived early in the afternoon on Halloween to help with decorating the manor. After an early dinner, everyone left to change, then reappeared downstairs to finish some last minute preparations.

Half an hour or so before the guests were supposed to arrive, Draco wandered down to the living room where Violetta and Octavian were hanging a few more decorations with their wands.

Draco looked around, buttoning up the last of his costume. "Where's Melanie?"

"Still having a few problems with her costume. She'll be down shortly," Violetta answered, inspecting the room with a satisfied look.

"Problems? She's only been working on that thing nonstop for weeks," Draco grumbled. "If she doesn't get down here soon, the guests will arrive before she does." There was a knock on the door and he shook his head.

"I knew it," he grumbled as he walked into the main hall and opened the door. With a sweep of lace and jewels, Rhonda walked through the door. Her balance was thrown off a bit by her hair, which was adorned with feathers and arranged to take up twice the space it normally did. Somehow, she still managed to navigate her enormous peach dress that looked as though she had stolen it from Marie Antoinette inside.

"Rhonda! Glad to see you've arrived!" Octavian said, walking up behind Draco.

"Thanks for inviting us, Mr. Brienwald," Rhonda returned. She turned to who was following her inside. "These are my parents, Clarisse and Reginald."

"Nice to meet you finally," Rhonda's mother said as she shook Octavian's hand.

"And this is my Uncle Archibald," Rhonda continued, gesturing to the last figure walking into the room.

"Archie!" Octavian cried, giving the man a big hug. "Haven't seen you around the office much."

"So much work to do they have me all but chained to my desk," he complained. "I've been nagging my supervisor for months to let me get out and do some real work, but he hasn't budged yet."

"And a good thing he hasn't," Rhonda's mother said, moving past him towards the living room. "You couldn't stand up in a duel against a troll."

"Oh, Clarisse, be nice," Archibald returned with a smile.

Rhonda shook her head and turned to Draco. "Where's Melanie?"

"Still upstairs working on that bloody costume of hers," he complained.

"Oh, Draco, don't be so impatient," Violetta told him. "If she's having problems with her costume, she's having problems with her costume."

"I'll go see," Rhonda said, scurrying out of the room.

Draco sighed as she left and shook his head, looking at his pocket watch impatiently. "They better hurry."

Finally, Draco heard a door close upstairs and saw Rhonda walking slowly and purposefully down the stairs.

Violetta looked up at her. "Gorgeous," she said. She turned to Simon, who was standing next to her, and gave him a nudge. "Don't you think Rhonda looks fabulous tonight?"

"She looks very pretty, Mother," Simon agreed with a sigh.

Violetta didn't notice her son's tone of voice and nudged him. "Oh, she's all alone. Run up there and escort her down!" She gave him a solid push in the direction of the stairs.

Simon sighed and walked past Draco to where Rhonda was walking down the stairs. He courteously offered his arm, which Rhonda took with a smile and a giggle.

"Nice date, Simon," Draco whispered as they passed. Simon threw him a look as he steered Rhonda past. She didn't hear Draco's comment and raised her eyebrows and shot him a mischievous glance as she walked past. Another door closed upstairs, and everyone turned to see the shimmering white figure that had appeared at the top of the stairs.

A foot wrapped in a golden sandal emerged from the sparkling white gown as Melanie began to gracefully almost float down the stairs. A single piece of glistening white fabric had been draped over her arms and, by use of diamond pins and delicate golden cords, been shaped to fit her body, leaving long, draping sleeves and a full skirt. Her hair had been pulled back and twisted up to the back of her head, more shimmers of gold flowing through her hair. Large golden earrings hung from her ears and swayed with each step that she took. When Melanie reached the base of the stairs, Draco still had not moved.

She smiled at him. "Good evening."

He stared at her in shock for a moment, blinking. "Melanie...I...that dress is, fantastic," he stammered.

Melanie blushed. "It's a chiton, what they used to wear in Greece. And since I am a musea, I thought it was only fitting that I come dressed as a Greek goddess."

"It's very fitting," he agreed, offering her his arm. She grinned and accepted it, exchanging a victorious smile with Rhonda as another knock came to the door.

"See, I had plenty of time," Melanie told Draco with a smile as she reached over to unlock the door.

In walked Professor McGonagall and Madeye Moody, followed soon after by Tonks and Lupin.

"Oh, Tonks, you didn't!" McGonagall cried when she saw Tonks' wolf outfit.

Tonks just beamed at her and winked at Lupin. Melanie tried to keep herself from laughing as more guests continued to arrive. In came Ron's parents dressed in muggle clown suits accompanied (at a distance) by Ginny. As more people arrived, the knocking on the door began to slow, and everyone started to make their way into the living room where Melanie had set up a magical record player and Trinket was walking among the crowd with a tray full of snacks.

The crowd broke into smaller groups that spread themselves around the living room-the Weasleys around the fireplace talking to Rhonda's parents and uncle, Tonks and Lupin entertaining their own crowd at the couch, McGonagall, Moody and others in one corner chatting, and Violetta in the corner opposite overseeing Simon's conversation with Ginny and Rhonda.

Melanie giggled to herself as Simon sneaked away at his first chance to join Melanie and Draco.

"Having fun, Simon?" She laughed.

Simon just rolled his eyes. "I'm just glad that there aren't more girls here for Mom to 'introduce' me to." He looked over his shoulder in time to see Violetta looking to where he had been standing with Rhonda and Ginny and glancing around the room for him.

"I might just go to the bathroom-for the rest of the night," he whispered as he quietly sneaked behind Melanie and Draco and out the door.

Melanie laughed as she watched him leave. She turned to say something to Draco when they heard the front bell ring again.

"I knew not everyone could be here yet," Draco murmured to himself as he pulled Melanie along to answer the door.

Bill and Fleur stood there, Bill dressed as a devil, his flaming red hair and scars about his face creating quite the illusion, with Fleur, also dressed in shimmering white, costumed as an angel.

"Goodz evening," Fleur greeted in her ever improving English. "I hope ve are not too late?"

"Of course not," Melanie answered, stepping aside to let them in. "Everyone's in the living room."

They nodded and Draco and Melanie followed them into the living room, where, Melanie noticed with a laugh, that her mother had pulled Simon away from his hiding place and was once again overseeing his conversation with Ginny and Rhonda. Bill and Fleur went off to speak to Bill's parents while Melanie dragged Draco with her to try to save Simon from their mother's matchmaking efforts.

A few minutes later, Molly Weasley gave a loud shout. Everyone in the room turned to see her throwing her arms around Bill and Fleur, practically suffocating them both. Mr. Weasley, seeing everyone's curiosity, just laughed.

"Fleur's pregnant," he announced joyfully, and soon the entire room erupted into congratulations and there was a large crowd surrounding Bill and Fleur.

"Oh, this calls for celebration!" Molly Weasley exclaimed, clapping her hands in excitement.

Just then, all of the lights turned out. A strange silence fell over the room. Melanie's hand found Draco's, and his hand squeezed hers reassuringly.

"Good evening, guests of the Brienwald family," a loud voice echoed through the room.

"We hope you have enjoyed your evening thus far," another voice continued, "for things are about to change drastically."

"After all," the first voice returned as the lights slowly came back on, revealing two figures dressed in long, black hooded capes. "There can't be much of a party without us!"

Together, the two figures tossed back the hoods to reveal the red heads of Fred and George Weasley.

"Look, it's Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum," Draco whispered in Melanie's ear.

"Oh, shush," Melanie told him, shaking her head.

But Draco wasn't the only one not impressed by the twins. Molly Weasley stormed up to them, her face almost as red as her hair. "I can't believe you two!" she shrieked. "You about gave us all heart attacks! You should be ashamed of yourselves!"

"Now, Molly, let's don't make too much of a scene..." Arthur told her, walking up behind her and putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Scene? What about the scene those two made!"

"Oh, come on, Mum," Fred laughed. "It was just a joke."

"It's a Masque. It's only our costumes."

"Well, I don't think it was very funny!" She fixed a firm glare on the two.

"Oh, give them a break, Mum," Bill told her, also walking up behind her. Molly sighed, sent Fred and George one more glare, and walked back to where Fleur was standing.

The twins shook it off and wandered over to where Melanie and Draco were standing.

"Thanks for the invite Mel, Ferret." The twins nodded at each of them.

Draco glared at him. "And thanks for making a sham of it all."

"No harm, mate," George told him. "We had to make a proper entrance."

"Oh, of course. Why should you show up on time like normal wizards?" Draco rolled his eyes and wandered off. Melanie shook her head and stayed where she was.

"We didn't actually plan on all of this," Fred admitted once Draco was out of hearing range, laughing.

"We came up with it a couple minutes ago when we realized we were already going to be late."

"Why were you going to be late?"

"Finishing up the paperwork."

"We're buying out Zonko's. Should have our store set up by Christmas."

"No big hurry now, though, since Hogwarts is closed." The twins both sighed.

"Well, you might want to go talk to Bill and Fleur. They just told your mother that Fleur's pregnant."

"Way to go, Bill!"

"Knew he had it in him!"

"Now, will it be a he or she...wolf?"

The twins laughed as they wandered towards their family, and Melanie just looked at them and laughed. Once they had gone, Draco wandered back over to her side.

"Those two are quite the piece of work."

"I heard that they made quite an impact on Hogwarts when they were there."

"Yeah, they left a couple of dents," Draco agreed icily.

Melanie sighed. "Can you please try to cheer up, Draco? You've been so miserable lately."

"Oh, yes, I'm sorry that I'm unhappy that my mother has disappeared and is probably the prisoner of Death Eaters at this very moment."

Melanie just shook her head, not knowing what else to say. Her attention was soon drawn away when the fire in the fireplace behind the Weasleys began to glow green.

Everyone in the room quieted down and looked at the fireplace in surprise, moving back to clear some space. The first thing to emerge from the fireplace was a pair of pointy ears that was soon followed by the rest of Kreacher's form. The house-elf looked around the room, his usual frown doubling in size when he saw who was all standing around him.

"What?" Melanie managed to get out before Narcissa's form also emerged from the fire.

"Mother!" Draco cried, quickly moving through the crowd to her side.

"Draco!" Narcissa returned with a smile. She hugged him happily, but her smile faded as she looked uncomfortably around the room.

"Come, Kreacher," she said, the house-elf following as she quickly walked out of the room. Draco followed them, pausing to say good-night to Melanie.

"I'll see you later," he told her, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Of course, see to your mother." As Draco walked out the door, Melanie looked around the silent room. Her eyes met Moody's, who shifted his glance to the open door, his eyes narrowing into tiny, suspicious slits.

Sound and conversation slowly reappeared in the room as everyone started muttering amongst themselves.

"Octavian, maybe I should go see her," Violetta said, trying to move past Octavian and Melanie. "She looked sickly."

"Draco's looking after her, darling. Maybe you should give them some time alone together before you go barging in."

"But where could she have been all of this time?"

Octavian looked around the room. "I think that's what everyone's wondering."

After Narcissa's reappearance, the party died down quickly and the guests began to leave. Rhonda's family was the last to leave, Uncle Archie staying for a while to chat amiably with Octavian while Rhonda helped Melanie, Violetta, and Simon clean up. After Violetta had made the suggestion for the twentieth time that night that Simon and Rhonda should spend more time together, Rhonda and her family finally left.

Leaving Trinket to finish the rest of the cleaning in the morning, the rest of the family headed up to sleep. As she walked into her bedroom, Melanie noticed the light still on in Draco's bedroom. Curious, she walked over and knocked on the door.

Draco was still in his costume when he opened the door. "What?"

"How's your mother?"

"Asleep. She refuses to tell me anything, though. That stupid house-elf insisted she's just fine and shooed me out of the room before I could talk to her too much."

"She's probably tired. You'll be able to find out more in the morning, I'm sure."

Draco just nodded. "I hope so." He sighed. "So, the party didn't last long, did it?"

"No. Everyone pretty much left after your mother walked in."

"Not much of a party, then, eh?"

"Well, it was good while it lasted."

Draco shrugged his shoulders. "I suppose so. Hard to enjoy anything nowadays, though, isn't it?"

Melanie opened her mouth to reply, but instead suddenly took in a deep breath and tensed.

"Melanie?" Draco asked, giving her a concerned look. "Are you all right?"

Melanie just shook her head. "It doesn't make sense," she whispered to herself.

"What doesn't make sense? What is it, Melanie?"

She looked up at him seriously. "My power's going out to someone."

"Who?"

"I don't know! That's what's strange about it-I've never heard this person's melody before."

"How can that be? You lost all of the connections after last year, so there's only me and your family. You haven't made any other connections, have you?"

"Of course not! I haven't seen anyone since then, how could I have formed another connection?" Melanie looked around the room and sighed. "Whoever it is, they were hit with a stunning spell."

"Anything else?"

Melanie shook her head. "No. It was just the one stunning spell and then that was it."

"Hardly seems like anything to worry about."

"No, just the fact that my power's gone out to someone I don't know!" She took in a deep breath and gave him a scared look. "Could I be loosing control over it?"

"No." Draco shook his head adamantly. "You have to have control over who you protect. Otherwise your powers would be too easy to manipulate."

"Maybe that's the goal." There was an uneasy silence.

"No," Draco told her firmly. "Now you're just talking nonsense." He sighed and gave her a hug. "Look, just get some sleep. We'll think more about it tomorrow morning and I'm sure we'll come up with a solution."

"I hope you're right. I don't need any more unexplained Irish jigs going on in my head."

~*~*~*~

The next morning, Melanie and Draco went through every scenario in their head for an explanation for the use of Melanie's powers the evening before. Eventually, they grabbed the Daily Prophet and began searching through the articles for any clues about who Melanie's power might have gone out to the night before.

"There!" Draco said, pointing to a small article in the corner, its headline proclaiming 'Three Killed in Ireland Death Eater Attack.' "You said it sounded like and Irish jig, didn't you?"

"But whoever it was wouldn't have been killed," Melanie argued, starting to turn the page. "It was just a stunning spell."

"Just reading can't hurt," he protested, pushing the page back flat on the table. Melanie sighed and started to read the article.

Three Killed In Ireland Death Eater Attack

In the late hours of last night, an unknown number

of Death Eaters attacked the Irish home of

William and Kathryn O'Brien. Mr. O'Brien

and his two sons were killed in the attack, and

his wife is currently missing.

The motive for the attack is still under investigation.

"It could have been the wife," Draco suggested. "It would make sense that the Death Eaters would take her if their spells wouldn't hit her."

"But I've never met her. I've never heard of her before. Why would my power go to her? Whatever happened to a deep emotional connection?"

Draco shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, Melanie. All I know is that your power went out to someone last night, and this is the best clue you have."

Melanie sighed as she closed the paper. "But it still doesn't feel right."

~*~*~*~

It didn't take long for the days to return to their normal long and tedious routine. Melanie didn't hear much from anyone. At one point she received an owl bearing the message "1 down 2 to go" that she took to be from Harry, Ron, and Hermione. It brightened her days for a little bit to know that they were still all right and one step closer to their goal. That little glimmer of hope soon faded as Melanie hit another block on her potion. One morning in mid-November Melanie finally reached the end of her patience and ended up slamming a cauldron full of one of her failed experiments against the wall in frustration.

"Melanie?" Draco's voice asked from outside. Melanie sighed and waved her wand to clean up her mess.

"It's all right," she hollered back. "I'm fine." She sighed as she set up her cauldron once again on the table. She focused on salvaging what she could and didn't notice when Draco quietly opened the door and took a step inside.

"Melanie," he repeated quietly.

"What?" she asked, spinning around stopping suddenly when she saw the serious look on his face. Her heart stopped for a moment. "What's wrong?"

He opened his mouth, and then just shook his head. "You need to see the Prophet." He turned and wordlessly walked out of the room.

Melanie stood there for a second in wonder before she ran after him into the dining room. He stood silently next to the table, the Daily Prophet spread open on it.

"What's going on?" she asked, walking fearfully up to the table. She passed over several headlines before one caught her eye: "Ministry Official Killed in Raid." She didn't read much of the article at all, just skimmed it until she came to a name: Archibald Mittenborn.

"Rhonda," Melanie gasped. She turned to look at Draco, who just nodded sadly.

"I already got permission for you to go see her. You can floo there whenever you want."

Melanie just nodded and ran into the sitting room, grabbed a handful of floo powder and jumped into the fire.

She had never been to Rhonda's house, and had only been introduced to Rhonda's parents the one time at the masque, but when she appeared in their living room Rhonda's mother just looked up at her with a tear-stained face and sighed.

"She's upstairs, dear. Second door on your right."

Melanie nodded wordlessly and ran out of the living room and up the stairs she saw at the end of the hallway. She rushed into the second door on her right and found Rhonda lying on her bed, crying.

Rhonda looked up when she heard the door open. "Melanie."

Melanie gave her a sympathetic look and hurried over to the bed. "I'm so sorry, Rhonda." She sat down next to her friend and wrapped her arms around her.

"Why'd he have to, to go on that raid? He usually worked in, in the office!" Rhonda managed to say through her tears.

"I don't know. Whoever knows these things?" She just shook her head as the two of them sat there for a moment. Finally, Rhonda turned her head to look at Melanie.

"When is this all going to end?" she asked before the tears started to run uncontrollably down her cheeks again.