A/N: Yes I know most of the scenes are really short but that's because I'm honestly seriously bored of first-year so I'm powering through it. The reason I'm writing so much is because I also want to establish their characters and their relationships with each other as early as possible so I can do a lot of character development that otherwise wouldn't mean anything.

Now, my version of Melody's letter actually has a different font which isn't showing up on either this site or , so if anyone knows how to change the font type on this site then please let me know. Otherwise I'll be putting up all the chapters on Tumblr with the proper font when I'm done. If you want a copy of the original letter then just let me know.

The descriptions for the House traits for the letter are pulled straight off the Pottermore Wikia and so is the description for the classes.

3rd September

"Have you heard?" Melody said, plopping herself down into the seat next to Peter in the Great Hall.

It was only the second day of classes and already the OWL and NEWT students were complaining about the course load. Melody had, of course, already finished her homework after class with Remus in the library while James and Sirius had sat next to them and quietly stared at other students forcefully to freak them out. It had worked marvellously too with one seventh-year Ravenclaw snapping spectacularly and running while screaming towards the two boys as if to attack before Madam Pince set upon him.

"Heard what?" Remus asked as he piled up his plate with meats.

"They've put up a sign-up sheet for some extra-curricular classes and stuff. The timetable's up next to it too." Melody explained as she filled her own plate and stole a potato chip off James' plate.

"Oi!" He exclaimed, batting at her hand and missing. She grinned at him smugly as she put it in her mouth.

"Do you remember what's on it?" Remus asked.

"I don't need to," she said, reaching into her pocket. "I got one of the older students to make a copy for me."

She laid it out on the table and they all leaned in to look. James and Sirius immediately started talking to each other, so Melody turned to Remus and Peter.

"What are you guys going to do?" She asked cheerfully, ignoring the stab of hurt from the two boys ignoring her.

"I don't think I'll have the time to try any of them." Peter said mournfully.

"Really? I don't think so." Melody replied flippantly. A bit of fun every week is more likely to motivate you to do your homework and do better, as well."

"Do you really think so?" He asked hopefully.

"Yeah of course, what do you want to do?"

"Art looks good," Peter said, considering his options, "Music too… and maybe the Gobstones Club." By the end of his little spiel, Peter sounded almost cheerful.

"Which art?" Remus said, looking at the page. "You can do Muggle or Magical- or both if you want."

"I think I'd like to do both?" Peter said, he voice ticking up at the end and making it into a question.

"Yes or no? Be confidant, Peter! No one can tell you that you can or can't do these classes." Melody sounded impatient and sharp as she addressed Peter.

"Yes, I'd like to do both." Peter said, sounding a bit surer of himself.

"Good," Melody looked pleased. "What are you looking at signing up for, Remus?"

"I've always liked playing Gobstones, and I'm pretty good at it, so I'll probably join the Gobstones Club and I'm interested in Ghoul Studies… and maybe the Transfiguration Club too." Remus replied, still musing over the list.

"You'll probably be doing Ghoul Studies by yourself. It's taught by Binns." Melody said, amused, as she pointed at the name written beside the class.

Remus shrugged, "That's alright."

Melody nodded to acknowledge his response before turning to James and Sirius with a wicked grin on her face.

"What are you two old ladies muttering about?" Melody ribbed James and Sirius good-naturedly.

"Working out how many we can take together." James replied before going back to his discussion with Sirius. Melody shrugged her shoulders at them again she felt hurt by their continued exclusion before she turned back to Remus and Peter. "Whatever," she said as she rolled her eyes.

"What were you planning on doing?" Peter asked her.

"Everything I can, the Charms and Transfiguration Clubs, definitely. Magical Art, too, because I'd like to be able to make moving paintings. Music as well as I'd like to know the difference between Muggle and Magical. That'd be it for this year, though. I don't want to commit myself to too many classes because we can sign up for more in third-year because of the extra elective classes and there's a heap available for fourth- and fifth-year."

"Really?" Remus asked while Peter sat there looking worried.

"Yep," Melody replied as she finally dug into her plate of food.

"D'you reckon those two know?" Remus questioned thoughtfully.

"Nope."

4th September

"Ghoul Studies! Why are you doing Ghoul Studies?" Melody heard Sirius cry as the boys thundered down from their dormitory.

"Because it seems interesting, that's why." Remus replied calmly, walking through the doors into the common room. Sirius gaped and made wild gestures around his head as they walked through the common room with everyone looking at them.

Melody raised her eyebrow at Peter, who was trailing the other three boys from the dormitory.

"What was that about?" She asked him as they turned to follow the others down to breakfast.

"James and Sirius found out that Remus is doing Ghoul Studies instead of something else." Peter answered mournfully.

"Seriously?" Melody asked rhetorically, raising her eyebrow again.

Peter nodded in response and Melody whistled through her teeth incredulously.

"Geez, and how did it turn into that?" She muttered.

"Sirius got offended that Remus didn't want to do something with them and Remus said that it only clashed with Music which he didn't want to do anyway. So both of them were angry at each other and James took Sirius' side, so now all three of them are angry." Peter told her all of this very quickly, looking around to make sure the boys weren't coming back.

"Really?" Melody sighed, tipping her head back to look at the ceiling and closing her eyes in weariness. Peter nodded miserably in response. "Bloody hell!"

She groaned and said, "We better go and stop them killing each other, then."

They both trudged down to breakfast, making sure to keep well enough back that they weren't drawn into the continuing argument. All through breakfast the two of them tried to mediate between the group of boys until Sirius finally seemed to get over it.

"Snape," Melody hissed, keeping an eye on Madam Pince to make sure she wouldn't get thrown out of the library.

The Slytherin whipped around so fast that Melody almost got whiplash just watching him. His wand was already out of his pocket and a spell on his lips before he caught sight for her and scowl instead of finishing the curse.

"What do you want?" He snapped loud enough for Madam Pince to quiet him with a venomous glare. He subdued under her look but the scowl reformed the moment the Librarian turned to quell the fourth-years in the History section that had the audacity to breathe slightly too close to her precious books.

"I'm here to return your cloak since you haven't come and gotten it off me but if you don't want it…" She deliberately trailed off to see if he would apologise.

He didn't

"Fine, give it here then." He put out a hand, expecting her to hand it over. Melody hesitated.

"Only if you tell me why you were prepared to curse me," she bargained. Snape glared at her for a while, trying to determine the best course of action, before muttering, ""You sound like James Potter."

"I- what?" She said, startled.

"Your voice – it sounds like Potter's. He hissed slightly louder. It was apparently too loud for Madam Pince because she glared him submission again.

"What- You- I- Did you just tell me I sound like a guy?" Melody sputtered angrily causing Pince's glare to transfer over to her. She mouthed an apology and they both waited until the Dragon had focused her attention elsewhere before continuing their hushed argument.

"You caught me by surprise." Snape muttered with a snarl.

"They've been hexing you in the corridors again, haven't they?" Melody asked rhetorically. "I'll have another talk with them but I don't know what good it will do. Why don't you talk to Slughorn? He is your head of House, isn't he?"

Snape scowled at her in response and Melody's eyes widened in realisation. "He doesn't care, does he?"

Snape just continued to scowl at her.

"Look, I can't help you if you don't tell me what they're doing." She whispered forcefully as he began to pack up his belongings. She followed him out of the library but refrained from speaking until they were well into the outside corridor.

"Let me help you!" She napped once they were out from underneath the Dragon's judgemental gaze.

"I don't need your help, mudblood!" He growled back at her. She caught his eye under the pretence of glaring at him over the insult and attempted a deeper mind scan than what she had done to Remus.

She couldn't get in.

To be more specific, she ran up against an impenetrable mental wall; and apparently, it had nerves.

"What the hell did you just do?!" He practically roared. He grabbed her arm and dragged her into a nearby classroom.

"What do you mean, 'what did I do?'" Melody bluffed, trying to pull her arm out of his grasp and ailing. "I didn't do anything." She had to stifle the scream that tried to escape her as all her muscles began to contract painfully at the falsehood.

"Liar," he growled.

"Alright fine, I did something." She snapped; her body relaxing suddenly at the truth. "But what the hell did you do? It's like I hit a wall at full speed."

"You can do Legilimency," Snape breathed in shock.

"What?" Melody frowned, confused and not liking it.

"You're a natural Legilimens." Snape explained. "A- mind reader," he elaborated peevishly at her blank look.

"Yes, thank you, I knew that much. What can you do?"

"I'm a natural Occlumens." Snape replied after a moment of hesitation. "It means I can block attacks like yours."

Melody nodded in understanding before frowning suddenly. "So, if we're natural Occlumens and Legilimens, does that mean there's such a thing as an 'unnatural' Legilimens or Occlumens?"

"Yes, you can learn to do either." Snape replied evenly, staring at her suspiciously.

"Can you teach me Occlumency?" Melody asked quickly, grabbing onto his arm.

"No," he snapped out, wrenching his arm out of her grip and moving to walk away.

"I'll teach you Legilimency." Melody called out after him.

He paused and they stared at each other before Snape finally spoke.

"Okay, but my House can't know."

"Alright," she agreed immediately. "When will we meet?"

"A weekend," Snape stipulated.

"Sunday afternoon?" Melody asked.

"Sunday afternoon?" Melody asked.

"I won't be free until the 22nd." Snape said flatly.

"Why?"

Snape merely raised an eyebrow and Melody sighed. 'Fine, 2pm in the library?"

"No, the spare classroom two doors down from the Charms' classroom."

"Alright, see you there, Snape."

Snape merely nodded his head in farewell and walked off.

6th September

Dear Mum, Dad and Elaina

Hogwarts is absolutely massive. I've just started writing this n the library after I finished the homework that my friends are still doing. The school is absolutely amazing.

I was Sorted into Gryffindor with my friends (James, Sirius, Remus and Peter) and I'm having loads of fun. There are four Houses at Hogwarts and they are named after the Founders of the school. You are Sorted into your House based on the traits that you value within yourself and I won't spoil how you get Sorted for Elaina – maybe she'll actually pick up a book to find out. Gryffindors are associated with daring, bravery, nerve and chivalry; Hufflepuffs are associated with trustworthiness, loyalty and a strong work ethic; Ravenclaws are associated with cleverness, wisdom, wit and creativity; and Slytherin are associated with cunning, ambition and a tendency to look after their own.

The homework is absolutely fascinating and I'm finding it hard not to write over two feet when the teachers are only asking for five inches. The library is absolutely massive and Sirius had to drag me out for dinner the other day. I almost missed it and if he'd gotten me two minutes later, I wouldn't have gotten anything to eat at all.

Transfiguration, the art of changing the form or appearance of an object, is my favourite subject. The teacher is Professor McGonagall; she's the one who came to the house to give me my letter. She's very strict but she's an amazing teacher. I love the way she explains the concepts. It's very different from the textbook but in a good way. My next favourite class would have to be Charms, the art of giving objects new and unexpected properties. It's taught by Professor Flitwick, who I think is even shorter than I am. I love the theory behind everything and the way he teaches.

I love it here so far if you can't tell, even though the girls in my dorm can be really catty, especially Lily Evans. I don't know if she doesn't like that I'm smarter than her or if it's because of our pranks. I'm mean, it doesn't really matter. I just keep out of her way more often than not.

The extra-curricular classes look like they're going to be lots of fun too. I've signed up for the Charms and Transfiguration Clubs as well as Magical Art and Music. I haven't signed up for all of them (like I wanted to) because we get offered more in a couple of years and I don't want to have to abandon a group if something else clashes. I'm starting to meet up with a couple of the other people from the clubs I'm joining to just in case I absolutely cannot get along with them. I'm also doing some stuff with a boy from Slytherin called Snape.

Peter, one of my friends that I mentioned before, is having a bit of trouble with his spellwork. I've been trying to help but I just don't know how to explain it to him in a way he'll understand. I've tried using real-life examples but I don't know enough about the wizarding world to assist in that area so Remus has taken over.

James and Sirius both come from pureblood families (families that have been purely magical for many generations) and they've had tutors since a young age so everything is revision for them and probably will be until at least third-year. This is completely unfair to us muggleborns because we come to Hogwarts with little to no knowledge of the culture and background information and it's also unfair to the purebloods because they are basically revising any private tutoring they may have had at home.

I've already ranted about this to James and Sirius but they just laughed and said it was okay by them because it meant they didn't have to pay attention in class. Remus agreed with me, though. We've had quite a few discussions about it over the past three days and I've resolved to find out how the Ministry of Magic detects muggleborns.

I'm also meeting up with a Slytherin boy in my year, Severus Snape, to learn Occlumency (which is basically the opposite of what I can do) and in return I teach him my mind trick which is apparently called Legilimency here.

Also, no one can do magic without a wand, either. I don't know why so I'm doing some research into it and I haven't told anyone yet, including my friends, and I don't plan to for a while yet. At least until I have all the information about what's going on. I've talking to Professor McGonagall about submitting it as a long-term research project and so, after much discussion, I now have access to the Restricted Section, but only for things relating to my research. I think I may use it to take out books relating to Legilimency and Occlumency because they are a type of wandless magic and there are no books available on them in the normal section of the library.

The only downside about going here is that we have to write with parchment and quills. I'm currently writing with a normal pen I brought with me because I still can't get used to writing with a feather from a bird. The stationery is abhorrently archaic enough that I may actually just purchase a fountain pen over the holidays because it's not like the teachers will be able to tell the difference. I talked to James about this though and apparently we have to use quills in our final exams: the Ordinary Wizarding Levels (O.W.L.s) and Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests (N.E.W.T.s) so I'm a bit torn. Maybe I'll buy a couple of those primers they give to children over the summer so I can practice. It's worth a try.

How's life back at home going? Is Elaina enjoying school? Not getting too much homework, I hope. I'm sorry it has taken me so long to send this letter. I've just been caught up with everything since the Sorting.

I hope you are all doing well.
Melody

22nd September

"I don't care if you find it fun! It's annoying for everyone else." Lily cried as she stalked Melody down the corridor to dinner.

"Well I don't care if you find it annoying. It's not my problem!" Melody snapped in response.

"Argh!" Lily screamed in impotent rage.

"Look, if it's that much of an issue for you then frankly you're the one who needs to be the one to deal with it." Melody said with the air of one who was repeating themselves for the umpteenth time.

Lily let out another loud cry before storming off into the Great Hall. Melody shrugged at the world in general before walking into the hall as well.

"Over here," Sirius called out needlessly as Melody walked in the direction of her friends. She ignored his greeting and sat down next to Remus instead.

"She's so annoying!" Melody hissed to Remus.

"What?" Remus asked, bemused.

When Melody opened her mouth to explain, Remus interrupted to ask, "No, actually who is it first?"

"Lily Evans," Melody growled.

"Ah," Remus said in realisation. "And how has she offended you now?"

"She keeps ragging on me about our pranks! They aren't hurting anyone and we're not singling anyone out!" Melody snarled as she stabbed at the food on her plate which had been loaded by Remus while she was ranting.

"Have you tried telling her this?" Remus suggested hesitantly.

"Yes," Melody retorted. "But she won't listen!"

Remus tries to think of something to say in response to this but Melody spoke again before he could.

"It would serve her right if I did stop helping with the pranks and let James and Sirius go wild." She muttered so vehemently that Remus winced.

"That wouldn't be fair to the Slytherins, though." Remus counselled softly. "Especially Snape," he added when she showed no sign of bending. Melody flinched at that that and hesitated, thinking it over.

"You wouldn't let them bully the other children, would you?" Remus cajoled when he saw her begin to reconsider.

"Oh, fine then!" Melody snapped, relenting. "You sweet-talking bloody manipulator."

Remus smiled innocently at her, making her laugh in startled amusement. She picked her fork back up and began actually eating her food instead of attempting to murder it.

"Oi," Sirius cried from a bit further down the table, "You two mopes going to join us, then?"

"Alright, alright," Melody called back, "Keep your hair on. You just wish we were over there, making the very atmosphere cooler with our very presence." She turned to Remus and said quietly, "Thank, Remus." Then she picked up her plate and moved further down the table to join Sirius and James.

Remus was left laughing behind her before he too joined the rest of the group.

"Okay, so I pulled all these books out of the library." Melody announced, dumping around ten (very large) books and another four thinner ones onto the disused teacher's desk in the spare classroom they were using for their meetings.

"Where did you get these?" Snape asked as he picked up one of the books called Exploring the Mind: Part 3 – Undetected Assaults' in shock.

"In the library," Melody replied dismissively.

"Half of these books are from the Restricted Section." Snape said suspiciously.

"Yep," Melody gave a grin before turning back to the books. After a while of Snape just staring at her, she snapped, "Are you just going to sit there staring at me or are you going to start looking through some of them? These ones are the most helpful for learning Legilimency, I think."

"Have you read all of these already?" Snape asked in stunned amazement.

"I took a quick look through the ones that teach Legilimency so I have a better idea of how to instruct you or if I even could. Apparently normal children and in most cases teenagers too can't learn it so early in their mental development however because you're a natural Occlumens you should be able to lean if you apply yourself."

Melody then handed Snape a book, titled Intricacies of the Mind, which he accepted cautiously.

"I'll explain to you what it is I do when I perform Legilimency and different things you could try. Then next meeting we can discuss which one you pick after reading up on the subject and you can do the same for me. Do you agree?" Melody asked carelessly. Snape looked as though he had been steam-rolled. "Sure," he replied after a few seconds of stunned silence.

"Excellent, shall we start now?" Melody beamed. Snape nodded in response causing Melody to immediately launch into an explanation.

12th October

"Miss Song, the Headmaster would like to see you in his office." McGonagall had approached the Gryffindor table at lunch to request Melody's presence for Dumbledore.

"Now?" She asked, confused.

"Yes – come with me, please." The Deputy Headmistress waited until Melody had risen from her seat on the bench and then strode down the length of the Great Hall. They walked in silent awkwardness until a gargoyle on the seventh floor that McGonagall spoke to.

"Droobles' Best Blowing Gum," she said with a straight face while Melody laughed soundlessly.

"Is that a regular thing, then?" Melody asked when she could trust herself not to cackle madly.

"Yes," the professor replied, sounding only very slightly annoyed. Melody grinned to herself as they reached the top of the spiral staircase.

"Come in," the Headmaster called through the door before either of them could knock. Melody pushed the door open and walked into the room.

"You requested me, Headmaster?" She queried, perplexed.

"Yes, my dear. I've heard from Professor McGonagall that you have begun a research task into wandless magic." He said with a genial smile.

"I'm finding it very interesting, too." Melody responded brightly. She kept her anxiety at where the conversation was going tightly under wraps. "If this is about the books I borrowed from the Restricted Section then I have permission as long as they're relevant to my research topic."

Dumbledore smiled at her reassuringly. "No, don't fret about that, dear girl. I wanted to talk to you about your school work."

"Is there something wrong?" She interrupted worriedly.

"The exact opposite, in fact." Dumbledore told her cheerfully. "It has been suggested by a number of your teachers that you are advanced enough in your understanding as well as practical application of magical theory that you could take your end of year exams now and instead begin attending classes with the second-years and sit those exams either in June with everyone else or, indeed, when you feel ready. I'm afraid that the earliest you can take your O.W.L.s is when you are fourteen years of age. However I believe that, for you, is in September of 1973?"

"Yes, that's right." Melody paused for a second to consider something while the Headmaster waited patiently. "Would I have to join the second-year dorm?"

"Only if you wanted to." He answered.

"Why are you offering me this opportunity?" Melody asked suspiciously.

"Because you show great promise and a desire to succeed," he said with a twinkle in her eyes.

"Why not fast track anyone else? James and Sirius know just as much as I do, if not more." Melody asked shrewdly, watching the old man warily and contemplating Legilimency.

"Their knowledge comes from growing up with magic and private tutors in their youth." Dumbledore smiled which was what finally convinced Melody to invade his mind as he continued speaking. "I know you wish to keep your friends with you as you grow up but sometimes people grow apart because they cannot-"

"I'm sorry to interrupt what I'm sure would have been a very pretty speech meant to manipulate me into agreeing with you," Melody announced as she stood up to leave, "but I have no desire to become your political role model. You want to make me into you muggleborn poster girl. You want me to succeed so you can hold me up to the purebloods and say, 'Look, look at what a muggleborn can do, can succeed at when they try, know how much better than they can be than your children,' and you're hoping that this will convince them to accept us Muggle-raised into your society but it will never work. It will engender fear and hatred of us and I despise that you have tried to do this to me assuming that I would not work out what you were planning. Do you think me a fool, Headmaster?"

"Ah, I see. You suspect me of ulterior motives." Dumbledore ignored the question and went to keep talking before he was cut off.

"Headmaster, I know you have ulterior motives and I will not be a political statement or figurehead." Melody stated firmly, standing in front of the door. "I will continue with my independent projects and I will talk to my professors if I require additional work to keep myself occupied. Good day, sir."

Melody walked down the spiral staircase in a cold fury and stormed past the gargoyle wrathfully, ignoring Dumbledore's attempts to call her back.

"What's crawled up your nose, mudblood?" Lucius Malfoy drawled. "Finally worked out your inferiority to us purebloods?"

"For your information, Malfoy, I've just come from the Headmaster's office where I turned down as offer to take the first-year final exams and skip to second-year. So how about you start pondering your own inferiority compared to me." Melody replied coldly, pushing past the Slytherin prefect and striding down the corridor to locate her friends. She found them in the Gryffindor Common Room talking quietly in a corner.

"That-That-That- blibbering politically-obsessed old fool!" She burst out once she'd sat down in an armchair next to Remus.

"Are you talking about the Headmaster?" Remus asked, shocked.

"Yes," Melody replied through clenched teeth. "He tried to make me into a political statement and put me on a pedestal as the perfect little muggleborn."

"Hold on, what are you talking about?" James interrupted her rant with a raised voice. Melody explained her conversation with Dumbledore coldly.

"How do you know he didn't just want to help you?" Remus questioned once she was done.

"I just do," Melody replied after hesitating for a second. Sirius just stared at her while the others began to complain loudly. After almost a minute of this he spoke softly, interrupting the ongoing argument. "You can do Legilimency, can't you?"

"And if I can?" Melody spoke staring him straight in the eye. He just shrugged in response not caring either way.

"What!? You can't be a Legilimens at eleven!" James cried.

"Yes I can. Besides," Melody said to him amusedly, "I'm actually twelve."

"What's a Legilimens?" Peter interrupted shyly. James looked a bit annoyed at the disruption but Sirius forestalled any complaints by explaining it quickly.

"It's basically someone who can read other people's minds." He clarified, turning back Melody and therefore missing the look of discomfort that appeared on the other boy's face.

"Anyway, people who are able to do the Mind Arts…" James trailed off as he tried to mentally phrase his next sentence delicately. "They're normally really badly abused." Sirius finished for him bluntly.

"Oh… I didn't know that." Melody murmured thinking of Snape. She hastily added, "I wasn't," when she saw the boys' faces. She elucidated further when none of them looked convinced. "My guardians have never abused me. They may have been slightly neglectful in the social and disciplinary aspects because they didn't know how to cope with my extreme intelligence but they never abused me. I've just always been able to do it." She shrugged her shoulders to further emphasise her lack of knowledge regarding her mystery power.

"But wouldn't Dumbledore be an accomplished Occlumens?" James questioned, frowning in confusion.

"Yeah probably but it wouldn't matter. Natural Legilimency beats learned occlumency and natural occlumency beats both types of legilimency." Sirius responded. "What?" He asked uncomfortably when he saw the suspicious looks Remus and James were giving him. "My parents made sure that my brother and me…"

"…had a well-rounded pre-Hogwarts education?" Melody finished much more tactfully than Sirius had for James.

"Yeah," he said gratefully.

"Well that's all fine, but the Ministry won't take this well." James told them grimly.

"They hate natural Legilimens because you can't be defended against." Sirius agreed. "Especially given you're a muggleborn." He added quietly. "You can't tell anyone, at all. If the Ministry finds out about this then you'll just disappear and no one will ever hear from you again."

"Ominous much," Melody said, attempting to disguise her fear.

"I'm not joking." Sirius said firmly, no trace of his normal good humour. "It's happened before. It gets hushed up and no one looks too closely at it because pretty much the only ones who have these kinds of abilities are muggleborns and Muggle-raised half-bloods because abuse is so rare in the magical world."

"Alright, I won't tell anyone!" Melody cried, throwing her hands up to indicate her surrender.

There was silence for a little while after that because no one knew that to say after Sirius' foreboding declaration and the forcible reminder of his family background.

At least until James broke the silence with, "Wait, you're twelve!?"

"Well yeah," Melody replied. "I had my birthday over a month ago."

"When?" Sirius cried sounding offended.

"On the 8th of September." She answered impatiently. "Why does it matter?"

"Because you're our friend so we would have wished you happy birthday and gotten you a present." James said incredulously.

"Oh," she said oddly. "Well, maybe next year, then."

"Next year, are you joking? We're going down to the kitchens now and celebrating." Sirius said as he stood up from his chair.

"Now?" Melody asked, disbelievingly.

"Yep, up you get." James informed her cheerfully as he grabbed one of her arms as Sirius took hold the other

"What? No – let me go!" She cried, looking beseechingly at Peter and Remus who were following closely behind as they exited the common room. "I have homework to do!"

"You can do it tomorrow, today we're celebrating your birthday." Remus said firmly.

"Fine," Melody sighed resignedly, allowing the two boys to practically carry her down to the kitchens.

13th October

"So did you read the books?" Melody asked Snape after he walked into the classroom.

"Yes, although I almost got caught with them by your Head of House." He replied testily. Melody just laughed in response making Snape scowl. "It's not funny!" He muttered snappishly which only made her laugh harder.

"Have you finished yet?" He asked petulantly after some time had passed.

"Okay, I'm done." Melody announced, still chuckling a bit.

"It wasn't that funny." He said mulishly.

"Maybe not for you but I was imagining her face if she had caught you. She gave me permission and was there when I borrowed them!" Melody sniggered with a huge grin on her face. Snape went a pasty white colour.

"I would've lost Slytherin over a hundred points." He cried.

"Probably," she said carelessly.

"You don't understand," Snape shouted at her. "My House never would've forgiven me."

"Why does it even matter? They're just House points."

"Maybe for your House but not in Slytherin."

"Why? I still don't get it." Melody cried impatiently.

"I am a half-blood in Slytherin! What do you think would happen if I lost us the amount that McGonagall would take off?!" Snape yelled back.

She shouted back at him, emphasising every word separately, "But what does that matter?"

"They're all purebloods, why do you think it matters?" Snape screamed back at her. They glared at each other for a couple of minutes before Melody relaxed.

"It's not fair, though. That they bully you just because of your parentage."

"It doesn't matter." Snape said flatly.

"Fine, if you say so." Melody replied disbelievingly. "Let's get started. You said you'd read the books, so what technique did you think would work for you?"

Snape looked relieved at the abrupt change of topic. "I think I prefer the magical extension method. It sounds easiest."

"Yes, that's the most similar method to mine." Melody agreed. "Shall we start?"

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