Hermione consulted her watch, "We've got exactly ten minutes to get back down to the hospital wing without anybody seeing us – before Dumbledore locks the door –"

"Okay," Harry said, "let's go..."

We went through the doorway behind us and down a tight spiraling stone staircase. As we reached the bottom, we heard voices and flattened ourselves against the wall to listen. It was Severus and the Minister. They were walking quickly along the corridor at the foot of the staircase.

"... only hope Dumbledore's not going to make difficulties," Severus was saying. "The Kiss will be performed immediately?"

You really hate him that much, Severus? I thought with a pained eye roll.

"As soon as Macnair returns with the Dementors. This whole Black affair has been highly embarrassing. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to informing the Daily Prophet that we've got him at last... I daresay they'll want to interview you, Snape... and once young Harry's back in his right mind, I expect he'll want to tell the Prophet exactly how you saved him..."

I could see Severus's smirk as he and the Minister passed our hiding place, mine and Hermione's arms automatically snapping in front of Harry to keep him from jumping them. Their footsteps soon died away. We made sure they had really gone, and then started sprinting in the opposite direction. Down one staircase, and then another, along a corridor – then we heard Peeves. Gosh, it's been a while since I saw him. He's really good at avoiding me.

"Peeves!" Harry muttered, grabbing our wrists. "In here!"

We sped into a deserted classroom to our left just in time – Peeves bouncing along the corridor in happy spirits, laughing his head off as always.

"Oh, he's horrible," Hermione whispered, keeping her ear pressed against the door. "I bet he's all excited because the Dementors are going to finish off Sirius..." She checked her watch. "Three minutes!"

We waited until we could no longer hear Peeves, and then hurried out and broke into a run once more.

"Hermione –" Harry said, "– what'll happen – if we don't get back inside – before Dumbledore locks the door?"

"I don't want to think about it!" Hermione said, checking her watch again. "One minute!"

We reached the end of the corridor with the entrance to the hospital wing. "Okay – I can hear Dumbledore," Hermione said. "Come on, almost there!" I think that 'almost there' was for my sake. I almost felt like passing out, we'd been running so much my head was spinning.

Creeping along the corridor, the hospital door opened and Professor Dumbledore's back appeared to us.

"I'm going to lock you in," we heard him saying. "It is five minutes to midnight. Miss Granger, three turns should do it. Good luck."

He backed out of the room, closed the door, and took out his wand to magically lock it. In a panic, we ran forward. Professor Dumbledore looked up and smiled widely. "Well?" he asked quietly.

"We did it!" Harry said breathlessly.

Pff, I can't even get one word out! I thought as I huffed and puffed to get a regular rhythm of air back into my lungs.

"Sirius has gone, on Buckbeak..."

Professor Dumbledore beamed at us. "Well done. I think –" he listened intently for any sound within the hospital wing. "Yes, I think you've gone too – get inside – I'll lock you in –"

We slipped back inside the dormitory – empty except for Ron, still lying motionless in the end bed. The lock clicked behind us and we crept back into our own beds, Hermione tucking the Time-Turner back under her robes. I welcomed the comfort of the bed with a blissful sigh. Just a moment later, Madam Pomfrey came striding out of her office with a bottle in her hand.

"Did I hear the headmaster leaving? Am I allowed to look after my patients now?" she asked irritably.

Harry and Hermione ate their chocolate quietly, she gave them one after another. Then she looked to my head, tsking to herself. "You're very lucky dear – any harder of a hit to your head, and your skull would've split."

My eyes went wide. "Yowza," I said quietly.

"Indeed," she said, giving me a small smile. Then she took the bottle, got a paper cup off of the side table and poured some of the liquid into it – giving Harry and Hermione a third piece of chocolate. "Drink this. Once you fall asleep it'll fix up whatever damage was done to your head. You'll be good as new by tomorrow when you wake up."

"Thanks," I said, taking the cup from her and drinking it. It was like water, tasteless.

"I will give you some Sleeping Draught in a moment. It needs some time to flow through your system before that."

After giving Harry and Hermione their fourth piece of chocolate, we heard a distant roar of fury. Again... Severus is loud.

"What was that?" Madam Pomfrey asked in alarm.

Now there were angry voices, growing louder and louder each second. Madam Pomfrey stared at the door.

"Really – they'll wake everybody up! What do they think they're doing?"

The voices drew nearer. Well... there is about to be an explosion in the hospital wing.

"He must have Disapparated, Severus. We should have left somebody in the room with him. When this gets out –"

"He didn't Disapparate!" Severus roared, now very close. "You can't Apparate or Disapparate inside this castle! This – has – something – to – do – with – Potter!"

"Severus – be reasonable – Harry has been locked up –"

BAM! The door of the hospital wing burst open to reveal a furious – no, more than furious – Severus, an angry Minister, and a calm Professor Dumbledore – seemingly enjoying himself.

"Out with it, Potter! What did you do?" Severus bellowed. I could only wince, holding my hands over my ears in a useless attempt to block his shouts out.

"Professor Snape! Control yourself!" Madam Pomfrey shrieked.

"See here, Snape, be reasonable," the Minister tried to pacify him. "This door's been locked, we just saw –"

"They helped him escape, I know it!" Severus howled, pointing to Harry and Hermione.

I saw Professor Dumbledore look at me meaningfully. I sighed inwardly as I slowly lowered my hands down to my lap. Harry and Hermione were about to win their side of the argument from earlier in the Forbidden Forest... Severus would never know I was a part of anything. I would have to say they'd been with me in the hospital wing the entire time for any of it to be credible to him.

"Calm down, man!" the Minister barked. "You're talking nonsense!" Now who's getting angry?

"You don't know Potter!" Severus shrieked. "He did it, I know he did it –"

"That will do, Severus," Professor Dumbledore said quietly. "Think about what you are saying. This door has been locked since I left the ward ten minutes ago. Madam Pomfrey, have these students left their beds?"

"Of course not! I would have heard them!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed indignantly.

"Melody," he looked at me, half-moon glasses glittering. "Have either Harry or Hermione left the hospital wing?"

"No," I said softly. "They've been in here the entire time."

"Well, there you have it, Severus," Professor Dumbledore said calmly. "Unless you are suggesting that Harry and Hermione are able to be in two places at once, or that Melody is lying about their activities, I'm afraid I don't see any point in troubling them further."

Severus was seething. He stared from the Minister, who was obviously thoroughly shocked by his behavior, to Professor Dumbledore whose eyes – as always – were twinkling behind his glasses. Severus whirled about, his robes swishing behind him, and stormed out of the hospital wing in a rather childish tantrum.

"Fellow seems quite unbalanced," the Minister said, staring after him. "I'd watch out for him if I were you, Dumbledore."

Professor Dumbledore said, "Oh, he's not unbalanced. He's just suffered a severe disappointment."

The Minister puffed up angrily, "He's not the only one! The Daily Prophet's going to have a field day! We had Black cornered and he slipped through our fingers yet again! All it needs now is for the story of that hippogriff's escape to get out, and I'll be a laughingstock! Well... I'd better go and notify the Ministry..."

"And the Dementors? They'll be removed from the school, I trust?"

"Oh yes, they'll have to go." The Minister ran his hands through his hair distractedly. "Never dreamed they'd attempt to administer the Kiss on an innocent boy..." Okay, now this I hadn't completely known, and if they said it before it probably didn't register in my mind. The Dementors tried to perform the Kiss on Harry? That was dad's work, if I ever knew it. "Completely out of control... no, I'll have them packed off back to Azkaban tonight... Perhaps we should think about dragons at the school entrance..."

"Hagrid would like that," Professor Dumbledore said, smiling at us.

As Professor Dumbledore and the Minister left the wing, Madam Pomfrey hurried to the door and locked it again. She muttered to herself angrily as she poured some Sleeping Draught for me, and disappeared into her office.

I picked up the Sleeping Draught just before hearing a low moan from the other end of the ward. Ron woke up... sitting up, he rubbed his head and looked around. Well, he sure missed a large fiasco.

"What – what happened? Harry? Why are we in here? Where's Sirius? Where's Lupin? What's going on?"

Harry and Hermione looked at each other. I downed the Sleeping Draught.

"You explain," I heard Harry say to Hermione as I fell into a deep sleep.

I woke up, sunlight entering the room. Oh, how good it feels that I no longer have an almost fatal concussion. Looking around, I was surprised to find that I wasn't alone.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione seemed to have already left, but Severus was in a chair next to me.

He was beside himself, upset and angry, glaring out the sunny windows as if his gaze could make the sky turn cloudy.

"Are you all right?" I asked, sitting up.

He shook his head. "Black has gone without a trace. Dumbledore convinced the Minister that Lupin was trying to save you all, and I am not getting the Order of Merlin... I told Slytherin House this morning about Lupin being a werewolf."

"You didn't!"

"He already resigned because of what happened last night," he said softly. "He's packing now."

Mental note: Go see Remus before he leaves, I thought.

"How are you?" Severus asked suddenly, looking at me with an indecipherable emotion behind his eyes. "I – when I regained consciousness last night, and saw you lying there.. I feared the worst."

Despite wanting to be angry at him, I couldn't help my smile. Severus was really worried about me. "I've got a hard head... apparently, any harder of a hit to the ground and my head would have split deep."

He sighed, "Black's ruthless... Potter shouldn't have –"

"Sirius Black didn't do anything to me. He protected us from Remus when he turned into a werewolf... it was Peter Pettigrew, Severus. I saw him with my own eyes."

Severus scowled, "He must have confunded you –"

"Hey!" I said sharply... sharper than I meant to. "My head is stronger than anyone else's. Here – try to confund me now."

"You've just recovered –"

"Now!" I said. Thank God for the end of that concussion.

He took out his wand, and waved it at me nonverbally. I felt him penetrate my head and I easily pushed him out. I did it so hard he fell out of his chair.

I laughed at him openly. It felt so good to be able to do that. When I did it to him on accident a few months after we first met, the last thing I wanted to do was make him angry by laughing. Now it felt like an accomplishment.

He muttered to himself as he eased back into his chair, "You were ready for that –"

"I don't recall being ready for it when I was ten and you tried getting into my mind to see what I was thinking," I retorted. He didn't have a response for that. "Try listening, Severus – it might get you somewhere instead of just turning your head the other way because of some petty schoolboy grudge."

I can honestly say that that was probably the bravest I had ever been when talking to Professor Snape. I just felt... I felt like nothing could hurt me. That I was invincible….

Severus was speechless.

Luckily for me, at that moment, my Slytherin friends burst in. Severus stood up and left without another word while they swarmed around me.

"Oh my gosh, are you all right?" Becky wailed, sitting down on the bed and hugging me tightly.

I laughed as Draco went on the other side and did the same thing, both of them squeezing me tightly. Vincent and Greg stood grinning at the foot of the bed.

"Can I breathe?" I wheezed, attempting to push them off of me.

They reluctantly let me go, and I just couldn't help my smile. "I was in the hospital wing last year. What's so different about this year?"

"Well, last year we were told there were no injuries on you – all that happened was that you were taken over by an evil entity," Becky said. So matter-of-fact about it.

"But from what we've heard," Draco continued, "you got a concussion, and you were so close to Lupin when he became a werewolf. And to Sirius Black!"

I snorted, "Yeah.. I could have been killed in about two different ways last night. But, I'm alive – so no difference." I moved to dangle my feet off the bed, thinking it was actually about three different ways, but they probably won't be allowed to know about Peter. I hesitated to stand up when I noticed Marcus loitering in the doorway. Thankfully, my bed was far away from the door so he wouldn't hear our private conversation.

"Oh yeah," Becky said in realization. "What'd the idiot do? He's been mumbling about having a fight with you, but I don't know what about."

I grimaced, sighing through my nose as I realized I would have to face him sooner rather than later. "I actually almost forgot about it."

"I didn't want to ask him what it was," Draco said softly. "In case it was about… what you told me before."

"Told what before?" Becky sounded curiously aghast. "What don't I know?"

He's protecting me, I thought in realization as I found myself smiling gratefully at Draco. He's still willing to be my friend despite our difference in opinion. "Nothing that you don't already know, Becky. Not caring in general about pureblood supremacy is all."

Becky's eyes widened, "I forgot you told Draco about that…"

"Are your eyes wide because you forgot, or are they wide because Draco is still willing to be our friend despite that knowledge?"

She giggled, "Well, both."

Draco mocked a pained expression, "Do you really think I'm that immature?"

Becky didn't even hesitate, "Yes." Before Draco could retort, she continued, "But if you told Marcus about it, too, then why does he look like the guilty one?"

I hummed awkwardly as I looked over at him still lingering in the doorway. Could I even face him right now? What daughter of the Darkest Lord of all time would be able to tell the son of a long serving family of said Dark Lord that she doesn't share her father's ideals? Could I hide that my friends know something he doesn't, and vice versa? How can I face either of them if, by accident, one lets information slip to the other? "Because… that wasn't what the argument was about."

Becky tapped my leg in anticipation, "Spill."

"To be honest, it's really complicated… but can we have some time alone to talk about it?"

Becky turned to the boys, "You heard her. Get out. This is girl talk."

"Actually —"

Draco's laugh cut me off, as he pointed at the door. "She means you too, flobberworm for brains!"

Becky's look of repulsion was priceless.

Draco and his crew ran out of the hospital wing so fast… but Becky was nearly faster as she chased after him screeching, "WHAT YOU CALL ME, YOu dragon breath ba—" I waited patiently until her voice tapered into nothing but tense silence.

With a heavy sigh, I gestured for Marcus to walk over to me.

Very hesitantly, he complied. Once he was standing before me, he looked me in the eyes, "I'm really sorry, Melody."

"Are you?" I asked.

He winced, "I guess I deserve that."

"You guess? Marcus, our whole relationship was a lie and now I'm stuck on the decision of if I should erase your memory. Your parents' memory even."

"No, no…. Can I explain without any interruptions this time?" He bent down to his knees and held his hands in begging formation in front of me, "Please?"

I ground my teeth together in thought. Not much choice. I can't ignore him forever. "Fine, but keep it quiet," I pointed to Madam Pomfrey's office. "Certain things people can't know that I know."

He nodded. "Look… so maybe our friendship started out wrong. I admit that. Draco asked for me to accompany all of you to Hogsmeade, and I agreed because I had already talked about you with my parents. I had mentioned your name once, and they already knew who you were from your name. Not only that, but their suspicions were only confirmed when I told them your mother was Ollivander's daughter.

"My parents were there when your mother fought alongside your father. They saw everything she did for him… They've always worked toward gaining his favor, always. To them, you were an opportunity in waiting, because if it was hard to get his affection then it has to be hard to get yours. If I could get close to you, then I would be just as favored as your mother was."

With a certain deftness, Marcus suddenly held my hands in his as he looked up at me with pleading eyes. "Our first kiss at Christmas was more than just following my parents' wishes. I had started to fall for you. For your cleverness, and your wit. Even now, my heart is telling me to prove to you how I feel… that I love you."

Snatching my hands out of his grasp, I pulled back so fast that I did a backroll off the other side of the bed and landed on my butt. It was short-lived though as I jumped to my feet and raised a hand in front of me as a weak attempt at keeping him away from me. "We are too young for you to be throwing the L word around like that."

He jumped over the bed and wrapped his arms securely around my waist before I could even blink, only a gasp escaping my lips before they were captured by his. No matter how hard I pushed my hands against his chest, he only tightened his grip.

Despite thinking to myself that I should really use a hex to push him away from me, I held off for the main reason of making sure Madam Pomfrey didn't come out to find I'd broken someone else's bones just as the school year was ending. Eventually, I stopped pushing as Marcus brought one of his hands behind my head in an attempt to keep me in place so he could deepen the kiss.

All this, I thought nervously, to prove some type of affection for me?

When he finally pulled back, arms still wrapped around my waist, I took a few deep breaths of air before punching him in his arm. "What was that for?" I hissed softly.

"Because I love you," he insisted, determination in his eyes. "I know, being his daughter and all, that you don't understand love. I understand that completely. You may never love me… but that won't stop me from loving you. Let me prove myself to you — let me prove that I will stay by your side and have your back.

"You need someone to love you, Melody… my parents watched as your mother's love made your father stronger. He never loved her back, but she stayed by his side nonetheless. I can be that for you if you let me… I can be your right hand man when you become the next Dark Lady."

Tightening my hands into fists, I pounded them on his chest with no reaction as tears threatened to escape my eyes. "Who're you to decide that I'll never know what love is?… How.. how is that fair to subject yourself to that heartbreak?"

"I know you've never felt anything out of any of the kisses I've given you," he admitted gently. "Not too many people would be able to handle this part of you. It's fair because I came into the relationship knowing what to expect. Someone like Malfoy would just get his heart broken believing that you would give those feelings back in return."

I buried my face in his chest to hide the pain I felt. Could this really be all I can get out of a relationship? Someone that knows I can never love him back? How could I live with myself? How could I expect him to live with it?… Why was Draco an example unless he knows he would never be able to handle that?

"Are you okay, Melody?"

"No," I manage to choke out. "You deserve to be with someone who will love you back. Everyone does. No one should live through what my mom did."

His hands moved to cup my cheeks in his palms and pull my face up to look him in the eyes. "I won't let you down. I promise, I will love you even though you may never love me back. Just give me a second chance."

Is there even a choice? I wondered. He's the only choice I have for a future, right? And he's been so open with me. I pushed a smile through, "Okay, Marcus."

With the biggest grin ever, he hugged me tightly. "I won't let you down."