Don't hate me for this chapter —Love you all! ^_^

After such a tiring ordeal, the trek up Seraphina's flight of stairs to my room was complete and utter exhaustion. It took forever to get to each flight even though I only had to go up two of them — I mean, they were long flights, but still. Becky and Draco walked up with me, at the ready in case I passed out since I hadn't yet released the aging spell. Considering I had the last time I released it, I preferred the thought that a comfortable bed awaited me when I did.

I wobbled slightly at each step, but even in such a weakened state I had to notice that Becky most certainly wasn't herself. She was quiet, a frown darkening her usually cheerful features. Her eyes were also dull, something I'd have attributed to her having to hold the Patronus Charm the entire time we walked through the prison… if only she didn't seem upset.

"Are you… okay?" I found myself asking as I finally lifted myself onto the final step. With a few deep breaths, walking forward from there was easier than the climb up — still difficult, but not nearly as impossible.

"No."

No hesitation, I realized. "What's —"

She said something, interrupting my question, but she said it so low it was as if she didn't say anything.

"Sorry, I didn't hear —"

Her response was pained, "I can't do this anymore!"

I lost my footing, quickly catching myself against the nearby wall. My bewilderment at her words was throwing loops around my brain, not a shred of understanding in place for my usually logical thoughts. God, I need some sleep.

"Shh!" Draco hissed heavily, glancing quickly down the stairs before rushing to my side. Wrapping my arm around his shoulder, he used his head to gesture for her to follow him as he carried half my weight to my room. "Not so loud. This may be Seraphina's home, but there are still Death Eaters around, you idiot."

Her scoff… it was uncharacteristically arrogant. A tendril of fear and stress hidden behind it. "I may be exhausted, but I can still protect myself."

"Oh, yeah? Same as her?" he pointedly turned towards her to show his glances toward me.

"I resent that.." I groaned.

Becky pouted, but ceased speaking until we made it to my room. Draco sat me down on the edge of the patchwork quilt covering Seraphina's guest bed, sitting next to me so I had his shoulder to keep me upright as Becky closed the door.

"What's going on?" I asked forlornly.

"I — I just can't do this. I don't know how you do this all the time. The constant fear that someone is going to see right through you — th-the realization that I don't want George or Hermione to find out that I was a part of this — seeing my best friend sentence someone to the worst fate imaginable without so much as a backward glance! Tonight did not go the way it should've gone!"

And how would it have gone had I not done that? I sighed, "Becky, I don't understand why you're acting like this. I warned you before we did anything that what you see may not be pretty."

"'Not pretty' was an understatement!" Becky replied hysterically. "I didn't sign up for this to see the joy in people's souls being torn out of them"

"How could you not guess?" I shrieked, my patience thinning as my energy quickly depleted. But I had to hold on… it felt like something important to me was at stake there. "My dad is a man — a monster — that torments people for the fun of it, kills Muggles for sport, tortures people for information, and all in all seeks power over compassion. So, in the end, that's what I also have to be when I'm around him!"

Becky's bottom lip trembled as she crossed her arms, "You said you would be different from all that."

"Yes…" I asserted, "but only when the time is right, Becky."

"No, Melody." Her voice shook as it never had before, tears staining her cheeks and turning the skin around her eyes a pale red. "You don't understand how it looked to me…. You were more relaxed watching that man lose his soul to a Dementor than I've ever seen you be in all the time that I've known you. Don't you think that says something?"

"No, it doesn't," I blatantly replied. "The point is that I did my job right, and kept the trust I worked so hard to earn. It only looked like I was more comfortable, but in actuality —"

"Do you really consider me a fool, Melody?" she snapped. "Do you? Or do you lie to yourself so well that you actually think that's true?"

Oh, how I wished I had the strength to clench my hands into fists. "What are you saying?"

Her laugh… it was hollow. Almost lifeless. "I am.. your best friend. Right?.. I could tell all this time that you were hiding things from me — haven't I made that much clear? After five years, I know you. I can tell when you're comfortable and when you're not, when you're happy and when you're angry. Whether you think you put on an act or not doesn't make the same difference to me as it might to your father.

"For example, being the center of attention used to bother you until you gained a sense of feeling power behind it, whether it's being a teacher or dictator made no difference because it made you happy. I used to love seeing that confidence finally ooze off of you. But now… it's like a whole new you. And I know you're happy about it because, when you're at your best, you tend to stand straighter. Did you know that? No, I don't suppose you did, because you're too busy the rest of the time agonizing over what your next plan of action is to help your father."

My heart clenched in on itself. She's getting it all wrong. "That's not —"

"Don't…" she held both hands up, biting her lip. "Please… don't. Don't pretend to me or yourself that you're on Dumbledore's side, because you're not."

What can I do? I wondered hopelessly. I can't think of the right thing to say to her right now… soon as I drop this spell, I will basically be turned off for the rest of the night. And who knows when I'll wake up. "Becky, why don't we talk about this tomorrow? A little rest sometimes does the trick, and —"

"Does it?" she continued, heated once again. "Does it really? You've woken up from nightmares so many times —"

"— not out of guilt for any of this —"

"— and you think that makes it better?!"

"Come on, Becky," Draco interjected. "You know it's not like that —"

"Don't. You. Dare. Intrude. Draco Malfoy…. Matter of fact, get out. This is between Melody and I." She walked over to the door, opening it and holding her hand out to signify her wish for his departure.

"No! What about Melody? The aging spell —"

"— will be made a lot easier on her with one less person to keep the spell on," Becky finished solemnly, staring at him from across the room with watery eyes. "You know me. I would never hurt her. I'm here for her same as you are. We just need privacy. "

They held a staring contest for what felt like forever, the strings of the spell I was holding onto inside me were falling apart with every given second. I didn't want Draco to go, but I also worried that if he didn't I might not get the chance to help Becky. I only wished I could properly think of a way to say that she could tell me anything… and for that not to scare me so much. What she'd already said of what she saw of me — or thought she saw — was not something I was looking forward to learning more about.

"Fine…" he said softly, slowly sitting up. I braced myself as he departed, holding myself up as straight as I could while he walked to the door. "But I'll be waiting right outside until you're done. Got it?"

"Fine…" she replied coolly, waiting until he walked out into the hallway to close the door with a light click behind him.

Part of the load of holding up the aging spell lessened from my shoulders, allowing me the strength to take a deep breath and keep myself upright without too much trouble.

Pulling out her wand, Becky waved it at the door, "Muffliato."

She really doesn't want him to listen in. "Why the silencing charm?" I asked.

She turned around, the tears steaming down her face, "I know about the Order of the Phoenix."

My eyes widened, "What? How —?"

"George begged them, really," she said, walking over to sit down next to me. "But that's not the point. Look… this is all just too much to me…. I went to St. Mungo's to support George, and — and his father looks terrible. He's got bite marks that are still deep, and sometimes bleeding, and all I could think about while I was there was that I knew who did it. They're there suffering over the incident, not knowing that you were there to witness what happened and neither one of us have told them.

"I— I — I'm sorry for springing all of this on you at the worst possible time, but… I can't even stomach my own actions tonight…. Not when I know I can't tell anyone anything about it to ease the guilt out of my chest."

"Becky…"

She released a sob, burying her face into my shoulder. "What am I supposed to do?… How do you do any of this?… I can't anymore, I just can't. Not again."

My chest felt like a brick pressing me into the abyss. Whether it was the guilt from seeing her that way, knowing it was all my fault, or just the spell still taking a toll on me — or both — I didn't know what to say. The only way to fix it would have been to turn back time and keep her from knowing anything, but that wasn't an option. It wasn't supposed to be after I was begged — no, forced — into revealing everything I'd done.

What I had feared would happen had come back to bite me, and that wound was not going to heal.

"I'm sorry, Becky," I said, staring at the closed door as a bitter feeling seemed to swallow me whole. "I thought this might end up being the case, but I still hoped it would all work out for the best. You wanted me to trust you with my secret, and so I did."

She leaned back in dismay, "No, wait, that's not the case… I — I —"

I shook my head definitively, "It's okay…. Don't worry, you are still one of the few I trust the most. I just shouldn't have dragged you into any of this, whether you wanted it or not. It's obvious that not too many people could stand the life I'm living." I switched my attention back to her, attempting to push forward a smile accompanying wrinkled eyebrows that helped hold back an onslaught of tears. "You knowing about the Order definitely changes some things. It was hard enough for me to be there with them, let alone how you must've felt. I'm really sorry that this —"

"No, no, no, Melody, I'm sorry I reacted so badly," she interrupted, quickly rubbing her eyes to dry out the tears. What remained were extremely puffy, brown eyes. "It's just — tonight was really disconcerting. The you I know so well has helped Harry and Hermione with anything they've asked… never had I expected you would give the same exact level — well, more extreme level, really — for the Darkest Wizard of all time. The fact that he's your father doesn't even make a difference in the long run. There's still such a big gap between the two. How are you ever going to know who's side you're on?"

Despite every conversation I'd ever had with Seraphina being that we might have to go against my dad… at that moment, I suddenly couldn't even fathom the attempt. Why would I try, and put him in danger? After all my hard work bringing him back to full strength? After all he'd praised me for?

"Do I really have to choose a side?"

I wasn't really asking Becky that question. It was more of an open thought that escaped my lips. Yet, it caused her to look at me in surprise.

"Of course you'll have to," she said. "It's the natural order of the world that one has to choose who to pledge their loyalty to."

"And… where does your loyalty lie?"

Becky's face betrayed a turmoil of emotions, uncertain and scared. "I — Melody, you know I'll always have your back. You know that, right? But… in the end, using Dark Magic and playing both side of an upcoming war is just not in my best interest."

My heart dropped, but I couldn't get mad. She was only being honest, and besides.. I could already tell from past lessons that the thought of learning Dark Magic made her beyond uncomfortable.

But… what what do I do if dad expects me to take care of more things with my followers, and notices that I don't use her anymore? He's killed Death Eaters before for trying escape his ranks. Even Seraphina is against any of her Nightmares thinking about betraying her… But this isn't betrayal, and this isn't just any other person. This is Becky. My best friend. I'll have to do something to keep her safe. Otherwise….

"I understand…" I decidedly said with a small nod, "don't worry about it. I'll —erm — figure it out eventually. But… we're still best friends, right?"

"Oh, of course we are!" Becky said, wrapping her arms around me in a tight hug.

As glad as I was that I had found a solution that ended with me keeping her friendship, I just couldn't muster the same amount of enthusiasm in the hug either.

"Sh-should you take the ring back?" she asked hesitantly, leaning back to look me in the eyes.

If anything… taking it back would only prove that I let her off the hook. Then she would definitely be targeted. "No… I — uhmm — I'll let you keep it on. You'll be gone with Fred and George soon enough, anyway. In a sense, you can keep it as a reminder…."

Her smile was grateful, "Thank you, Melody."

I nodded, happy to know that I had done some good. My tense shoulders relaxed, and that is when I felt my strength deplete completely. I lost feeling in my upper body, closing my eyes as I fell backwards into the mattress.

I had missed the Hogwarts Express.

By the time anyone was able to wake me up, it was five in the afternoon and I was still slightly disoriented. It would arrive at Hogwarts by around seven, and I was not on it. Draco and Becky would already be on it, of course, since they had to have returned to their homes after I passed out. I only hoped my tardiness wouldn't worry them too much.

I rubbed my head in annoyance, a slight ache hammering my brain, as I waited for Severus in a cozy living room with a fireplace. Just my luck to wake up with a headache, added on to that issue was knowing that we'd end up Disapparating due to the fact that our trunks were not going to fit through the Floo network.

Seraphina configured that it would look strange for the two of us to already be there unless we had a teacher to accompany us, ergo the the wait.

Waiting with to see us off, however, were the three Nightmares that accompanied Seraphina for the Azkaban breakout. Dad would have seen me off, but he'd had to leave earlier that morning… what for? I had no idea.

Otherwise, he'd left behind Barty behind to help keep Seraphina's mansion up to par for his return. Something that irked Seraphina beyond reason as it seemed to be an order she wasn't allowed to refuse in preference of having one of her followers stay behind.

I had come to find that she was absolutely not fond of Barty.

At the time, while we waited, he actually sidled up next to the armchair she was sitting in with a smile on his face. One so bright, I had never seen it on him before. "Hate to see you leave, beautiful angel. My heart may stop beating until you return."

She avoided looking at him "If it stops beating, then you'd be completely dead."

"Then would you be sweet enough to revive me with a kiss, dark angel?"

The look of disgust on her face? Priceless. "Oh Gods, Melody, get Igor away from me."

I snorted, still rubbing my head but with an awed smile on my face. "Hey, Barty, I have a question for you."

"Hm..?" Barty didn't even look at me. He was so starstruck over Seraphina that his eyes never left her face. It was as if he didn't even hear or care about the fact that she'd insulted him.

"Do you actually like Seraphina, or do you just have a thing for women with black hair and blue eyes?"

That got his attention. He quickly turned to me, "What are you insinuating, princess?"

I grinned, "Oh, nothing really. Besides for the minor fact that, if you recall, I've been inside your head. Remember? Your whole life story played before my eyes and, though the details are a bit fuzzy because it was a lot, I did notice you flirting with a —"

In the process as I spoke, Barty whipped his wand out and waved it at me, "Silencio!"

I attempted to say, "Really?".. but my voice was gone. After a few mute curse words, I pulled my wand from my robes, and cast the counter charm. "Don't get mad at me for exposing your type. You're just mad it's the type that's totally out of your league."

Everyone else's laughter left Barty to storm out cursing bloody murder.

"Awe, Seraphina, you sure you don't want him?" Jessamyn teased, leaning over to nudge her lightly.

"No," she blatantly replied. "He's a paranoid bastard too focused on pleasing Voldy for my taste."

Ash jumped in, "Ah, so if he were to start pleasing you more, it'd be a different story?"

"You've got that right."

A pop was then heard some distance away as we laughed and, after a short wait, in waltzed Severus who paused at the sight of the other three people.

"Hello, Snape," Jessamyn smiled with a small wave.

Cassandra brightened significantly at the sight of him, "Snape, it's so good to see you!"

Ash's reaction was less than ecstatic, crossing his arms and turning his head with a "Hmph." Interesting, I thought, coming from a proud Slytherin.

"McPhee. Santacruz… Z. What a… pleasant surprise."

Jessamyn's snort was utterly derisive, "Pleasant? Snape, am I going crazy or is that a compliment that you actually didn't choke on?"

"Don't look too much into it, McPhee," Severus scowled, gesturing for me to come on. "It is merely proof that you annoy me significantly less than when you were my student."

I hesitantly stood up, glancing around me with as much focus as I could to be sure I didn't miss a single moment. It was easy to forget how young these people were, to the point that Severus was still the Potions Professor even when they went to Hogwarts. The fact that Jessamyn and Ash were not as likable as Slytherins generally were to him was, to put it bluntly, rather odd.

"S'pose that's only because we're not around anymore," she replied with a wry grin.

"Correct. You and Z in particular," he said, turning his attention to Cassandra with a small smile as I dragged my trunk over to him. "Good to see you as well, Santacruz. I presume your studies at the Wiggins Potion Institute along with Haywood are generally successful?"

Cassandra's grin seemed to widen, "Miraculously well, sir."

Haywood… that's Ash's wife, right? Didn't he say something about her being in a different House…? And Cassandra was a Ravenclaw. My brain was doing loops. For Severus to have actually preferred students from different Houses in their school years sounded just as much of a miracle as whatever potion projects Cassandra was working on. What is so different about Ash and Jessamyn that he seems to merely tolerate their presence?… And even then, the same could be said about Seraphina….

Severus gave a curt nod, "Good to hear." He placed a gentle hand on my back, "We need to go. It's been… illuminating.. to catch up."

Jessamyn scoffed in offense, "What —? You didn't catch up with me and Ash, though!"

"Need I remind you how little I care?"

Seraphina laughed as she walked over on Severus' other side. "So picky, Snape. And yet, it's because of the three of us that Slytherin won the House Cup seven years in a row."

"Correction, it is because Dumbledore often awarded McPhee's reckless nature that we won the House Cup. You would earn a few points every class, perhaps, but nothing above what McPhee earned. As for Mr. Z, he lost more points than Slytherin earned most of the time — he is merely lucky that McPhee was so-called 'brilliant' enough to pick up his slack."

Ash muttered something incoherent under his breath as he stood up, stuffing one hand into his robe pocket and waving the free hand at me "Later mate." And, with a slight bow in Seraphina's direction, "Mistress.." he turned and walked away.

"Later Ash," I found myself replying softly. He was kind of fun to hang around, except for when —

He turned around in the doorway to grin at me, "You're cool too, Melony!" He then bolted out the door.

Seriously.. "It's Melody, you idiot!"

There was no response, but then Severus' hand moved to my shoulder so it was obvious he wouldn't have let me run after him.

Jessamyn and Cassandra stood as well with collective sighs.

"I've got to go home anyway," Cassandra said, nodding at Severus, Seraphina and myself in turn. "It was fun while it lasted, but Izzy's been waiting. I can at least kill Ash on the way out the door.. You'll send me a letter, Mistress?"

"Of course," Seraphina nodded. "Later, darling."

As Cassandra walked away, Jessamyn shook her head slightly in amusement before approaching us for a hug. She wrapped an arm around both me and Seraphina, the scent coming off of her was flowery.. yet it hid a certain zoo-like smell. "Nice to see you both. But, with the mission over, it's time I get back to work as well. Holidays don't seem to last quite as long as they used to."

Seraphina smiled as Jessamyn pulled back, "Bye, darling. I'll send you a letter as well, and let my assassin know there'll also be one for him — I know why he ran so fast."

Jessamyn laughed, "You got it. Oh, and Snape?"

"What?" he drawled disinterestedly.

She eyed me with a mischievous smile before turning her gaze to him, "You're a good man, that's all. You should show it more often."

"I'm not looking for public approval, McPhee."

"I know," she shrugged, walking away. "I was merely giving you a well-deserved compliment… I'll see you all when I see you."

As she exited the room, I looked curiously up at Severus, "Mind telling me why you don't like her?"

"If possible, she's even more reckless with her actions than Potter," Severus said, crossing his arms.

My eyebrows furrowed in thought. That was practically beyond impossible to imagine. Worse than Harry? "How?" I asked.

Seraphina excitedly exclaimed, "Why, haven't you heard of Jacob and Jessamyn McPhee?"

… What? "Well, of course I know Jessamyn, but who's Jacob?"

"Jacob is Jessamyn's older brother. He was the first to find these hidden rooms called the Cursed Vaults at Hogwarts, though nobody believed him about their existence. He was expelled in his sixth year of Hogwarts when his search for the vaults got his friend killed, and went missing days later. When Jessamyn finally went to school, she found them again to put an end to their curses and find her brother…. Haven't you read old newspapers?"

Cursed Vaults? Like a curse breaker? And her brother went missing? That all sounds so crazy… Jessamyn had to deal with all of that? "I've only recently looked through old newspapers to find out about mom's alias as the Predator.." I said earnestly, "otherwise that'd be Lissy and Trixy's department. No one decide to put any of that in a book?"

"Well, no one wanted to pay them any mind besides for a few articles," Seraphina said thoughtfully. "After all, no one ever really compares to a boy that survived the killing curse."

Severus scoffed, opting to start walking away. We followed him with collective shrugs.

"Did she ever find her brother?" I asked.

"Oh, yes, she did. Eventually she did."

"She had help from you, Ash and Cassandra?"

"Us — and many other friends she earned — helped her with the cursed vaults. Jessamyn was always a rather strong leader during our school years, enough that she led every last vault search and took the full blame for each excursion."

But now she's the one following Seraphina… How does that happen? "What changed all that?"

A frown graced her features as Seraphina looked me in the eyes, "Let's just say that tragedy affects us all."

Hi everyone!

Sorry for the long wait, life has kept me a lot busier than the usual busy T_T And then things didn't go as planned for this chapter, because the original thing was for Becky to stay mad at Melody… but the girl fought me tooth and nail about it, so it's safe to say that it's just not going to be in her vocabulary to stay mad at her best friend..

Be grateful… just kidding! XD

Anyway, as if I don't have enough projects to work on… I've suddenly received the urge to write a Hogwarts Mystery fanfiction following the game's storyline with my avatar, Jessamyn McPhee, as Jacob's sibling. XD

I personally know many people that started the game, but haven't stuck with it due to the long waits for energy between tasks. As such, I'm actually eager to face the challenge of suffering through those waits from the beginning to make a series for Jessamyn as I have for Melody (even though she is currently unfinished).

Funny thing is, in my actual Hogwarts Mystery game, I'm literally on year 5 for Jessamyn as well — just like I've been stuck on Order of the Phoenix with Melody for a — ahem — certain amount of years.

Admittedly, it would take me a lot longer to navigate through than I did with Melody, because — as seen in the past few chapters here — I have some characters to add to the plot that are not in the game.

To end this author's note, I'd like to give a shoutout to the author whose work pushed forward this inspiration of mine — and that is none other than the amazing mistedharmony on Wattpad for she's written so far of her version of Jacob's sibling, Celeste Stargazer! I enjoy every bit of the character and the writing!

Happy May!