Wow, I actually got another chapter done quickly. Yay for me! Anyways,this takes place on the same day as the last chapter, but after classes.
Mellyssa
Chapter 5:Breakdown
Mellyssa sat in her room, grading papers that she had assigned to the second year hufflepuffs, when she heard a knock on the door. "I'm trying to grade papers Sev. And I don't want to talk at the moment anyways." A muffled reply came from the other side of the door. "Umm, I'm not Professor Snape, Mellyssa." Mellyssa ran over to the door and opened it. The Ravenclaw girl from earlier that day was standing there, looking slightly embarassed. "Oh, I'm sorry. Come in. What do you want?" The girl stepped uncomfortably into Mellyssa's room. "Well, um, you said that your parents were killed. I was just wondering how." "And why are you curious?" "Well, I heard some of the older Gryffindors talking about a story you had told them. I got one of them to tell me and I was just wondering. Was that really you? The girl in the story?" "Well aren't you a clever one. How'd you figure it out?" "You..you mean that it was you?" Mellyssa sighed. "Yes, it was. Now just why do you want to know?" Then the girl started to shake a little. Mellyssa tilted her head up slightly. Tears were forming in the corners of her eyes. "I think I understand. Would you like to stay here until you calm down?" "Ye...yes, if you don't mind. That is" "Of course I don't mind. Here, you can sit on the bed. I'm sorry that I don't have more chairs. And there should be a couple books next to the bed. You ought to like at least a couple of them, even if they're mostly muggle science fiction." "Thank you Mellyssa." "No problem. Now I really should get back to those papers. If you want anything, just ask, I won't mind." "Alright." "Just one thing." "Yes?" "I feel bad for asking this,but what's your name?" "Nina. Nina Jansol." "Ah, thank you." "You're welcome." About an hour later Mellyssa had finished grading all of the papers. She looked at Nina. She had fallen asleep. Mellyssa didn't say anything, just pulled the old cot that she had used until she had gotten the bed and slept on that.
In the morning Mellyssa woke up before Nina. She got her papers together and made sure that she had everything ready. After that she took a bath and changed. When Nina woke up Mellyssa was finishing braiding her hair. "I'm sorry Mellyssa, I didn't mean to fall asleep." "Don't worry. I'll talk to your head of house and let them know what happened. Now you should probably get yor stuff together and get down to breakfast." "Alright. I'll see you later Mellyssa." And with that Nina ran out the door and headed to her room, almost knocking over Professor Snape in the process. Mellyssa could hear the shouted apology. She shook her head, grinning and wondering who Nina had run into. As she walked out of her room she too almost ran into Snape. "Oh, sorry Sev. I wasn't watching where I was going." "You're the second person to do that in the last couple minutes." "Oh! So you're the one that Nina must have run into." "That blur has a name?" "Yes, she does. Her name is Nina Jansol." "Jansol? That name's familiar. What house is she in?" "Ravenclaw. She's a first year. Y'know, we should probably walk and talk or the food will be cold by the time we get there." "Alright. Yes, Jansol. I belive that I saw that name in the newspaper once. I can't remember why though." "Well, I think that her parents might have been murdered." "I think that's it. There seems to be a lot of people whose parents have been killed here." "Yeah well most of their parents lived in bad times. Now can we please talk about something else?" Snape looked at her. She was hiding behind her mask again. "Mellyssa, don't." "Don't what?" "You're doing it again. You're masking what you really feel. You shouldn't do that. If you do you won't be able to at least let the hurting lessen. I know that the hurt will never be gone, I know that from experiance, but what you're doing just isn't healthy." "Don't worry Sev. I keep a calming potion with me at all times." "That's not what I was talking about at all and you know it Mellyssa." "Sev, look. I just can't face it right now." "And when will you be able to face it?" "I don't know Sev. Now please, let it be." And with that Mellyssa entered the great hall. Snape stood there for awhile, thinking. Then he shook his head sadly and went in.
Snape was in a bad mood, and his students could tell. Mellyssa was ignoring her feelings again, she had encased his food in a block of ice, then changed his drink into some fizzy muggle drink that tasted disgusting and very watery. Mellyssa had called it diet coke. And she had laughed during all of this. Why doesn't she listen to me? She used to always come to me for advice, back when we were students. If she would just- But Snape's train of thought was interupted by an explosion from the back of the room. Neville had messed up his potion again. Snape was just about to yell at the mishap prone boy when Nina rushed in and grabbed Snapes arm. He whirled on her, about to say some biting remark when she spoke as quickly as she could. "You've got to come quick, Mellyssa just started crying and won't stop. You've got to help, please?" Snape told his class to stay right where they were and rushed out of the room, Nina following him closely.
Mellyssa's classroom was in chaos. Some students were trying to comfort her,others just stood there, unsure of what to do, while others were running around, telling other people to go get help but not thinking to get help themselves. When Snape entered the room, everyone immediatly rushed to the back of the room, all thinking of different stories that the older kids had told them about him. Snape didn't pay any attention to the first years, he walked right up to Mellyssa, who was sitting on the floor, knees drawn up to her chest, sobbing uncontrollably. Snape kneeled down next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Recognizing the touch, Mellyssa pulled herself closer to Snape, laying her head on his chest and crying like she had the night that her parents were killed. Snape wrapped his arms around her, trying to calm her down. He could tell that Mellyssa was saying something but the only words that he could make out were 'mommy' and 'daddy'. After a couple more minutes of this Mellyssa wore herself out and fell asleep. Snape didn't say anything, just picked her up and carried her to her room. He set her down on her bed and pulled the covers over her. Then he soundproofed the room and after he walked out of the room he sealed the door. When he got back to Mellyssa's classroom his class and Dumbledore were there, Dumbledore asking what had happened. At the moment he was talking to a young girl. "So Nina, do you know why Mellyssa was crying?" "Umm, yes, but I don't think she'd want me to tell." "That's alright Nina.You don't have to tell me." Then he stood up and faced Snape. "I'd like to talk to you in private Severus." Then he looked at the students."You may go to your common rooms until your next class." Once the students had all left Dumbledore turned back to Snape. "What happened?" "Mellyssa broke down." "Why?" "She's been holding everything in, bottling it up." "Ah. And how are you involved in all of this?" "You already know that we are friends. I've been trying to help her with this ever since I knew what was bothering her." "How long have you known what was troubling her?" "Not very long. She only told me a couple days ago." "And what is it that's troubling her?" "Her parents were murdered when she was 13. By a dark wizard using the cruciatus curse. She was in the room when it happened." "Oh, my. Well, I'll let you get back to your classes now." "Don't bother her, she's sleeping. And I'll know if anyone breaks the seal I put on her door." "Alright." Snape walked back to his dungeon classroom. By the time he got down there his next class would be waiting for him. It went relatively smoothly, the students could tell that he was in a very irratable mood and tried not to mess up their potions.
At lunch Mellyssa came and sat next to Snape. She didn't say anything and her face was blank as she ate. She finished quickly and sat for awhile. Then she got up and walked out the doors. Snape finished quickly and followed her. She went right up to the Slytherin dorms and said the password,Snape didn't have a clue as to how she got it. Then she walked straight over to a tapestry and pushed it aside, revealing a stairwell leading upwards. She went up it and sat down on the third bed on the left side of the room,staring out of the window. "Mellyssa? What are you doing?" Mellyssa's voice was little more than a whisper. "Remembering. This was your bed. I wish that I had kept my guitar." Snape muttered a summoning spell under his breath. Two miniature guitars appeared in his hand. "You gave it to me, I still have it." "Really?" "Yes, here." Snape handed her one of the small guitars. It was a light brown color, with an 'L' carved on it in very nice writing, and a strap that had lemmings on it. Mellyssa got up and walked over to Snape. "Thank you. Maybe we can play again sometime. Not today though." "Alright." "I'd better find Nina, she's probably worried about me." Then Mellyssa walked out. Snape stood there for a moment, a little confused, and then he also left.
Well how was it? It may not be great but it's been awhile since I just sat down and wrote an entire chapter at once. I usually do that but I haven't had the time or the ideas. Though this one just came to me as I typed. I like when that happens, They just seem better than ones where I write bits at a time. Well I know that most readers don't like long Authors notes so just review please.