Melissa would not have been surprised if lightning began to strike inside the castle as she burst into the Hospital Wing, so raw was the power flowing through every inch of her body. Her electric anger only intensified as she saw a dark figure standing over a sleeping Draco.
"Step away from him," she snarled, voice cracking under the restraint she put into speaking.
The figure turned to face her and said softly, "Of course."
"Professor Dumbledore!" she cried. "I could have killed you!"
The Headmaster smiled. "But you didn't."
"What's going on?"
Their eyes met and Melissa gasped. "No, I can't! Both Malfoys have forbidden it! Draco himself refused!"
"Melissa, this is not a request. It is an order."
"Why? Why would you rather he be damned by my hand than by another's?!" she yelled.
"Because only you can give him the strength to live in death."
"What I can give him will only be a life of eternal suffering!"
Dumbledore walked towards the door and opened it. "You will do this, Melissa, and you will do this now, before he comes."
She scowled as the door slammed shut behind him.
Melissa was in a state of euphoria. The blood of Draco Malfoy pumped into her, snaking its way through her veins. A mural of his childhood memories danced before her closed eyes as the deafening pound of the heart beat filled her ears.
It was in that moment she understood exactly why the ancient pact had been made.
As the heart began to slow, Melissa reluctantly pulled away from the boy's neck. His ice blue eyes frozen onto her own were the only hint that he was still alive.
Almost delirious, Melissa fought to regain her senses and hold on to the purpose of the visit. "You've not much time left," she whispered. "Your choice must be made now, will you take my blood?"
No answer.
She knew he was not dead but would be all too soon. Again she asked him in an even softer tone, but received nothing in reply.
"Draco, I will not do this for you. The decision is yours and yours alone."
There was maybe but a minute left and he would be completely beyond her reach. She repeated her question one final time.
A breath escaped his lips in the form of a sigh and he closed his eyes.
Melissa stared at him in wonder. The room around her rippled and spun but he remained motionless. Finally, she stood, turned on her heel, and walked to the door, shedding one rare tear for the boy.
Her hand stopped its reach for the knob when she heard a small, weak voice say,
"Yes."
Madam Pomfrey entered the Hospital Wing carrying a tray of food for Draco Malfoy. With a cry of horror, the tray slid from her hands and crashed to the floor as her eyes fell on the empty bed.
The sheets had been tussled and scattered about. But what frightened her was the sight of a girl lying sprawled at the foot of the bed, eyes staring up and unblinking, face ashen-white.
A girl in gypsy dress.