I do not claim the House of Night series or the publishing company as my own. This is simply my take on a 'what would have happened if...' kind of story.

Chapter 1: Marked anew

It was early morning, only about eight. My family was doing construction on the house, which were my parents, and the air compressor woke me up. I am an only child named Melody, Melody Claira Starr, who lives in the lowest region of Kansas, in Baxter Springs. I have white hair with blue ends, which I had dyed that color once my friend Acacia had gotten red ends, and blue-green eyes. My father gave me my hair color, height, and eyelashes, as well as the teeth I had to have braces on for two years. My mother gave me my eyes and my body shape and color preference. I grew up, not out (much to my dismay). Almost all the girls I knew were curvier than I am, as well as I was one of the latest bloomers my parents had seen. Oh well. I was sitting at my sky blue laptop with my Sai character plushie, something I had gotten on my last birthday, and my cell phone when I heard a knock at the door. I had stayed home sick today; having a freaking cough that was full of phlegm every time and being pale as hell. I had a cold, which was not unusual for me. I stood up, expecting it to be someone other than who I saw.

I looked in shock at the boy before me. He was gorgeous, with dark blue hair in a shaggy look and icy blue eyes, the kind of boy parents warn their daughters about, but what really got me was the bright blue crescent moon in the center of his forehead. Oh shit! It was a Tracker for the House of Night!

"W-who are y-you?" I stuttered before going into a coughing fit. My parents looked out of the remodeled room to see me, but not him. I was in the way.

"Melody Starr! Night has chosen thee; thy death will be thy birth. Night calls to thee; hearken to Her sweet voice. Your destiny awaits you at the House of Night!" He called. His voice was mysterious and ominous, seeming to reach out and into my soul. I wondered, almost immediately, if others had felt this same feeling. He pointed to my forehead, but being shaky as I already was, I accidentally leaned forward, feeling it touch me before blacking out, falling into an abyss within my own mind.

I awoke to an awkward boy's voice, a concerned girl's, a worried boy's, and my parents. I opened my eyes lightly, only to see my friend, Chad, a brown haired boy with glasses and freckles, Lucas, another brown haired boy with wide eyes and a farm boy build, and Acacia, my black and red headed girl friend, standing above me. I had an ice pack on my forehead and my parents were behind my friends.

"What happened?" I asked, sitting up for the first time. I shook lightly with a cough that hit me hard. My mother forced me to lean back and moved the ice pack, handing me a mirror. I looked, and sure enough, there was a deep blue crescent in the middle of my forehead. It looked right there, since it matched me color wise and symbol wise, reminding me of my crescent and star mood necklace that stayed a similar shade of blue to the Mark.

"Honey, we have to get you to the House of Night. The closest one is in Tulsa, though, so we won't see you very often." My mother said with tears in her eyes. She ran her fingers over the Mark and through my hair. My friends all looked sad, but were happy that I could be a vampyre. They smiled, telling me that they would visit when my parents did, or hide in my luggage and live there secretly.

I stood up, wobbling into another coughing fit, and held onto Dad, who was big enough to support me. That was when I noticed the bags on the floor, probably my things. There were three, one for clothes, one for bedding and pillows, and the final one for my electronics.

"I don't want to go yet, but I have to. I love you guys." I said, hugging all of my friends separately. We all walked out the door and my friends climbed onto their bikes, leaving me to get into the Chevy pick up truck with my parents. It was now three in the afternoon, meaning my friends had come straight from school to see me. Well, that made me tear up. I went through my electronics suitcase (which was really a carry on), taking note of the fact my Ipod, laptop, and Nintendo DS were stashed safely inside, along with the cables and chargers I would need.

We got to the highway and drove, talking amongst each other. My parents welcomed my change with open arms, saying they were so proud of me and wanted me to make a good life. I just smiled, and after what seemed like the blink of an eye, we were entering Tulsa. I began to cry, knowing my family would accept it, but miss me like heck. Mom made me promise while on the road that once I became and adult vampyre, I would visit immediately. She seemed so sure I'd make it through the Change, but hey, I wasn't going to be pessimistic.

"We're here, Mel." Dad said, almost in tears, his glasses beginning to fog. I got out of the truck and grabbed my suitcases, heading inside the castle like building. There weren't any vampyres out, but I assumed it was because it was five in the afternoon. Yes, we drove the whole way. It was only 93 miles for gosh sakes! I had coughed a lot on the way here, too, so I felt like crap, to tell you the truth. Mom rested a hand on my hip and I put one on her shoulder, my 5,7" height going against her 5,4," and rested my other hand on my suitcase. Once inside, a woman stood there. She was beautiful! She had moss green eyes that shined in the light and amazing waves of hair, and she still had more curves than I did. Damn.

"Welcome to the House of Night. I assume you are Melody Starr? Of course, you may change your name if you wish." I felt my mother stiffen beside me at that. She knew I wanted some cool name that wasn't so generic, but that was for my kid. I still loved my name. She hugged me one more time and kissed my forehead, Dad repeating her movement, before disappearing out the front doors, saying their last goodbyes.

"I wish to have my name remain Melody Claira Starr, if that's alright." I told her. She nodded, still smiling. Gosh, I hoped she didn't do that all the time. It would get really freaking creepy after a while.

"Of course you may, child of Nyx. I am High Priestess Neferet. Think of me as a head mistress. You may follow me." She said. I followed her through the hallways, deserted and lit up. We arrived at a door, which she promptly glided through and I followed her in. It was like my dream living room, with TVs and other miscellaneous furniture. We went up the stairs and I noticed rooms on each side. Must have been dorms. I didn't cough anymore, feeling perfectly fine. We stopped at a door and she opened it, letting me in. I almost cried. There were two beds, one on each side, but only one had been decorated EXACTLY like my room! I ran to my day bed, you know the one, with no bedding on it and looked at the place my head always was. Sure enough, there were even the bite marks I had made while checking the progress with my braces when I couldn't sleep. My bookshelf was filled with books and other items I had. I opened my suitcases, arranging my bed perfectly with the four blankets and pillows, plush dolls, and my stuffed hippo named Hippomapotamus. Yes, I named him that. I was only seven when I got him! My posters were right where I left them, even the one on the back of the door that said 'Beware: I have ninja monkeys' on it. I hugged the woman, not caring if it was allowed or not. She gave me a pat back before handing me a schedule. I took it and looked over it.

Melody Starr, Entering Third Former

1st hour: Fencing. Gymnasium. Prof. D. Lankford

2nd hour: Lit 101 Rm. 214. Prof. Penthesilea

3rd hour: Spanish 101. Rm. 216. Prof. Garmy

4th hour: Vampyre Sociology 101. Rm. 215. Prof. Neferet

LUNCH BREAK

5th hour: Sketching 101. Rm. 312. Prof. Doner

Or

Drama 101. Performing Arts Center. Prof. Nolan

Or

Intro to Music. Rm. 314. Prof. Vento

6th hour: Intro to Equestrian Studies. Field House. Prof. Lenobia

Whoa, these classes were interesting! They looked like they'd be so much fun to take! I pocketed the schedule in my jean skirt and thanked her. She smiled kindly before leaving me be, so I went to the closet. I saw my uniform, which was just a nice shirt that could be put with what I had on, so I climbed into bed and took a nap. I was tired as hell, and something told me I'd need to be up soon, so I set the alarm clock on my nightstand for six o'clock PM before falling asleep.