Melody Aira Snow - Hogwarts Assistant!

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History... eww! More, more and even more students doze off with each boring lesson! I remember clearly wanting to jump up in class and go berserk, jumping up and down and screaming my head off (dancing on the tables would have been a bonus). And when Professor Binns asked what was the matter, I would coolly answer, "Just a little something to keep me from rotting of boredom." Oh, that would have been so sweet, honestly!

Hold on... I forgot to introduce myself! Really, where are my manners these days? Anyway, I'm Melody. In full, Melody Aira Snow. Yes, yes, yes... I know a lot of people say it's a nice name. But honestly, the gentle, mythical sound of it all doesn't even give a hint of my personality. I, for one, detest skirts and dresses (which is why I'm wearing trousers), makeup, flirting, and all the fuss of being a prim, proper lady. Detest it all. And by the way, please take note that 'Aira' rhymes with 'Myra'... just so you know. And anyway, I'm tired of people pronouncing it as 'era'...

You may have noticed that I'm not dressed like the other students, unless you are visually impaired... just kidding! Simple explanation, really: I'm not a student. No, I'm not a Professor either... or a caretaker... and no, I am most definitely not someone's pet! What could possibly have made you think that is beyond me...

Well, see, I graduated last year. This year, I'm here with another one of Hogwarts' graduates; Harry Potter (you just might have heard of him. I don't know him too well, and I plan to get to know him this year), as... well... 'assistants'. You know, going around, helping out all day, making ourselves useful... the like. 'Assistants'. Well... maybe I should define myself a little more.

Hmm... let's see... ok, here's an example of things we do: Help the Professors mark homework papers (trust me, we do that a lot), help Hagrid out whenever he's tending the garden (we do that a lot also), watch students in detention to make sure they don't run off... alright, I admit! I don't really know yet all the things that we're going to have to do. We just started as assistants about three days ago. It's like a temporary job (Funnily enough, we still have to eat at the Gryffindor table and sleep in the Gryffindor dorms. Don't ask me why...).

Anyway, I was walking past the History classroom when I saw a familiar figure waving cheerfully at me from further down the corridor. He was smiling from ear to ear. That smile... every time I looked at that innocent eleven-year-old face, I saw Harry's almost exact eleven-year-old clone, minus the scar and glasses. He even acted almost exactly like the eleven-year-old Harry, except maybe he was a bit more on the clumsy side. So Potter-like, and yet... he was a Malfoy.

Surprised? Shocked, even? Oh, don't worry. You're not (and trust me, you never will be) the only one. But the fact unfortunately remains; This perfectly likeable, decent, friendly, brave little boy comes from a family of perfectly detestable, rude, arrogant, cowardly purebloods. I'm not saying purebloods are bad, by the way (why would I? I'm one myself!), I just don't like the Malfoys... not that I really ever knew them well, but they don't exactly seem like a nice family, you know what I mean?

Eranoy Rovan Malfoy is a First-year Slytherin student. Exactly WHY he's stuck in Slytherin... well, he practically begged the Sorting Hat to place him in Slytherin, having received strict instructions from his father to 'carry on the Malfoy tradition with pride' (urgh... ). But take my true word for it, he should not, and I repeat, not be there. A pure gem of a Malfoy, this one. One in a million. The white sheep in a family of blacks. The angel among the devils. The Gryffindor among the Slytherins. The... Ok, I suppose I've made my point.

I stopped and let him run up to me. He was holding a rather thick textbook in his hand. "Hello, Eranoy," I greeted, "What's all the excitement about?"

He shook his dark head. "Nothing... I just wanted to ask if... if you're off to see Anya," he said, obviously hopeful. Anya is my pet; a physically lovely white winged horse of the miniature Abraxan breed. An eighteenth birthday present from the Weasley twins. In school, I had a habit of occasionally pulling a prank or two with them. How they got the horse is one of my life's greatest mysteries. Eranoy simply adores her.

Rolling my eyes in amusement , I smiled. "Eranoy... " I crooned, "The school year started three days ago, and for three days, I've been telling you that you don't need me to go see her. You can just march over there and see her yourself."

He grinned and gave me an apologetic shrug. "Sorry... I know you're always telling me that, but what with all this 'beginning-of-year' fuss, I keep forgetting." He fidgeted with his robe.

"So go see her already."

"I can't."

"Why ever not?"

"Because," he tapped his textbook, "I have to go practise my spells. 'A wizard's not a wizard if he doesn't know any spells'," he quoted.

"Where'd you get that from?"

He chuckled. "My cousin, Blair," he answered. "Not exactly the 'cool' thing to say, in my opinion, but I think it's very true. Don't you?" I just nodded slowly; I couldn't help wondering what horrible catastrophe had caused the poor souls' parents to give him such a name as... Blair Malfoy. Hopefully, that was not his last name.

Eranoy spoke again. "Do you think you could help me? ... Or are you busy?"

At that, I smirked. "Being school-famous for my genius in charms isn't easy," I bragged playfully. I slung my arm around his shoulder and led him off. "Let's go."

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Not wanting to sound like Hermione Granger in our first Charms class ('It's Leviosa, not Leviosa... '), I decided to demonstrate the spell again. "Alright, Eranoy, see here," I began, "I propose that you stop worrying about your wrist movement," I pointed to his hand," because it's fine already." I avoided the word 'perfect', in case it got to his head. "It's fine," I repeated.

"So why can't I get it right?" he sighed , staring at his wand a bit dejectedly. Eranoy, like me, had a very deep interest in Spells and Charms, and wanted to learn every single one on the planet. But unlike me, he had difficulty getting the chanting exactly right (I heard him pronouncing 'Accio' as 'Akkio' yesterday).

I laid his Charms textbook on the table beside him. "It's not entirely about wrists movements, Eranoy. In fact, wrist movements aren't all that important. What is important is... "

"Chanting?" he suggested.

"Smart boy. Close that door, would you?" I pointed. Ever obedient, he hurried to the big wooden doors and shut them, then hurried back. Sunlight streamed in through the two big windows, giving pleasant light and warmth to the empty room. No one else was around, and my guess was that Eranoy was glad of that. It would have been a trifle embarrassing if a crowd was there to hear him blabber 'Wingardem Levisa' over and over again.

I tapped my fingers patiently on the table. "I won't lie, Eranoy. Your chanting is almost entirely off. A spell has to be said right to work right." I shook my finger at him. "Remember what I told you about Seamus Finnigan?"

Eranoy giggled, tapping his chin. "Yes."

"Good. Now follow my every tone: Win-gar-dium Levi-o-sa. Come on now, try it. Properly please," I added.

He nodded slowly. "Wingordium Levi... "

"It's Win-gar-dium, not Win-gor-dium!" I cried. Then, I realised something; Wait a minute... that really did sound like Hermione Granger! I found myself smiling in amusement and decided to simply shrug it off. "Try again, Eranoy," I grinned, gesturing with my hands.

Eranoy gave a small smile, as if he understood what I had just realised (which was, of course, impossible, since he has never even known Hermione). Clutching his wand, he turned to a candle in a corner of the room. "Wingar... "

"Not that, Eranoy, it's already floating."

Embarrassed and a bit flustered , he turned to a matchbox I had put beside his book, going red in the face. "Don't worry Mel, I'll get it right this time," he grinned apologetically. Like I haven't heard that before...

A raise of his arm. A point of the wand. Swish and flick. "Wingardium Leviosa!"

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Madam Pomfrey helped me lay him down on one of the beds. "Heaven help us! What happened here? " she enquired anxiously, adjusting the pillow. I heaved a sigh. "Levitation Spell," I muttered, "Had his damn wand pointing the wrong way and somehow found himself twenty feet in the air. I don't know how I missed that mistake."

Madam Pomfrey examined the big beauty of a bruise on his head. "No concussion, that's good," she nodded with a sigh of relief. She started checking him all over. "Nothing broken either," she said, with another nod of satisfaction.

"Unlikely." I lifted his limp, badly swollen wrist.

"Oh, now that does not look good," she gasped, "Come, come now, let me see it." She turned his wrist gently, feeling it. "Oh my, this is definitely twisted," she sighed, shaking her head. "Oh well," she stood up straight and adjusted her cap. "It could have been worse, for all we know. No, don't touch it Snow, this is easily fixed in the hands of Poppy Pomfrey. Now you run off and leave this to me." She bustled off, muttering something about if it wasn't a rude Malfoy, it was a clumsy one.

I headed for the door, knowing that Eranoy was in good wrists... I mean, hands. Madam Pomfrey prided herself on being an exceptionally good (and fussy) nurse, with hardly a healing failure in the past. Well... maybe except for the 'permanent' paralysis that that evil witch Rhondella had inflicted on me during my first year. Still, all that was over now. All those years of suffering were gone. Rhondella was long gone, long dead, long finished. She can't come back... she can't hurt me anymore... she can't and she won't!

I closed the door to the hospital wing and started running for the stable.

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I was right; riding half-mad (or rather, flying half-mad) around the school did make me feel better. I closed my eyes, enjoying the wind and thrills of it all. Anya (my pet winged horse that I had mentioned earlier) was clearly enjoying herself too, judging by the way she neighed and whinnied in pure delight. I heaved a sigh of satisfaction and opened my eyes...

"Watch out!!" I heard myself scream. Anya made a crazy quick dive to the right, missing Hufflepuff Tower by mere millimetres. I hung on for dear life and she swerved out of control, spinning a full 360 degrees repeatedly before slowly and shakily coming to a stop in mid-air, hovering above all the glory of Hogwarts. "My... my God... " I gasped, panting and gasping for breath. A few drops of sweat ran down my face as I tried to steady myself. Holding on the way I was, I was probably choking my horse to death. But instead of coughing or spluttering, she started... neighing amusedly. Oh No... Realisation dawns.

"You did that on purpose?! How could you?" I yelled. "You scared the living magic out of me!! Get me down now, or... " I stopped, searching for a threat horrible enough to scare the whinnies clean out of her. Aha!

"... or you're not getting your eggnog next Christmas!"

That did it. Down we flew. If a horse could have cravings, Anya's was food.

Ground sweet ground , I thought to myself, stepping off thankfully onto the grass. "Alright then, eggnog's on next Christmas," I nodded at the horse, dusting myself off with one hand and crossing my fingers behind my back with the other, "If I don't give it to you, either Eranoy or Harry will anyway. "

"At least it's not poison or rat bile."

I turned my head in the direction of the voice. No one. "Harry? Is that you?" No answer. No one was in sight. Unless...

I looked up. "Gotcha," I grinned. Harry, decked in Quidditch attire, grinned back at me from his hovering broomstick. "Good Lord, how did you find me?" he grinned sarcastically , touching down.

"Well, I wondered what that draught behind me was," I answered cheekily. Harry patted Anya's head, receiving an affectionate grunt in return. Anya had a big liking for Harry, and she practically worshiped Hagrid and Eranoy, since they spoiled her and brought her treats from day one. I, on the other hand, am her constant target to annoy the very wits out of (funnily enough, when food is concerned, she becomes quite the little sucking-up angel).

"She's become quite a stunt-devil," Harry said.

"I'm going to kill Fred and George; they gave me the killer horse!!" I muttered, "But anyway... how was practise today, Coach Potter? Did anyone... oh, I don't know, die?" I raised any eyebrow cheekily.

"Not yet," he laughed. I suppose I forgot to mention that besides being an 'assistant', Harry had also managed to nab the position of Quidditch coach, being extremely good at it. How that came to pass is another mystery to me...

I scratched my head. "Really? That's odd... " I said naughtily.

"Practise was cancelled."

That got me. "What? Cancelled? But it's the first match of the year tomorrow; why on earth did you cancel?"

Harry raised a hand. "Relax... practise was delayed, to be more specific. And anyway, I wouldn't cancel Quidditch practise, would I?"

"Guess not, unless you're chicken."

"Am not... my animagus wouldn't be a chicken!"

I took Anya's reigns, laughing. "So why was practise cancelled?" I asked.

"Put the horse away and follow me."

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We stepped briskly down the hallway. "So why does McGonagall want to see us, anyway?" I asked, turning to look at Harry.

"I don't know," he answered, "Hagrid came out onto the field and told me that she wanted to see us now. Important."

"Ah, good day there, Harry, Melody. Quite a show that horse of yours put on there." It was Nearly Headless Nick. He floated in front of us, an amused smile crossing his face. "Good day, Sir Nick," we greeted in reply. Something puzzled me, though. "Sir Nick," I began, "How did you know about... "

"I should tell you, dear girl," Nick interrupted, "When you're sixty-eight feet up in the air, screaming for all you're worth on a flying horse which apparently seems to have a death wish, and then screaming eggnog threats at it... well, you're bound to attract attention from the ground. Well, must go. Good day." He nodded at us and floated off. I looked at Harry. "I screamed?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't blame you."

I turned red. Who knows what the people on the ground must've been thinking. Snapping out of it, I started hurrying down the hallway again. "Come on, Harry, you know McGonagall doesn't like to be kept waiting." Harry followed quickly.

We walked in silence for awhile, with me humming a little tune. I gave a quick glance at Harry. He was staring straight ahead, his eyes darting here and there. Never comfortable with any sort of silence, I decided to start another conversation.

"So how are your friends?"

He turned to stare at me. "Hmm? Do you mean Ron and Hermione?"

"Positively."

A smile came across his face, making it clear that even the very thought of them made him all warm and fuzzy inside. "They're fine and happy," he said, "Hermione's well on her way to becoming a dentist. Took up learning about dentistry and medicines. And Ron..." At that point, Harry smiled fondly, sweetness all over his face. I found myself smiling too. "What about Ron?"

Harry grinned. "Well, he's actually undecided whether to follow in Mr. Weasley's footsteps or go along with what Charlie does," he said.

"Charlie...?"

"That's one of his elder brothers. Works in Romania with dragons, he does."

I frowned in confusion. "I thought that one was... Bill, or something?"

"No," Harry said, shaking his head, "Bill is the one who works for Gringotts. He's a curse-breaker in Egypt."

I laughed at myself. I always somehow managed to confuse the two. "So what is Ron doing right now?" I asked again.

"He has a job at Diagon Alley. Working temporarily at the Magical Menagerie. And in doing so," Harry added, "He's developing quite a love for the Fire-Crabs there," he said with a wink.

Soon, we were knocking on the big old doors that led to the Professor's office. An authoritative voice answered, 'Come in'. We stepped inside.

McGonagall's office was, as usual, spotless; everything in place, not a dust speck to be seen... too spotless. Why, even the Cornish Pixies would have to work like house-elves to make a mess of the place! A few candles bobbed and floated in the air. They were unlit, since glorious bright sunshine already shone in through the single but massive square window behind the Professor's desk, which was piled high with homework books. Her poor students had been doing essays, by the looks of it.

"You wanted to see us, Prof... "

Harry and I couldn't finish. We found we were struck dumb by what we saw in the middle of the floor.

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A small white horse stood there, staring at us through deep midnight eyes filled with curiosity. Its mane and tail were of a glimmering pearly white, and its hooves gleamed a deep, deep black. You could easily see beauty radiating from it, not to mention daintiness. It was far smaller than Anya and looked liked a fragile porcelain figure. Definitely still a baby. But what struck us most was...

"Wings and a horn?" Harry plucked the words right out of my stunned mind. "Professor... "

"Is that a Nixus?" I gasped, my eyes wide . A Nixus is a cross between a Unicorn and a Pegasus (winged horse). Nixai are really, really rare nowadays. They have a natural habit of moving around from place to place every few days, never favouring a specific spot for habitation. They have far greater magical powers than ordinary unicorns and Pegasai, especially in their elusive horns. Very few witches and wizards have ever actually seen these creatures, so you can imagine how breathlessly fascinated we (or, at least, I) was.

"Exactly, Ms. Snow. It was found eating the school turnips." McGonagall rose from her desk, putting down her quill and shooting a sharp look at the creature, which was still staring at us with a slight frown on it's brows. Maybe it was just me, but the Professor didn't sound (or look) too fascinated... or pleased. "Hagrid found it when he was passing the school garden. And speaking of the garden... " Her eyes turned to mine. "You'll have to control that flying horse of yours, Snow; it's eating the carrots and cabbages by the handful! If you're not careful, I will have to send it back to your family."

I nodded humbly. "I'm sorry, Professor... I'll try to control her more, and I will put her on a diet. Honestly, I will."

Harry blinked and turned his wide-eyed gaze away from the Nixus, who had settled quietly on the rug, the frown on its face growing deeper. "If I may ask, Professor," he said quietly, "Where did it come from?"

"According to her, the Forbidden Forest."

Although we had been expecting that (where else could she have come from?) we were still surprised. "The forest?! Does this mean, " I said, "that herds of Nixai are hiding out there, right beside the school?" My eyes shone.

"Well, what did you expect? Horned apes?!" spoke a high, girly, irritated voice.

Harry and I stared at each other. Slowly, we turned to the horse.

It got up, swishing it's long tail, the frown replaced with a look of scorn. "You, uh... talk," I whispered, taken aback. To think that all this time, we had thought that a Nixus' ability to speak was nothing more than a mythical rumour.

My words seemed to irritate it even more. "No, of course I don't, missy, I just curse and howl in the blue moonlight!" it snapped rudely, almost scowling at me. "For a 'great and legendary' witch and wizard, you two know practically nothing, do you?" While Harry had been dealing with fame and publicity, I was forced to too. My past incidents with Rhondella had made me rather famous in the magical world, if you must know. Of course, nowhere near as famous as Harry, thank God. Maybe just a bit known here and there. Even so, I had never liked it. The publicity, I mean. Luckily for me, the so-called 'fame' had started to wear out, since there had been no more news of that witch for a long time. Everyone assumed she was really dead, and the hubbub and chatter about her died down. Thank God.

I snapped out of my stunned state immediately, my feelings of awe and mystique quickly replaced by anger. "Excuse me... " I began. "Spare me the bore," it yawned , turning it's rear end to us rudely. "I'm in no mood for boring lectures today." And with that, it settled down on the furry rug, all cosy. I stood there open-mouthed, choking with cries of disbelief. "Of all the... Professor, it... I... argh!!" I balled my hands up into fists, glowering . Harry looked utterly disgusted. He looked like he was holding back a string of words best unheard .

Professor McGonagall shook her head and sighed with a disapproving look . "I forgot to warn you that its manners might not exactly be your cup of tea."

Harry winced unpleasantly. "I suppose you sent for us because of... that, Professor?" He gestured towards the bloody beast, who turned and gave us a rude look.

"Absolutely right, Mr. Potter. You see... "

"I'll have you know," the creature interrupted, lifting her head, "that I have a perfectly good name; 'Kientra'. In the future, please take note of that and address me properly." A smug smile crept across her face. "Personally," she continued, "I think that anyone would agree that it is a far better name than 'Melody' or 'Harry', or... " She caught the Professor's stern eye. "Umm... I guess that 'Minerva' isn't too bad a name," it slurred with somewhat obvious sarcasm.

"I take it you are quite finished?" the Professor snapped. 'Kientra' lowered her head, muttering and grumbling as loudly as she dared . My guess was that just because it was a rare and elusive Nixus, it had expected top-quality V.I.P treatment. What, after that display of rudeness? Hah! Forget it!

The Professor sat us two enraged souls down at her desk and told the story. Kientra had wandered away from the herd by herself to explore the forest (what kind of morbid devil would want to explore the Forbidden Forest?! ) and a Devil-Maid (I'll explain much, much later) had chased and hunted her mercilessly. Couldn't say I felt sorry for her when I heard that...

Anyway, she got lost and somehow wandered into the school grounds by mistake. And according to Kientra, the herd never stayed in the same forest for long (told you). "They conceal their whereabouts with their own form of magic," the Professor continued, "They left yesterday and there is practically no magical way to find them. Which means... "

"Professor!" I blurted out. "You... you don't expect me to take this... this... monstrosity under my wing?!" My mouth was open in disbelief.

Kientra raised her head again, this time in disgust. "Monstrosity?" she growled, "Ms. Snow, I don't care what the word means, but judging by your insufferable tone, I believe... " She caught the Professor's eye again. "... that I am quite finished," she muttered, lowering her head.

The Professor turned back to us. "Only temporarily, Ms. Snow. Professor Dumbledore and I have discussed the matter and we believe it is best you two take care of it, considering Hagrid has other responsibilities."

Harry coughed politely. "Excuse me, Professor... but did you say, 'you two'?"

"Did you think you were not a part of this, Potter?"

Harry sat there, gripping his chair and trying to hide his mortification, while the Professor continued. "It is only temporary, Potter, Snow. I will be writing a letter to the Ministry of Magic later on, and once they have decided the appropriate thing to do with it... well, we'll see."

"Couldn't we just release her into the Forbidden Forest again?" Harry suggested, "I don't see much harm in it."

I looked at the Professor hopefully, the words 'pretty please' written all over my face.

"No."

I groaned and my shoulders sagged . McGonagall fixed me with a sympathetic but stern look. "The number of Nixai in this world are enough to consider them highly endangered, Snow. By releasing a young, helpless lone one into the untamed wild, we would be considered to be committing a crime, and therefore... " she paused, "have legal action taken on us. Else, I would have done so without a moment's hesitation the minute it opened it's mouth." Clearly, it hadn't given the Professor a good first impression.

I saw no way out. Sighing, I forced the words out of my mouth. "Alright... I'll take care of her."

"We will," Harry chipped in. "Although... " he glanced at Kientra, who immediately stuck her tongue out at him , "it won't be very pleasant."

"And make sure she is never out your sight. You especially, Snow, since Potter will be busy with Quidditch at times. We can't have her roaming around the school." Oh Good God... I was not hearing this!

And idea flickered in my mind. "Professor, could I... "

"And leaving her in the stable is out of the question, Snow."

"What if I... "

"As I said, Hagrid has other responsibilities to take care of."

"How about... "

"And there is no way you are locking her in the underground dungeon, Snow."

Ideas crushed. Harry gave me a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.

"You know, this rug is quite a luxury," the bloody beast crooned. "I could get used to all this." She snuggled down comfortably.

"Oh, really? Well, what if I told you that it is made out of Nixus manes?" McGonagall said calmly.

That got the wretched snob to her feet.

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