Life as I Knew It

Chapter 13--Zahara and Melpomene Revisited

When Defence Against the Dark Arts was over, Zahara leaned over and asked Pansy if she was in Ancient Runes. When Pansy answered yes, Zahara said, "Good. We will walk together. There is still much I need to tell you."

Pansy was grateful for any insight that Zahara could give her. She did not quite understand who Zahara and Melpomene were in the grand scheme of things, but they did have some kind of unique perspective that Zahara was willing to share with her. So Pansy agreed to walk with her, because of all the friendships she could cultivate here, Zahara's would probably be the most beneficial.

When the class got to the first turn at the end of the hallway, Hermione, Padma, and all the other students on their way to Ancient Runes turned left, but Zahara took a right. Pansy cleared her throat. "Actually, it would be quicker if we..." She gestured in the other direction.

Zahara stopped her progress and turned around. "We have time to go this way. I thought it would be best to take a longer route and separate ourselves from the group. We do not want to be overheard."

"Oh." Pansy followed her down the right hall. "So, what else was there that you needed to tell me?"

Zahara smiled back at Pansy. "I have not told you much at all yet. I will say that I do not know how this happened, and, despite anything she may say, neither does Melpomene. There is one important thing that you must know, though. I do not know how you are going to feel about this."

Pansy was getting annoyed by the way Zahara was drawing it out. She knew that Zahara was only trying to prepare her for what was to come, but she wished the girl would spit it out.

"In the stories we read, Melpomene and I, you were not mentioned much. As you can probably guess, they were mostly about Harry Potter and Professor Dumbledore."

Pansy shrugged. That sounded reasonable. After all, why would she be in the papers?

"Lord Voldemort is dead. You are in Slytherin and you are friends, if not more, with Draco Malfoy, so maybe his death upsets you."

Was that the big secret? "Oh, I already knew that You-Know-Who has died. And I, er, I don't know how to feel about that."

"That wasn't it. There is a new dark presence. Now, if you choose to support it, that is your choice, but I thought you should know." Zahara stopped walking and looked at Pansy carefully. "Nobody else would have told you, because so few people are aware of it. But there is someone out there."

Pansy was about to ask Zahara what she meant by "dark presence" and if anything could be worse than Voldemort, but she was distracted by the sound of voices. From around the corner came the distinctive tinkling voice of Moonshyne and another Pansy did not recognize.

"No, really, Moonshyne, you're gonna want to hear what I have to say."

Moonshyne gave a long-suffering sigh. "I don't have a lot of time, Mel, so why don't you get to the point?"

Pansy still could not place who Mel was. She turned to Zahara and made a face. "Melpomene," Zahara whispered.

"It's about that new girl," said Melpomene.

"Right, Pansy. You said something about her last night, but you've just been dancing around the issue. So you can either tell me or let me get on my way."

"I just think it's interesting that I have information you need. You always know everything, but you don't know this. I'm just taking the opportunity to revel in that."

"You need to remember your place." Moonshyne's voice was a little scary as she said this; the tinkling was gone. "Do not bother me again until you are willing to say something. I'm going to walk away now."

Moonshyne must have walked down the same way she had come, but Melpomene stormed around the corner and came face to face with Pansy and Zahara.

Zahara had a smug look on her face. "You should have know better than to try that with her."

Melpomene looked from Zahara to Pansy. "You do realize who this is, right? What her presence might mean?"

"If you mean that she's here to set the world right, yes, I realize that."

Before Pansy was fully aware of what was happening, Melpomene had pulled a large sword out of a sheath on her back and was brandishing it at Pansy. "Maybe I like things the way they are. Maybe I'm willing to fight to keep things like this."

Pansy was so scared she feared she might wet herself, but Zahara did not look fazed at all. "You should probably put your little sword away."

"It's a Katana!"

"Well, whatever it is, if you hurt someone with it, you will go the way of the other Mary Sues."

Melpomene's face quivered with rage, but she sheathed her "katana." "I am not a Mary Sue!" She turned and walked away in a huff, muttering to herself.

Pansy admired the way Zahara had handled the situation, but she had not really understood a lot of what had happened. "What's a Mary Sue?"

Zahara laughed. "It is the best way to insult Melpomene."

"And what's a katana?"

Zahara shook her head. "It is apparently some kind of sword."

Pansy continued down the hallway. They were almost certainly going to be late for Ancient Runes now. "What kind of name is Melpomene?"

"She was the Greek muse for tragedy. Which is appropriate, I guess, since her presence here is tragic."

"Do you think Moonshyne could be the dark presence? I was thinking that she killed You-Know-Who pretty easily. It would take a lot of... power to do that."

"I suppose it could be possible, but something about that does not seem right to me. This new dark presence is subtle and patient; Moonshyne is neither."

"Well, she's a Slytherin. She must have some subtlety. What has this new person done?"

Zahara shushed Pansy. They were at the door for Ancient Runes. "We're late. And he already doesn't like me very much."

"He? When I went here, Ancient Runes was taught by a crazy, old hag."

Zahara sighed. "I wish I could learn Runes from a crazy, old hag." She opened the door to the classroom and walked in.