Secret Behind The Mask

Chapter Ten - Secrets, secrets, and more fights

Melly's eyes fluttered open. The room she was in was dark and cold. She shifted her head, grunting in pain, so she could see more. She found she was lying on a bed, and was in someone's room. That someone was sleeping on a chair facing her. That someone was Snape.

Melly tried to sit up in the bed, but she still felt a stab of pain.

She let her head fall back down on the pillow with a groan; a groan that caused Snape to jump out of sleep.

What a night, Melly thought. Except for the fact that I had to find out I'm a Death Eater by lies, and that I got Curio's, and Ron, Harry, and Hermione saw everything, my night was the best ever!

"You mean to scratch out the Death Eater meeting, you had a very exciting evening," Snape teased. "I'm sure Weasley did."

Exactly...wait, what?

"Why don't you talk out loud? No one is in here but you and I."

It hurts to move. Melly groaned again.

Well, what he did to you was crucial.

That's why they call it Crucio.

Melly closed her eyes, wanting to hold back tears. Voldemort was her father, but he was also the Dark Lord, who despises her mother, and love. She shouldn't get all worked up by that.

What else bothered her, more than Bellatrix's threat, was the fact that her three new "friends" saw everything. How much did they see? What is all they know now? Do they now about her and Snape?

Melly opened her eyes wide.

What? Snape asked.

Ron! Harry! Hermione! What happened to them? Melly stared at the ceiling.

They're back at the Common Room, Snape answered. Don't worry, I took away enough points and gave them plenty of detentions. Think they'll think twice before following us into the forest again. They didn't know what we could have been doing.

You think they'll tell Dumbledore?

Naw. As I said, they'll think twice.

Melly nodded, regretting it, for she still hurt.

How long am I staying here? Where is here anyways?

My room, and you must sleep some more. The night is almost done. Meaning that it's almost Monday. The potion I gave you earlier should be kicking in now. You'll feel better by breakfast, if you sleep.

---

Ron couldn't sleep. He had his hands behind his head, and stared at the roof of his four-poster bed. The night's events had him restless.

It started out great...

Spending all the needed time with Melly, dancing, laughing, and drinking punch but then she had to run away without an explanation.

Then the fact that Snape took her to you-know-who, and that she stood up to him. He was proud of her, but then, he didn't kill her, he only tortured her with Crucio. Ron thought that you-know-who would've just killed her on the spot. Melly accused him, she yelled at him...maybe he isn't as bad as Harry describes him. No, now that just thinking stupid. Of course he is as bad as Harry describes him, maybe worse. He just wanted to toy with Melly.

Then, it hit Ron like ten bricks. What are bricks? He quickly sat up, and he opened the curtains. He ran to Harry's bed, and threw the curtains open, relieved to find that Harry was still awake.

"Ron? Is something wrong?" Harry asked, sitting up.

Ron sat on Harry's bed and closed the curtains. He looked Harry in the eyes.

"Did you listen to every word that was spoken tonight?" Ron asked.

Harry nodded. "Why? Did you miss something?"

"I'm really hoping that I did, Harry," Ron whispered. He leaned forward, so only Harry could hear him. "Did you hear you-know-who call Melly, dearest?"

Harry's eyes went wide. Ron looked at him, hoping that he really did hear wrong.

Harry nodded. "What do you think it means?"

Ron shrugged. "Snape said that Melly didn't know about his betrayal. Do you think that-maybe-she-and him-"

"Ron, now you're just talking crazy."

"But you can't sleep either!" Ron hissed. "You're thinking the same thing I am, Harry!"

Harry hushed him, saying that he didn't want to wake the others.

"Harry, she also said that she could talk to... You-Know-Who... any way she pleases. There has to be something going on. And that Death Eater woman's warning." Ron soaked in all that he blurted out, as did Harry. They sat there, in silence, for five minutes. What if Melly really was involved with Voldemort?

Harry looked at Ron, and saw how troubled he seemed. "Don't worry about it, Ron. Maybe she just has a task for him, because she wanted to live and he was going to kill her, and..."

"Harry, that is the most stupid explanation I have ever heard," Ron said quietly. "She really is his daughter, Harry."

Harry tried to make Ron believe that wasn't true, but knew that it was as unlikely to be true as Neville is as unlikely to pass Potions, which wasn't very likely.

"Maybe she was just fibbing," Harry said, knowing that both he and Ron knew that she wasn't. "Or, maybe he was just fibbing?"

"How can you fib on something that serious?" Ron asked, holding back sobs. "I thought she was under a spell, but, Snape said that she didn't know about him being a spy for Dumbledore. Maybe it was all the truth."

"Don't think like that, Ron," Harry assured. "Just go back to bed, and try not to think about it so you can sleep."

Ron grunted, but got up regardless. He knew that he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. Melly was on his mind. Was she all right? He wondered if she would be at classes tomorrow.

Hopefully, she will.

He stopped just before he reached his bed, and turned around to face Harry again.

"Harry?" He sounded unsure, of what he might say next will be either hallucination or not, but you-know-who's voice still rang in his ears. Harry sat up and looked at him. "What did he mean when he shouted, 'Damn you Faith'?"

Harry shrugged. "Faith is a thing people count on, I think. I don't know how to explain it. You could ask Hermione. She might now. I'm sure she had more faith in her life than I did."

Ron nodded, and continued back to his bed. He lie down, and fell into a dreamful sleep. Dreaming of nothing but the night's events, from the first time he saw Melly that night, all the way to when Snape carried her off to his rooms.

---

Thank you, Snape. Too bad you're asleep still. Must have been a tiring night for you. I know it was for me.

Melly stared at Snape, lazily stretched out on his chair, sleeping. She tried countless times to fall back asleep, but gave up. She then tried to get up, but she was still sore, but not as sore as she was earlier, thank God!

Sunlight slowly seeped through the small window that Snape had, and wasn't all that glad for it. A new day had to start. It just had to, didn't it? What was she going to do if the rest of her life is going to be like this? Late night tortures, and early awakenings?

On the whole, the whole Death Eater thing was losing its touch. Did she really want to be a Death Eater that badly? It just didn't seem worth it. She didn't want to have to get tortured again by her own father, she especially didn't like being lied to, and the whole part with Bellatrix threatening her with death wasn't fun either. But, who said that this line of work was going to be fun?

She sighed, and, realizing that it wasn't as painful as it had been, she slowly sat up. She smiled, and slowly let her feet drop to the floor. Melly almost burst with happiness. She looked at Snape as she slowly brought herself up and stood.

I love you, Snape! You are the best Potions Master that I have ever known. Well, maybe the only Potions Master I've ever known, but still. Even if Gryffindor doesn't have any points left.

She looked around the room, and spotted her cloak on a chair not so far from where she stood.

She slowly walked over to the chair, and put it on. She sighed and, as soon as she was sure that she could walk without limping, walked out of the room, and towards the Great Hall, which was full of unsuspecting students, from ages eleven to eighteen.

---

Hermione was lost in thought as she slowly chewed her toast. Ron stared, eagerly at her, not touching his food, awaiting for her answer. Harry kept looking from the Staff Table to the doors leading to the Entrance Hall.

Finally, Hermione swallowed and looked up at Ron, who straightened up in his chair and looked at her, expectantly.

She opened her mouth, but sighed, and shook her head. "Faith is a very hard thing to explain. It's-some sort of..." She bit her lip, trying to find the right words on how to describe "Faith".

"A belief," Harry said suddenly. "Faith is a belief you have in someone, or something. Didn't I say that last night?"

Ron nodded. "Something like that. Only you said it's something that people count on."

"But why would - you-know-who - say that?" Hermione questioned.

The two boys shrugged. Ron looked at the Staff Table. Still no sign of Snape. He turned to the doors that led to the Entrance Hall. No sign of Melly, either.

He was just about to take a bite of toast when he saw, from the Slytherin table, Sherry and Pansy nearly faint. The two girls were looking at the doors of the Entrance Hall. Ron shot his head that way, and the girls were completely out of their heads; there wasn't anything there. He shook his head, and glanced at the staff table. His eyes widened as he watched Snape slowly, and clumsily, set himself on his normal chair.

Ron looked back at Hermione and Harry, and saw that they, too, had seen Professor Snape. Ron looked at the doors that lead to the Entrance Hall, and saw her standing there, as if nothing happened last night. She looked at Snape, then at the Slytherin table. She nodded once, and Sherry and Pansy shot up, and dashed out the door after her. Ron, Harry, and Hermione all shared a nervous look, and dashed after the three girls.

---

"What happened to you last night?" Sherry asked, a tone of worry clear as crystal in her voice.

Melly kept walking, no emotion showing anywhere on her face. She led the two girls to the library, and picked an empty corner far from any listening ears.

She sat down, and closed her eyes, breathing in and out as she tried to rid the pain that somehow had come back. Once she opened her eyes again, looked at Sherry and Pansy, her lip trembled and she felt a tear run down her cheek. Sherry and Pansy both shared worried looks.

Finally, after five minutes, Sherry finally spoke up. "What happened? What did Snape do to you?"

"Snape?"

Pansy nodded. "You walked off with him. We all saw it."

"Who's 'we all'?" Melly asked, sounding angrier by the second.

"Me and Pansy," Sherry counted, using her fingers. "Draco, and Crabbe and Goyle. Right?"

Pansy nodded. "Oh! And also Weasley, Potter, and Granger."

Melly sighed sadly. "I know that."

"Now, back to the situation at hand," Sherry said. "What did that greasy, sniveling, bastard, potions professor do to you?"

"Do you really have to use so many put downs?" Melly asked, looking at her hands in her lap. "He didn't do anything to me."

"What were you to doing together, then?" Sherry demanded.

"We didn't do anything," Melly answered, more quietly. She looked back at her two friends. "But something did happen." Her lip trembled as more tears ran down her cheek. She looked back down at her hands in her lap. "I should've known one day he would snap. One day, I should have known, he would torture me."

"Why are you talking like this if you and Snape didn't do anything?" Sherry demanded more forcefully. "He did do something! What did he do?"

"Snape didn't do anything!" Melly shouted, looking angrily at Sherry. "I told you that! He called me last night, and Snape took me to him! I found out the truth about my dream!"

Without thinking on what she was doing, Melly jumped up, knocking over her chair, and lifted her left sleeve, showing a scar of a skull with the snake.

Pansy and Sherry stared at her, shocked beyond all reason. They wanted to say something, but didn't know what, and didn't have their voices at the moment.

"See? See it?" Melly covered her arm once again, and picked up the chair and sat down.

She folded her hands on the table, and glanced at her bracelets.

"THAT DAMN MUGGLE BRACELET ISN'T PROTECTING YOU FROM HARM THIS TIME, IS IT? YOUR MOTHER WAS A FOOL! I HAD NO LOVE FOR HER IN MY HEART, AND I STILL DON'T! SHE WAS A FOOLED DARK WITCH, AND A BEAUTIFUL ONE AT THAT... DAMN YOU FAITH!"

She couldn't believe it. Voldemort had shouted out "Faith". Maybe he- No! He said it himself that he doesn't love her. Actually he said it countless times, and Melly still didn't get it. She did now. Did it really take an attack from Crucio to get it through her head?

"That's not all that happened," Sherry's voice interrupted her thoughts. It was faint, but it got clear so quickly. It sounded angry, determined.

Melly looked up at her. "Why do you think that?" she asked.

"You're crying again. What happened? Full detail."

Melly sighed, and looked back at her bracelets. She opened her mouth, but was interrupted by an all too familiar voice.

"What's 'Faith'?" he asked.

Melly shot her head up, and saw Ron standing behind Sherry, nearly scaring her and Pansy half to death.

Melly looked at him, full of disappointment. She wanted to tell him. She wanted to shout it out to the world that her mother was a very famous dark witch, with a light word for a name. Instead, she shook her head.

"I don't know," she replied. Sherry nodded her head slightly to her, so only Melly could see it.

Harry and Hermione, who looked just as worried as Sherry and Pansy, soon joined Ron. Ron looked at Melly, no expression on his face. Melly looked at her hands, trying to hold back more tears.

He is the Dark Lord. He has his own reasons for doing what he did, right? He was her father, after all. A dark wizard. He couldn't let a little girl get in his way of running things, now, could he?

Of course not....

"So, you have no idea why you-know-who yelled it?" Ron questioned.

Melly looked at Sherry, then glared at Ron. "No, Ron, I do not know. It's none of your business anyway."

Ron countered her glare. She knew. He knew she knew. Why was she lying to him? "Is he your father?"

"What?" she shrieked. She jumped up, glaring at him still. Ron was starting to get on her nerves.

"You heard me," he said softer. He lifted his glare, and looked sympathetically at her. "Is You-Know-Who your father?"

Melly glared heavily at him. She looked at Sherry, who shook her head, but Melly was getting fed up with lies.

"Yes, Weasley, I know," she answered. Ron looked at her, confused at her answer. "I know why he cursed Faith. Faith is my mother. Yes, Weasley, he is my father. No, Weasley, he does not love her or me. He doesn't give a crap about me."

All the while she was saying this, anger bubbled up inside her as she held on tightly to her bracelets.

"Yes, Weasley, I would any day join his forces. Any day." She kept her voice low and menacing. She never liked him anyways, so why not let him know it? "You three should have kept out of my business." She glared at Harry and Hermione as well.

"You're lying," Ron whispered. "Why are you lying? You have to be lying."

"Well, guess what? I'm not lying. Weasel, Potty, Mudblood, I never liked any of you to begin with."

"I knew it!" shrieked Hermione. "I knew it!" She turned to Harry. "We have to go tell Dumbledore!"

Melly shot death sparks at her. "And what is he going to do?"

Sherry and Pansy smirked at each other and stood up next to Melly's side. "It's not like he's willing to throw a student in Azkaban," Sherry pointed out.

"Only a few more months, and she won't be a student anymore!" Harry said, looking at Melly.

"Azkaban won't keep her locked up," Pansy said, smiling. "The Dark Lord will find a way to release her."

"She said herself that he doesn't give a damn about her," Hermione said at a low whisper.

Melly and Ron looked at each other; Melly glaring, and Ron looking torn apart.

Inside, he was torn apart. Surely she didn't mean anything she just said? She really did like him, right? She never wanted to be a Death Eater. She couldn't really think that Voldemort was her father! That was just silly! She didn't really want to follow him after what she just told him. She said it herself that he hated her. He tortured her, for heavens sakes! And yet, she still says she's willing to follow him!

Melly couldn't think about anything but what she told him. She told him all her secrets! What an idiot she has just made herself. Why, why did he have to come along? Why couldn't he just except that she couldn't dance with him last night? Why couldn't he just the whole of last night behind him? It would be for his own good. He wouldn't be hurt, he wouldn't have to worry anymore. It isn't that hard, is it? He should just be able to say that it was just a dream, a bad nightmare!

Ron's lip trembled. He couldn't let his true feelings for Melly let out. Especially when she just said that she hated him!

Without knowing, Melly's glare slowly turned to a sorry, sad look. She really did feel bad for him! This is insane! She shouldn't feel bad! If she was supposed to be a proper Death Eater, then she should enjoy causing pain, and she does. She doesn't enjoy seeing Ron in pain. Why....?

She gasped, barely noticeable and audible, only Ron seemed to notice it. Melly's eyes widened as she felt blood trickle down her wrist, and she felt something slide off onto the floor. She looked down at her wrist, and saw that her bracelets had both broken off, with deep cuts and blood dribbling down. Something at that moment seemed to have left her. She looked up at Ron, and saw that he had a look of concern on his face. Without any control, she lifted her chin and sneered at him.

"What are you three still doing here?" Melly demanded, making everyone jump at the sound of her voice.

Ron looked down at her wrist, which she let carelessly fall to her side, blood flowing onto the floor.

"You're hurt," he said, alarm obvious in his voice, as he looked back up at her face. "You should get that healed."

"It's no concern of yours," she said, her head lowering, her eyes just barley seen from the slits of her eyelids. "Just like everything else in my life," she growled.

"It may not be any concern of mine, but you're hurt. You need to get it healed."

Melly lifted her wrist and watched as blood dropped to the floor. Hermione gasped, and Harry looked at it disgusted. Pansy and Sherry looked at Melly like she was a monster of some sort.

Then, Harry saw it again. Melly's eyes grew red, and kept getting darker, almost scarlet. Then, it hit him...Voldemort...

The night of the return of Voldemort...he remembered seeing the red scarlet of his eyes as Voldemort stared at him.

Then, Melly's eyes seemed to keep getting darker and darker as she glared at Harry. They got darker until they were a deep midnight blue. Her skin started getting paler, and her hair started to slowly change from blonde, to a dark midnight blue. One more shade of blue, and it would have been black.

He looked at Hermione and Ron, and saw that Hermione was near faint, and Ron looked entranced in her eyes.

"Ron?" Harry asked, urgently. He didn't answer. "Ron?"

"He isn't with you anymore," Melly said, in a soft, low tone, nothing like her usual voice. "He's gone. In a different world. Where are you, Ron?"

Ron blinked a couple of times, and looked around the room. "How did I get here?"

Harry and Hermione were so shocked at Ron's reactions, that they didn't notice Melly, Pansy, and Sherry sneak out of the library. When Ron looked back at where Melly and the other two were standing, he flinched. He looked back at Harry and Hermione.

"Why are we in the library?" he asked.

Hermione looked at Harry, then back at where the three girls once stood, and shrieked at seeing nothing there.

"Harry! They're gone!" she exclaimed.

Harry looked back at the spot as well, and winced. He, too, didn't see the three disappear.

Ron looked at them, thinking, hard, on how they came to be in the library without him knowing. "Weren't we just outside?"

Harry and Hermione looked back at him. "No, Ron, we weren't. We were here almost all morning."

Ron shook his head. "No, I could've sworn we were outside."

Harry looked at Hermione and nodded. "We need to tell Dumbledore," he said. Hermione nodded as well.

"Why?" Ron asked.

---

"Melly? Melly? Are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine, why?"

"You looked weird in there," Pansy said, her lip trembling. "You started bleeding, and then you changed completely."

Melly looked at them, like she really didn't want to be around them at this moment. "How?"

Her eyes were back to normal, and her hair was once again blonde. Her wrist was still bleeding, and they were now heading to the Hospital Wing.

"You're eyes were different, and you're hair turned to almost black," Sherry whispered, and Pansy nodded. "You seemed to have sucked Weasley's soul, or something."

"It was quite frightening," Pansy put in.

The bell sounded for the first class to begin.

Melly looked around, watching all the students run to their classes so they aren't late. "You two had better head for your class. I'll be fine."

"You sure?" Sherry asked, placing her hand on Melly's shoulder. "You won't die, or change on us, will you?"

Melly stifled a laugh. "Of course not. Have I ever let you down before?"

Pansy laughed. "No, never."

With that, the two turned around and ran to Herbology.

Melly sighed and continued walking to the Hospital Wing.

---

There was a knock on Professor McGonagall's classroom door. She hurried to answer it, ordering the class to continue working.

She opened the door, and stared, reprimanding, at Melly, who smiled apologetically back at her.

Melly handed her the note she got from Madam Pomfrey, and sat down in the back by herself. She got out her wand, and copied down McGonagall's instructions. As soon as the professor went back to check on Neville Longbottom, Melly sighed and leaned back in her chair.

She surveyed the room, and spotted her three new enemies; at least that's what she thought. For some strange reason, she didn't have any feeling while looking at them. She wondered why she seemed to feel different when her bracelets left her wrist. She wondered why she didn't feel anything when she looked at Ron, trying to think of which animagi he wanted to research on, and think why people might want to use it.

Melly raised her eyebrows. What animal would Ron choose? Probably a lion. Cunning, brave, loyal creatures that protect their families and pack.

She glanced down at her blank piece of parchment. What animal should she choose? A serpent? Sly, cunning reptiles that confuse and attack the weaker. Serpent for the Slytherin house, the house in which she truly belongs.

Or, a Thestral? Dark creatures that can't be seen unless death itself has been seen. Would she be able to see a Thestral?

Yes, she had seen death, many times. Her mother, for instance, died in her bed, in a mad coughing fit, while holding onto Melly's hands for dear life, not wanting to die.

"Melly, don't let go," her voice rasped.

"I won't let go," a younger Melly promised.

"Don't let death take me away."

"I won't let anyone take you away mummy. I won't! I promise!" Her voice began to choke with sobs as she watched her mother cough and sputter, slowly suffocating.

"I want you to go to the cellar, as soon as I am sleeping, and go to the last rack, where Moleé keeps the good wine." Her voice was raspy as she fought to hold back tears. "There will be a letter enclosed in the last bottle. I want you to give that bottle to Talôn, and he will know exactly whom the letter belongs to. Someone will come for you tomorrow morning. You will go with this person, all right?"

"Yes, mummy," the young Melly said, not afraid to hold back her tears.

Faith smiled at her, and cupped the young Melly's cheek with her hand. "Don't cry, Melly. Don't show the world you are vulnerable."

The young Melly nodded. "I'll try..."

"Melly? Are you all right?" a stressed older woman's voice asked, though very faint. "Melly?"

"I won't let go, Mum," Melly continued. "I won't. Not for anyone. Death won't take you. I promise that you will not be taken away."

"Melly! Melly! Go get Madam Pomfrey, Miss Granger! Melly!"

"I WON'T LET GO! I WON'T LET ANYONE TAKE YOU AWAY! I WON'T SHOW MY VULERABILITY! I PROMISE!"

"Then stop crying! I don't want you crying for me! Stop it Melly! Stop it!"

"I'm not crying! I won't let you go!"

"Miss Avalon! What's wrong? Melly!" the faint older woman's voice echoed.

Faith was seized by more coughing. She was coughing for five minutes before she finally closed her eyes and fell back on her pillows of her queen-sized bed.

"Mum! Mummy!"

"It's okay! Melly! Come around! Miss Avalon!" This cry was a different older woman's voice, though still faint.

"I won't cry for you...."

She opened her eyes, and looked around. She was looking up, so she assumed she was on the floor. Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall hovered over her, Professor McGonagall grasping her heart.

"Melly, are you all right?" she asked.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" Melly asked, looking around, noticing that every living soul in that classroom was hovering around her.

Ron looked especially worried. Harry and Hermione looked at her suspiciously, with a hint of severe worry in their faces.

"Well," Madam Pomfrey explained, "you had quite an episode, Miss Avalon. I think you should come with me." She sighed, and helped Melly up on her feet. "Not even gone for twenty minutes."

Melly was startled when she got on her feet.