* ~ The Eighth Year Universe Series ~ *

PART THREE

The Eighth Year

Chapter 46: Out of Time

After the exciting discovery made at Malfoy Manor, the week flew by. Neville took his theory to the Prophet and ensured an article would be written as soon as possible. With the help of Harry, he also took it to the Ministry, straight to the Minister for Magic himself.

They tried to keep it within the group until it became common knowledge, so the group of eighth years looked very suspicious that week as they whispered in front of the fire together. By the time Friday morning came around, the article was published in the paper. Nobody strictly knew that the mysterious group of eighth years had been the ones to discover it, although many people did suspect it.

The advice it gave seemed to be taken seriously, and the Ministry took legal action on the matter. They were all very pleased with the fast, effective progress that they had made as the group sat down for breakfast on Friday with the article page in front of them.

"Oh, Hermione, McGonagall asked me to tell you to be at the hospital wing for 9 am today," Annie said casually as she sat down at the table. She had come in late and had only just glanced at the paper.

"Why?" Hermione asked curiously. McGonagall hadn't said anything to her the day before when she had spoken to her about her transfiguration homework.

Annie frowned as she caught the headline, "Uh, something about meeting the new girl," she said, "Can I borrow this?" she added.

Hermione was even more confused; she followed Annie's gaze to the paper, "What? Oh yeah, sure. What new girl?"

Annie pulled the paper towards her and replied, "Melody, I think her name was," she said, "Woah, lead paint is the reason for infertility? My whole house is painted with that stuff! I'd better owl my mum!" she jumped up and hurried from the hall.

"Melody?" Hermione questioned as she looked to the others, "What happened to her? She was supposed to get integrated into Hogwarts last month, wasn't she?"

Harry nodded and made sure no nosy ears were listening in as he said, "Yeah, she spent some time in St. Mungos though. She had a nervous breakdown before she even got out of the hospital wing; she couldn't deal with the change from her time to this time. I heard she was back in the hospital wing; she's obviously on the mend."

"Well, why would McGonagall want me to go there?" Hermione asked as she frowned in McGonagall's direction.

"Because you're the Head Girl? And she probably wants you to be supportive or something," Daphne said casually as she flicked through the gossip section of the Prophet.

"Yeah, I mean she does only have her dad," Sadie reasoned, "She won't know anyone else. We were all about five years old when she was in seventh year."

"If that's the case, then why me?" Hermione asked.

"She probably thinks it's your thing. You're pretty good at patching up broken people. Look at what you managed to make of me," Harry replied.

Hermione's cheeks flushed with colour, and Draco smirked, "He's right; you did it for me too."

"Well," Hermione said, "I don't think either of you were broken, just in need of a little love. But either way, I'd better head up to the hospital wing. I'll see you in Ancient Runes, guys," she said to Daphne and Draco.

Hermione didn't know how, but McGonagall was already waiting for her when she got to the hospital wing. She knew she had left the great hall before McGonagall, and the woman hadn't passed her. Hermione smiled slightly; McGonagall was becoming more and more like Dumbledore by the day.

"Ah, Miss Granger," McGonagall said as she greeted Hermione with a smile, "Before we go in, I would like to explain why I asked you here."

Hermione nodded, and McGonagall continued in an undertone, "Melody has had a hard time adapting to current times. She will officially be integrated today, and I thought it might help if she had a friend. She is taking all of the same classes as you, so if you can help her in any way possible, I am sure she would appreciate it."

Hermione nodded a little nervously, and McGonagall led Hermione into the hospital wing where Melody was sitting on the edge of the bed. She was in standard Hogwarts school uniform; Hermione noticed the Ravenclaw crest on her tie and cloak. Melody looked much the same, her eyes were big and blue, but they seemed cold and lost.

Filch and Trelawney were standing by her bed. Filch was hovering there protectively, "Are you sure you'll be okay, Melody?"

Melody smiled at her father, and Hermione saw her eyes come to life, "I'm ready, Dad, I'll be fine," she said as she hugged Filch.

"Be sure to take care today, child," Trelawney added.

Melody's smile even looked real when she smiled at the Divination teacher, "I will, thank you, Sybil," she said as she hugged her too.

"Melody, this is Hermione Granger," McGonagall said with a kind smile, "She is the Head Girl, and she will keep you right today."

Melody stood up, slung her bag over her shoulder and walked over to Hermione, "Hey," she said.

"Hi," Hermione said brightly, "Are you ready to go?"

Melody nodded, so Hermione led the way out of the hospital wing, "Okay, well, we have Ancient Runes first, so-"

"So we're going to the second floor then, yeah, I know," Melody said. Her smile was gone, and her attitude had changed. Her eyes were cold, and she sounded bitter, "I did come here for seven years; I think I know my way around."

"Oh right, of course, sorry," Hermione said. She didn't know what to say to that.

"I was Head Girl," Melody said miserably, "I know what you're trying to do. You're trying to make a friend of me, and all that rubbish, don't bother."

Hermione gaped at her for a moment because she didn't know what to say, and it wasn't often that she was lost for words.

"Right, well I won't then," Hermione said, "But I do have to guide you to your classes today, attitude or not."

There was silence between them for a moment, and it was extremely awkward.

"Now you might know the school, but you don't know the people," Hermione said, "There's me and the group of people I'm friends with, and they are okay. But there is this girl called Sally, avoid her like the pox she is such-"

Hermione realised her mistake the moment she saw the look on Melody's face; she had forgotten the dragon pox was the reason for all of Melody's suffering in life.

"I'm sorry," Hermione said quickly.

"Right," Melody said simply, "So avoid you and all your friends who joke about serious diseases then!"

"It's not anymore, though," Hermione said as she tried to defend herself, "These days, it's easy to cure."

"Well, isn't that wonderful for you?" Melody asked sarcastically; she was extremely bitter.

Hermione couldn't say anymore, even if she had known what to say because they had reached their Ancient Runes classroom, and Hermione was grateful that she wasn't seated next to Melody.

"Wow," Hermione said as she sunk into her seat, in-between Daphne and Hannah.

"What happened?" Daphne whispered. The lesson was well underway, and everyone was whispering as they translated some old scriptures.

"Well, McGonagall asked me to guide her today because it's her first day of classes, and we share all of our classes," Hermione whispered. She was careful to be very quiet so that Melody wouldn't hear them; she was sitting two rows ahead with Ginny and Draco.

"What's she like?" Hannah asked. She was on talking terms with everyone in the group again, apart from Neville and Susan.

"Not very nice," Hermione replied honestly, "She was really cold and bitter."

"She has been a cat for a decade," Daphne whispered, "I'd be pretty pissed too."

"Yeah, well, I accidentally made it worse by saying 'avoid her like the pox' I didn't even realise. It's a phrase I use on auto-pilot," Hermione said. She shook her head at her own stupidity.

"I wouldn't worry about it, Hermione," Daphne said quietly, "She's going to push everyone out at the moment, don't take it personally."

"I feel so sorry for her," Hermione said. She was sure that the guilt showed on her face.

"That's probably the last thing she wants," Daphne observed, "She probably just wants people to treat her like a normal person."

"She is a normal person," Hermione sighed, "She's just a bit displaced."

"Understatement of the century," Daphne muttered.

Hermione shot a sympathetic look towards Melody, and she was chilled to the bone when she caught her looking right back. It reminded Hermione of those times she had snuck out with the boys, and Mrs Norris would stare at her like she could see right into their souls or even see-through Harry's invisibility cloak.

She couldn't still have some of her cat-like skills, could she, like super hearing? Hermione sincerely hoped not.

After her disastrous start to the day with Melody, things didn't get better for Hermione. She tried to talk to Melody, but the girl was either silent or snappy, so in the end, Hermione gave up. She carted Melody around even though the girl clearly knew where she was going.

They went to Defence Against the Dark Arts, and Hermione quietly filled the others in on what had happened.

Everyone seemed to agree with Daphne that the best thing was to try and be kind to her but let her deal with this herself.

At break, Hermione had to stick with Melody, so she took her over to the gang as they shivered outside in the courtyard.

Everyone greeted Melody with a smile and said hello. She just gave them a half-hearted wave and leant against a wall.

Susan smiled brightly, "Hey Melody, how are you finding your way about?"

"Fine," Melody replied. She was sticking to one-worded answers.

"Oh, so it hasn't changed at all?" Susan asked with interest.

Melody shrugged, "Not really," she said simply.

"Have you seen the grounds yet?" Harry asked with a chuckle as he thought of what he still referred to as Hagrid's hut.

Melody shook her head, and Harry said, "Well, Hagrid the caretaker got engaged, and now that his fiancé has moved in, his hut is more like a luxury two-story cottage."

Everyone, Harry included, was surprised when Melody laughed at this, "Really? How sweet for Hagrid," she said fondly; she had obviously been close to the caretaker as Harry was.

"Oh, were you close to Hagrid?" Daphne asked kindly. Melody's face darkened a little; she had obviously heard Daphne, Hermione and Hannah talking about her earlier.

"Yes, I lived in the castle, so I grew up with him. He would look after me when my father had to patrol," She spoke with a distant look in her eyes, "I think I shall go visit him after school," she said, more to herself than the others.

"That would be nice," Draco said with a smile towards the Ravenclaw. She frowned when she looked at him.

"You're the boy from Ancient Runes," Melody stated.

Draco frowned, "Uh, yes?"

"I thought you looked familiar then. Who are you?" Melody asked.

Draco replied, "Draco Black."

"You might call yourself Black, but once a Malfoy, always a Malfoy," Theo joked with a chuckle. He didn't understand why everyone was glaring at him.

"MALFOY?" Melody shouted with a crazed look in her eyes, "You are from the family that did this to me!"

"Woah, Expelliarmus!" Harry shouted the moment he saw Melody raise her wand, "Calm down! It was thanks to him that we saved you. You'd still be a cat if it weren't for him."

Melody seemed to stop seething and caught her breath, but she was still looking suspiciously at Draco. The courtyard had gone silent as everyone stopped to watch the drama.

"Nothing to see here," Susan shouted into the silence, "Move your nosy arses somewhere else!"

As the crowd began to move and talk once more, Melody quietly said, "I apologise for my conduct. Please may I have my wand back?"

Harry nodded and handed her back her wand. Just as he did, the bell rang, which signalled the end of the break.

Hermione cautiously stepped forward, "Come on, Melody, we've got double potions next."

"Let me guess," Melody said sarcastically, "The classroom is still in the dungeons?"

"Well, yes," Hermione said.

Melody rolled her eyes, "I don't need a guide."

"Well, you have one, and that's that," Hermione said. She shot an exasperated glance back at her friends as she continued ahead with Melody.

Harry felt a little bad for chuckling at his friend's pain. He knew it wasn't fair because of all that Melody was going through, but Hermione was usually so patient, and she kept losing her temper with Melody.

Potions was a godsend for Hermione because she didn't have to be with Melody for a whole double period.

Today they were having another research/writing session as the deadline for the project drew ever nearer.

Slughorn spent the entire period reading a highly amusing book in his comfy chair at the front of the room. He occasionally strolled around, looking over everyone's shoulder, but then he would go back to guffawing at the contents of his book.

When the bell rang to signal the end of the class, Hermione led Melody to the Great Hall, where they were forced to eat together, but they didn't say a word to each other throughout all of lunch. Others, like Susan, Hannah and Sadie, tried to make conversation, but they were all shot down. From the head table, Filch and Trelawney looked on anxiously.

"Come on," Hermione said as she stood up, "We've got Arithmancy next."

Melody followed her lead and stood up silently, she grabbed her bag, and the two girls marched from the hall together. Hermione didn't bother trying to lead Melody or tell her which way to go; she had learned quickly that nothing had changed since Melody was at school, and by doing so, she was only pissing the girl off.

They made their way up the staircase in awkward silence; they had left earlier than the bell because Hermione liked to get to class a little early. When they reached the fourth floor, Hermione began to climb the next staircase that led to the fifth floor, but when she turned around to check that Melody was still behind her, she saw her walking along the fourth-floor corridor.

Hermione bit her tongue and hurried after the girl, "Where are you going?" she asked.

Melody only continued walking; she didn't even bother to turn around as she replied, "Arithmancy, duh."

"Well, you aren't," Hermione said with annoyance, "Because it's on the fifth floor."

"No, it's in the Magnus tower. It's always been there," Melody said as she reached the end of the fourth-floor corridor and turned right towards a wooden door that had always been locked.

"The what tower?" Hermione asked in confusion, "And that door has been locked ever since I arrived here, by the way," she added as Melody grabbed the handle and tried to yank the door open.

Melody ignored her and pulled her wand out, "Alohomora," she mumbled, and the door swung open.

Hermione hurried after Melody as she walked in. The door led to a spiral staircase. There was a tower in here, but it didn't look like it had been used for a long time. There were cobwebs everywhere, and there were even bats living in the rafters that flew out of a smashed window when Melody and Hermione walked in.

"They can't not use it anymore," Melody whispered to herself.

"Melody, wait!" Hermione called as the Ravenclaw hurried up the stairs. Hermione groaned and rushed after her; they didn't even know if this part of the building was architecturally stable! After all, the central tower was inaccessible after being almost entirely destroyed in the final battle.

The stairs seemed to go on forever, but they also seemed to be secure. When Hermione caught up with Melody at the top of the tower, she was out of breath; it had to be one of the highest in Hogwarts; it was taller at least than Gryffindor tower.

There was a spiralling corridor at the top of the tower, and a few doors led off of it. Hermione couldn't see Melody, so she strolled along and used her wand to see as it was dark up here and the torches on the walls were not lit.

One door said, "Classroom 36A: Ghoul Studies". The next door along had a brass plaque with the words "Lost Wands Store", which Hermione could only assume had once been a lost and found for student's wands. She had never heard of a subject called Ghoul Studies, though.

Further along the corridor were four more doors. Two were old Defence against the Dark Arts classrooms as the doors said: "Classroom 37A" and "Classroom 37B", each with the words "Defence against the Dark Arts" emblazoned underneath. On the opposite side of the corridor, there were two more doors with similar numbers. They read "Classroom 38A" and "Classroom 38B", and underneath was the word "Arithmancy", so this had been where Arithmancy had been taught when Melody was at school.

It must have become disused relatively soon after that because the place didn't look like it had been touched in years. Hermione didn't know where Melody had gone, so she glanced into both the Arithmancy and the DADA rooms but didn't see her there. She then walked further along the corridor and checked the old wand store, which was small, dusty and empty.

With a sigh, Hermione pushed open the door to the Ghoul Studies classroom. When she walked in, she wasn't surprised to see Melody sitting at one of the desks, but she was surprised to see the Ravenclaw girl crying. The room looked much like any other classroom; it had several old, damaged students' desks scattered throughout it and a teacher's desk at the front. The windows looked out onto the mountains, and there was a staircase leading up to what had probably been the office of the professor who taught in this room.

"Melody," Hermione said gently as she approached the girl, she didn't jump, but she did tense up.

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked softly as she sat down on a dusty chair.

"I'm fine," Melody said stiffly. She wiped her tears but didn't move to stand up.

"Was this tower in use when you were at Hogwarts?" Hermione asked.

"Yes," Melody said simply.

Hermione didn't think she would get any more than that out of her, "My Arithmancy classroom was along the corridor, but Defence was taught in the main school from my second year onwards."

"What about this classroom?" Hermione asked as she looked around the fairly ordinary room, "I didn't realise there was a subject called Ghoul Studies."

"There isn't any more if this tower is disused," Melody said, her voice sounded cold but much sadder than it had before; "This was the only classroom. Only a few students took it as an O.W.L, and it wasn't available as a N.E.W.T."

"It's a pity they stopped running it," Hermione said honestly, "It sounds like an interesting subject."

"It was," Melody said. She still hadn't turned to face Hermione; she seemed to be staring at the teacher's desk.

"Was there a fight here?" Melody asked.

Hermione frowned, but then she caught sight of the windows, which were smashed. There was glass and debris littered across the back of the room, "There was a war…" she said as she looked out of the windows onto the serene mountains and remembered when that scenery had been obstructed by fire.

"At Hogwarts?" Melody asked.

"The war affected the entire country," Hermione admitted as she stared out of the windows, "But the final battle was fought here. The papers called it the Battle of Hogwarts, and I suspect the history books will too. Lord Voldemort returned from the dead using dark magic, and he returned to kill Harry Potter so that he could be the most powerful wizard in existence. Harry killed him for good in the final battle here, but we all sacrificed a lot for that victory."

"Did many people die?" Melody asked as she looked at Hermione for the first time.

Hermione swallowed hard and nodded, "Yes," she said quietly as she thought of Fred and Remus and Tonks and poor little Colin Creevey.

Melody frowned deeply and finally turned to face Hermione. She was glad to see that the coldness was thawing now, "I thought the boy-who-lived defeated you-know-who in 1981."

"No," Hermione said sadly, "The boy-who-lived is Harry Potter, he's my best friend, and you met him today in the courtyard."

"The boy with the glasses?" Melody asked.

Hermione smiled and nodded, "Yeah, you probably remember him as a baby."

"So he wasn't defeated. He came back?" Melody asked.

Hermione sighed. She felt she was going to have to do her best to explain a long story in a short amount of time, "No, he had made Horcruxes and split his soul into seven pieces,"

Melody cut in, "So his Horcruxes had to be destroyed before he could die," she said with a nod, "I assume he was biding his time then until he could be restored to his body or another's body."

"Exactly," Hermione said, she was impressed by Melody's intelligence, "And he returned in 1995. Harry, myself and another friend of ours tracked down and destroyed the Horcruxes, then last year there was a battle here at Hogwarts. The Death Eaters got in through the barriers, and the school was damaged pretty badly. I'm not even sure if this part of the school is structurally stable."

"We should probably get out then," Melody said, but she didn't move.

"Is this place important to you?" Hermione asked.

"I never knew my mother," Melody said quietly, "My father raised me in this castle. He didn't know Sybil then. I mean, he couldn't have; she was only eight years old when I was born. It's insane; my Dads girlfriend is only eight years older than me, if you take into account my cat years."

"I wouldn't," Hermione said honestly, "I mean, they were lost years, you don't remember them, and your body hasn't aged at all. I'd say you were 18 years old. It's kind of like time travel; you're the age you were then, before it all happened."

"I guess," Melody said, "That does seem the easiest way to think about it. Anyway, as I said, my mother died before she saw me, she got the pox, and I had to be delivered prematurely. I was kind of raised by the teachers here. It seems now that so many people who were important to me then are gone. My godfather is dead, and I don't know where my godmother is if she's not here teaching Ghoul Studies anymore."

"Who was your godfather?" Hermione asked curiously, she didn't expect an answer from Melody, but she got one, "Albus, he was Headmaster then, Minerva was only the Deputy."

"Oh," Hermione said, she wasn't sure what to say for a moment, "Dumbledore...he only died recently. Two years ago, in fact, he was killed by a curse while destroying one of Voldemort's Horcruxes."

"At least I can know that he died fighting for the greater good," Melody sighed, "It's what he would have wanted. He probably greeted death like an old friend...My godmother, Pandora Ollivander, do you know of her?"

Hermione wished that she could help, but she shook her head, "I haven't heard of her. I'm sorry."

Melody merely shrugged and stood up, "We better get to class," she said as she left the room and looked back with a sad glance.

Hermione made her way down the staircase after Melody; the staircase wasn't really wide enough for two people to walk side by side. When the two girls were back in the main school, Melody asked, "Do you know why it is no longer used?"

Hermione didn't know the answer, but she could hazard a guess, "Well, as the years went on, pureblood families had problems with fertility, so the intake has been gradually going down every year. The classrooms probably weren't needed anymore, and Ghoul Studies has never run in the seven years that I've been here. There probably just wasn't a need for the tower anymore. It's also fairly small, and if it's not entirely structurally sound, it could be dangerous for lots of students to be going up and down the stairs."

Melody was quiet for a moment as they climbed the fifth-floor staircase. The school was quiet and empty because everyone was in class.

"Why are you in an eighth year?" Melody asked.

Hermione assumed that this had already been explained to her but obviously not, "Well, as I said, there was a war, and during that war, Voldemort took control of the Ministry of Magic and prevented muggle-borns from coming to school. Many of us were off fighting or were too scared to come back to school because Voldemort and his Death Eaters ran Hogwarts. After the war, we needed to get our N.E.W.T's, but we had missed our last year of school, so McGonagall invited us back to retake our last year. We all have a common room in the East tower because there isn't enough room in the house common rooms. The reason you're going to be sharing with us is partly because there isn't space in Ravenclaw tower but also because you've been through a lot, and we've all been through a war, so McGonagall thought you'd find it easier to fit in there."

"Oh, okay," Melody said, she was being fairly pleasant for the moment, but it seemed to end there because they had reached their Arithmancy classroom. They entered the classroom and apologised for being late. Hermione then took her seat at the back of the classroom at a table she shared with Daphne, Sadie, Ginny and Luna.

"Why are you late?" Daphne asked curiously the moment Hermione sat down and opened her textbook.

Hermione answered this by making a movement with her head towards Melody, who was making her way towards the front of the class.

"What's she like, Mione?" Ginny asked as she gestured towards Melody, who was now sitting on her own at the front. Professor Vector seemed to be explaining the changes in Arithmancy to her.

"She's okay," Hermione said honestly. She had seen a different side of Melody now, "She's a bit up and down, but I guess that's to be expected."

"You've changed your tune," Daphne teased as she and Sadie sniggered.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Well, I saw a different side to her just now," she said simply.

"That's why McGonagall gave you this job," Sadie said with a smile.

Hermione shrugged and glanced to the front to check if Vector was still talking to Melody, "By the way, do any of you know about a disused tower called the Magnus tower?"

"Of course," Luna said airily from across the table, "It was in use until 1990 when the Headmaster decommissioned its use."

"Why did Dumbledore decommission it?" Ginny asked in confusion; she had never heard of it either.

"It was deemed structurally unsafe after an accident. It was also closed as a mark of respect to the Professor who died there," Luna said. There was a different kind of faraway look in her eyes; it was a sad look.

"How do you know that, Luna?" Hermione asked curiously.

Luna turned around to make sure no one was watching and moved closer. Everyone instinctively moved in closer too, "The witch who died in the tower was my mother. She taught an old subject called Ghoul Studies. I was with her that day; I was nine years old. The explosion killed my mother and two pupils; it was all hushed up, so not many people know about the tower."

"I'm really sorry, Luna, that's dreadful," Sadie said, but Luna merely smiled and looked back down at her textbook.

"Luna...do you remember a girl visiting your house when you were younger?" Hermione asked. She had just had a brainwave.

Luna didn't look up as she replied, "Yes, she was like a cousin, but she disappeared when I was about four years old."

Hermione had figured it out, "Luna...your Mother wasn't by any chance called Pandora Ollivander, was she?"

"Before she married Daddy when I was six, yes," Luna said as she looked up, "Why do you ask?"

"See that girl over there? That's Melody Norris-Filch. She was imprisoned as a cat for 13 years. Her godmother was your mother," Hermione said quietly.

Luna didn't bother trying to be discreet as she looked to the front where Melody was now staring blankly at her textbook.

Luna raised her hand, and Vector, who was fond of her, smiled, "Yes, Luna?"

"Professor Vector, I was wondering if I might sit with Melody to help her understand? Arithmancy theory has changed an awful lot in recent years." Luna said.

Vector's smile widened as she nodded, "Of course, Luna, I think that's a fantastic idea."

The others watched as Luna made her way over to Melody and clearly explained to the girl what she had just told the others. Melody looked shocked, then upset and then nodded. Eventually, she hugged Luna and smiled sadly at her fellow Ravenclaw.

Hermione sighed and put her head in her hands.

"Why did Luna's mother not marry her father until she was six?" Sadie asked in a curious whisper.

"Because she was a liberal from a neutral family," Daphne replied, "From what I hear, Luna's mother was quite the wild child. Her teaching was classed as unconventional, she liked to dress in muggle clothes and listen to muggle music. Anything to rebel against her father."

"Her father being Garrick Ollivander?" Hermione guessed.

Daphne shook her head, "No, Garrick was her grandfather," she whispered.

Sadie raised an eyebrow at her friend, "How do you know all of this?"

"Because my mother is a gossip," Daphne replied bluntly.

Ginny snorted, and Sadie chuckled under her breath, "Fair point."

"Anyway, the story goes that Luna's parents met at some muggle festival," Daphne said with a wave of her hand, "Pandora had no idea that he was a wizard, and when she found out, she was pregnant, had no idea how she would find him. Her father was furious obviously, but she had the baby anyway, and it was a big scandal because the Ollivanders had always been so proper-"

"Sweet Salazar, you sound like your mother," Sadie muttered under her breath.

Daphne shot her friend a glare and finished, "Then when Luna was two, Pandora saw Xenophilius Lovegoods face on the back of a copy of the Quibbler and went to see him. They got together, but they didn't get married for another four years just as an extra fuck you to the patriarchy."

Ginny grinned, "No wonder Luna is so awesome. Her mother sounds brilliant."

Hermione smiled sadly over at Luna and Melody, "Yeah, she does, doesn't she?"

The rest of the day passed much as the earlier day had done. Melody returned to her relatively cold demeanour, although it was nowhere near as bad as it had been at the start of the day.

By the time Transfigurations and Charms were over, Hermione was happy to get into the common room and collapse onto a sofa with Draco.

Melody seemed to have made a friend in Luna, however, so Hermione let her mind wander from the Ravenclaw girl for a while.

* ~ TBC ~ *