Chapter 19: (It's my birthday today!!! Sorry, that had nothing to do with
the chapter, but…it's my birthday today!) Christmastime (It wouldn't let me
fit the whole title onto the little thing up in the corner. Damn
computer…)
A/N: This is so depressing. I received only one review for chapter 17 and didn't get a single one for chapter 18. I'm going to go listen to happy music. I'm sad now. Oh, by the way, I decided to leave the big surprise for the next chapter because this chapter is happy and the event…well…isn't. Okay, read on! This chapter is dedicated to Richard Harris, who died on October 25, 2002, of Hodgkin's disease. May he forever rest in peace.
Another A/N: In this chapter, four houses are going to be mentioned (the four houses at Sullivan's). Here are they and their counterparts:
McKlaren House=Gryffindor House
Evans House=Ravenclaw House
Parker House=Hufflepuff House
Connoren House=Slytherin House
Enjoy!
Melissa was sitting alone in the Quidditch stands reading a letter from her friends at Sullivan's Academy of the Wizarding Arts.
Hey Mel!
I got nearly everyone you knew (and liked) to sign this letter to you. Everyone misses you so much! The McKlaren Quidditch team sucks without you here to score all the goals. Okay, there are tons of people shouting at me to hurry up, so I'll write you a separate letter later. Happy Christmas, Mel!
Lylas,
Caysie
Hiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!!!
Mel, OMG, I still can't believe your not here with us! I miss you sooooooooo much! Sarah wants me to say 'hi' for her. She can't write at the moment. A Bludger broke her arm and Madam Smith refused to heal it, saying it was her 'own fault' that her arm's broken. You know how she can't stand 'those dangerous Bludgers; pelting around trying to kill all those poor children', as she likes to say. Anyway, let me quickly update you on everything that's happened here in the past couple of months, although I'm sure Cays has kept you posted.
Well, I dumped Brendan and now I'm dating that seventh-year, Daniel Corrignan. He's sooo sweet! And, um, oh! This next part of news you'll be happy to hear. Marc Stridedge and Jake Lenton have been expelled because they kept harassing girls. No more, "Hey, there sexy! How 'bout you and me go up to the Top Tower for a little something-something?" in that idiotic tone they always were talking in. Thank God. Just the other day, they were trying to concoct a potion that would make girls' robes and such invisible. Perverts. 'Kay, gotta go. You've got to come visit us soon!
Lots o' love,
Emilie
Mellie!!!!!
I can't believe you're over there in big scary Europe! How're the guys? Just kidding. It's so boring over here without you to cause a ton of trouble. And Shelbie's gone as well. We've got a boring old bat called Professor Brookes. She's always referring to herself in the third person. You can't even imagine how confusing that is. Oh, we have a new Muggle Studies teach—not that you'd care; you didn't take Muggle Studies—and we have a new Arithmancy teach. Professor MacGregor decided to go get married and live in Australia. The new one's name is Professor Cara Moran. She's so cool. Get this. On the first day of lessons, she came in wearing a fluorescent blue miniskirt and a black tank top with a black silk robe. Everyone in the class just stared. Anyway, I better move and let Jeremy write a note. He's been yelling at me for the past minute or two. Love ya, hon! Come visit!
Always,
Ailyne
Hey, Mel!
You have no idea how boring it is without you here to sneak potions into the Connorens' drinks to make their hair turn different colors at every quarter hour. Ah, the good ol' days. Let me bring you up to date on pranks and such. Francie Stamon is now a prefect for Connoren House (we're still not sure how that happened. She barely made it through final exams last year, remember?) and she's trying to take over your position of Prank Queen. You gotta come visit and pull a prank so big, no one will ever think about trying to take your position again. Just the other day, in fact, she charmed all of the Evans prefects' goblets to go and tip their contents over their owners' heads, but instead she mispronounced a word or something like that, because they all (meaning the goblets) flew over and dumped their contents on Francie's head. I was hysterical for a week. I have to go; Caysie just hit me over the head with a pillow in a VERY MEAN way of saying, "Okay, you're done."
Love you,
Jeremy
Melissa smiled when she read her friend's letter. Jeremy Zurchensky was Melissa's other best friend. They'd dated for a brief stint in the previous year, but had found it was like dating one's favorite sibling. They had stopped that relationship immediately and had settled for loving each other like a brother and sister would (A/N: Without all the fighting and such, in my opinion). She flipped the letter over and saw a note from Caysie.
Hey, honey!
Listen, Professor Feran* said that you'd be gladly welcome here if you wanted to come visit over Christmas or February break. YOU HAVE TO COME! WE ALL MISS YOU SOOOOO MUCH! Write back soon; everyone wants to see you again. See you soon (hopefully)!
Love ya, girl!
Cays
PP.S. There's a little something attached. Hope you like it!
Love you and miss you,
McKlaren House
*Head of McKlaren House
Melissa brushed away a few stray tears as she finished the message and picked up the parcel the owl had dropped at her feet. She carefully pulled back the paper and spotted another note and a small box. She opened the note first and quickly scanned its contents.
Dear Melissa,
We wish you great luck and success in your journeys from here on out. Merry Christmas.
Hugs and kisses,
McKlaren House
Melissa smiled in spite of herself and set the parchment down with the longer letter. She picked up the box and opened it. Inside, resting on a thick piece of soft, silk-like material was a silver bracelet. Melissa's breath hitched in her throat as she lifted it out of its container into the fading sunlight. It had an intricately designed band with a clasp on one side and a flat panel on the other. There was an inscription on it, which read:
Love you and miss you forever to come
There was the house crest next to the inscription, the following words being 'McKlaren House', and on either side of the words was a tiny blue topaz, Melissa's favorite gem. Melissa felt a groove on the other side and turned it over to see the names of her close friends written on the inside of the bracelet. She noticed Jeremy had signed one of the largest, second only to Caysie's large script. Emilie, Ailyne, Sarah Genero, Tracy Hadinel, Peter Carriel, Anthony Neward, Craig Fulham, Lena Kasen, and Heather Stefano, some of Melissa's other friends, had signed it as well. She even saw some of the near illegible signatures of her former professors. She slipped it on her wrist and adjusted the band, tears threatening to fall.
"Oh, you guys..." Melissa breathed, a sigh of unhappiness and loneliness escaping her.
"Lonely without the groupies, Potter?"
The redhead turned around at the deep voice and saw Draco Malfoy leaning against a nearby door, Nimbus 2001 slung over his shoulder. Melissa sighed again, this time in exasperation, and gathered her letters, the box the bracelet came in, and her broom.
"Not now, Malfoy, I'm not in the mood."
"Good. Neither am I." He pushed himself off the doorframe and walked over to stand next to the Gryffindor. He glanced at her before gazing back out at the pitch before him. "Fancy a fly?"
Melissa glared at him through narrow eyes.
"How do I know you won't hex me or anything?" she asked suspiciously.
"Because you look lonely and homesick," he replied, shrugging. "I don't hopelessly torture homesick people."
"Since when?" Melissa sneered. Malfoy didn't answer, but instead abruptly changed the subject.
"I hoped I would find you out here," he ventured. Melissa looked at him oddly.
"Why?"
"Because of something that's going to be happening in the spring. Snape told me," Malfoy added quickly when he saw the Gryffindor's skeptical look.
"Really? So what did the Glorious Greaseball tell the pride and joy of Slytherin House?" Melissa asked.
"That I should get to know you. Nothing very specific," Malfoy answered, shrugging again. He sat down next to her and focused his gaze on the wary redhead. "So...what is your favorite subject, least favorite subject, likes, dislikes...?"
Melissa ticked off each category on her fingers as she answered.
"Charms, Potions, Quidditch, you!" she finished brightly before standing up, mounting her broom, and kicking off. She soared through the grey sky, cold air biting at her face. A moment later, Malfoy zoomed in front of her, cutting her off.
"Why do you hate me so much?" he asked softly. Melissa burst out laughing.
"You're not serious?" she choked. When she saw the Slytherin's face, she knew he was. "Um, well, let's see. You were an insufferable git to me when I first came here and harassed my friends and housemates since they came here."
Malfoy muttered something unintelligible.
"What?"
The blonde shook his head, a piece of his gelled-up hair falling out of its carefully plastered place.
"Never mind."
Melissa rolled her eyes and swerved around the Slytherin. Malfoy followed suit and maneuvered his broom in a different direction. After a moment, Melissa sighed in defeat and turned to talk to the blonde blur.
"So? What's yours?" she called.
He looked at her oddly.
"What's your favorite subject, least favorite subject, likes, dislikes? Come on, give me something to work with here!" the Gryffindor girl exclaimed. Malfoy grinned in response and slowed his pace a teeny bit to match that of the redhead beside him.
"Let's see. My favorite subject is Defense Against the Dark Arts," Malfoy replied, also ticking them off on his fingers. He had to stop to grab Melissa's arm as she looked as though she was going to fall off her broom at this. "Okay? And, um, my least favorite subject is Divination. My likes and hobbies are Quidditch, reading, writing, walking around school like I own the place, and Potions. My dislikes are Snape, homework, and you."
"Good! So, we're even," Melissa cried, laughing.
"Seems we are," Malfoy replied, laughing as well. They flew around the pitch talking for another hour or so. They both found, though they'd never admit it to the other, they enjoyed each other's company. On the way back to the castle, Melissa's face fell.
"What's wrong, Potter?" Malfoy asked, his face masking concern.
"I miss my friends in Ireland," she whispered, a solitary tear slipping down her face involuntarily. She quickly wiped it away, though not before Malfoy noticed it; the blonde Slytherin was the last person in the world she wanted to cry in front of. Malfoy nodded, but said nothing and turned away as thoughts flew through his mind. They walked the rest of the distance to the school in silence, both thinking about the same thing.
A/N: Hey, so what'd you think? A surprise next chapter! BTW, I'm fourteen today! The fourth of November is my birthday! *starts singing* Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday to me-e! Happy birthday to me! Yay!
A/N: This is so depressing. I received only one review for chapter 17 and didn't get a single one for chapter 18. I'm going to go listen to happy music. I'm sad now. Oh, by the way, I decided to leave the big surprise for the next chapter because this chapter is happy and the event…well…isn't. Okay, read on! This chapter is dedicated to Richard Harris, who died on October 25, 2002, of Hodgkin's disease. May he forever rest in peace.
Another A/N: In this chapter, four houses are going to be mentioned (the four houses at Sullivan's). Here are they and their counterparts:
McKlaren House=Gryffindor House
Evans House=Ravenclaw House
Parker House=Hufflepuff House
Connoren House=Slytherin House
Enjoy!
Melissa was sitting alone in the Quidditch stands reading a letter from her friends at Sullivan's Academy of the Wizarding Arts.
Hey Mel!
I got nearly everyone you knew (and liked) to sign this letter to you. Everyone misses you so much! The McKlaren Quidditch team sucks without you here to score all the goals. Okay, there are tons of people shouting at me to hurry up, so I'll write you a separate letter later. Happy Christmas, Mel!
Lylas,
Caysie
Hiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!!!
Mel, OMG, I still can't believe your not here with us! I miss you sooooooooo much! Sarah wants me to say 'hi' for her. She can't write at the moment. A Bludger broke her arm and Madam Smith refused to heal it, saying it was her 'own fault' that her arm's broken. You know how she can't stand 'those dangerous Bludgers; pelting around trying to kill all those poor children', as she likes to say. Anyway, let me quickly update you on everything that's happened here in the past couple of months, although I'm sure Cays has kept you posted.
Well, I dumped Brendan and now I'm dating that seventh-year, Daniel Corrignan. He's sooo sweet! And, um, oh! This next part of news you'll be happy to hear. Marc Stridedge and Jake Lenton have been expelled because they kept harassing girls. No more, "Hey, there sexy! How 'bout you and me go up to the Top Tower for a little something-something?" in that idiotic tone they always were talking in. Thank God. Just the other day, they were trying to concoct a potion that would make girls' robes and such invisible. Perverts. 'Kay, gotta go. You've got to come visit us soon!
Lots o' love,
Emilie
Mellie!!!!!
I can't believe you're over there in big scary Europe! How're the guys? Just kidding. It's so boring over here without you to cause a ton of trouble. And Shelbie's gone as well. We've got a boring old bat called Professor Brookes. She's always referring to herself in the third person. You can't even imagine how confusing that is. Oh, we have a new Muggle Studies teach—not that you'd care; you didn't take Muggle Studies—and we have a new Arithmancy teach. Professor MacGregor decided to go get married and live in Australia. The new one's name is Professor Cara Moran. She's so cool. Get this. On the first day of lessons, she came in wearing a fluorescent blue miniskirt and a black tank top with a black silk robe. Everyone in the class just stared. Anyway, I better move and let Jeremy write a note. He's been yelling at me for the past minute or two. Love ya, hon! Come visit!
Always,
Ailyne
Hey, Mel!
You have no idea how boring it is without you here to sneak potions into the Connorens' drinks to make their hair turn different colors at every quarter hour. Ah, the good ol' days. Let me bring you up to date on pranks and such. Francie Stamon is now a prefect for Connoren House (we're still not sure how that happened. She barely made it through final exams last year, remember?) and she's trying to take over your position of Prank Queen. You gotta come visit and pull a prank so big, no one will ever think about trying to take your position again. Just the other day, in fact, she charmed all of the Evans prefects' goblets to go and tip their contents over their owners' heads, but instead she mispronounced a word or something like that, because they all (meaning the goblets) flew over and dumped their contents on Francie's head. I was hysterical for a week. I have to go; Caysie just hit me over the head with a pillow in a VERY MEAN way of saying, "Okay, you're done."
Love you,
Jeremy
Melissa smiled when she read her friend's letter. Jeremy Zurchensky was Melissa's other best friend. They'd dated for a brief stint in the previous year, but had found it was like dating one's favorite sibling. They had stopped that relationship immediately and had settled for loving each other like a brother and sister would (A/N: Without all the fighting and such, in my opinion). She flipped the letter over and saw a note from Caysie.
Hey, honey!
Listen, Professor Feran* said that you'd be gladly welcome here if you wanted to come visit over Christmas or February break. YOU HAVE TO COME! WE ALL MISS YOU SOOOOO MUCH! Write back soon; everyone wants to see you again. See you soon (hopefully)!
Love ya, girl!
Cays
PP.S. There's a little something attached. Hope you like it!
Love you and miss you,
McKlaren House
*Head of McKlaren House
Melissa brushed away a few stray tears as she finished the message and picked up the parcel the owl had dropped at her feet. She carefully pulled back the paper and spotted another note and a small box. She opened the note first and quickly scanned its contents.
Dear Melissa,
We wish you great luck and success in your journeys from here on out. Merry Christmas.
Hugs and kisses,
McKlaren House
Melissa smiled in spite of herself and set the parchment down with the longer letter. She picked up the box and opened it. Inside, resting on a thick piece of soft, silk-like material was a silver bracelet. Melissa's breath hitched in her throat as she lifted it out of its container into the fading sunlight. It had an intricately designed band with a clasp on one side and a flat panel on the other. There was an inscription on it, which read:
Love you and miss you forever to come
There was the house crest next to the inscription, the following words being 'McKlaren House', and on either side of the words was a tiny blue topaz, Melissa's favorite gem. Melissa felt a groove on the other side and turned it over to see the names of her close friends written on the inside of the bracelet. She noticed Jeremy had signed one of the largest, second only to Caysie's large script. Emilie, Ailyne, Sarah Genero, Tracy Hadinel, Peter Carriel, Anthony Neward, Craig Fulham, Lena Kasen, and Heather Stefano, some of Melissa's other friends, had signed it as well. She even saw some of the near illegible signatures of her former professors. She slipped it on her wrist and adjusted the band, tears threatening to fall.
"Oh, you guys..." Melissa breathed, a sigh of unhappiness and loneliness escaping her.
"Lonely without the groupies, Potter?"
The redhead turned around at the deep voice and saw Draco Malfoy leaning against a nearby door, Nimbus 2001 slung over his shoulder. Melissa sighed again, this time in exasperation, and gathered her letters, the box the bracelet came in, and her broom.
"Not now, Malfoy, I'm not in the mood."
"Good. Neither am I." He pushed himself off the doorframe and walked over to stand next to the Gryffindor. He glanced at her before gazing back out at the pitch before him. "Fancy a fly?"
Melissa glared at him through narrow eyes.
"How do I know you won't hex me or anything?" she asked suspiciously.
"Because you look lonely and homesick," he replied, shrugging. "I don't hopelessly torture homesick people."
"Since when?" Melissa sneered. Malfoy didn't answer, but instead abruptly changed the subject.
"I hoped I would find you out here," he ventured. Melissa looked at him oddly.
"Why?"
"Because of something that's going to be happening in the spring. Snape told me," Malfoy added quickly when he saw the Gryffindor's skeptical look.
"Really? So what did the Glorious Greaseball tell the pride and joy of Slytherin House?" Melissa asked.
"That I should get to know you. Nothing very specific," Malfoy answered, shrugging again. He sat down next to her and focused his gaze on the wary redhead. "So...what is your favorite subject, least favorite subject, likes, dislikes...?"
Melissa ticked off each category on her fingers as she answered.
"Charms, Potions, Quidditch, you!" she finished brightly before standing up, mounting her broom, and kicking off. She soared through the grey sky, cold air biting at her face. A moment later, Malfoy zoomed in front of her, cutting her off.
"Why do you hate me so much?" he asked softly. Melissa burst out laughing.
"You're not serious?" she choked. When she saw the Slytherin's face, she knew he was. "Um, well, let's see. You were an insufferable git to me when I first came here and harassed my friends and housemates since they came here."
Malfoy muttered something unintelligible.
"What?"
The blonde shook his head, a piece of his gelled-up hair falling out of its carefully plastered place.
"Never mind."
Melissa rolled her eyes and swerved around the Slytherin. Malfoy followed suit and maneuvered his broom in a different direction. After a moment, Melissa sighed in defeat and turned to talk to the blonde blur.
"So? What's yours?" she called.
He looked at her oddly.
"What's your favorite subject, least favorite subject, likes, dislikes? Come on, give me something to work with here!" the Gryffindor girl exclaimed. Malfoy grinned in response and slowed his pace a teeny bit to match that of the redhead beside him.
"Let's see. My favorite subject is Defense Against the Dark Arts," Malfoy replied, also ticking them off on his fingers. He had to stop to grab Melissa's arm as she looked as though she was going to fall off her broom at this. "Okay? And, um, my least favorite subject is Divination. My likes and hobbies are Quidditch, reading, writing, walking around school like I own the place, and Potions. My dislikes are Snape, homework, and you."
"Good! So, we're even," Melissa cried, laughing.
"Seems we are," Malfoy replied, laughing as well. They flew around the pitch talking for another hour or so. They both found, though they'd never admit it to the other, they enjoyed each other's company. On the way back to the castle, Melissa's face fell.
"What's wrong, Potter?" Malfoy asked, his face masking concern.
"I miss my friends in Ireland," she whispered, a solitary tear slipping down her face involuntarily. She quickly wiped it away, though not before Malfoy noticed it; the blonde Slytherin was the last person in the world she wanted to cry in front of. Malfoy nodded, but said nothing and turned away as thoughts flew through his mind. They walked the rest of the distance to the school in silence, both thinking about the same thing.
A/N: Hey, so what'd you think? A surprise next chapter! BTW, I'm fourteen today! The fourth of November is my birthday! *starts singing* Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday to me-e! Happy birthday to me! Yay!
