Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters except for Melodi and her parents. Any and all recognizable characters are property of J.K. Rowling and I am sort of using them to play with for awhile. I am not making money off of this, just fulfilling some long drawn out fantasies I have.

Chapter 5: Special Project

Snape paced around his room. This was all happening too fast. Melodi had just gotten here, she couldn't possibly be developing her powers this quickly. Unless... of course! Melodi had to have been showing signs of changing at home. Why else would her mother have sent her here? It all made sense now.

"Bloody hell Portia. You knew she was already changing, and you sent her anyways!" Severus was the only one in the room, but he continued talking, "You didn't want your husband to know, I realize that. And I suppose it was the only thing you could do." The potions master sighed and sat down in his chair, staring into the flames of his fireplace. "A little warning would have been nice, dear cousin. What am I supposed to do with a changing witch? Especially a teenage one?" He was going to have to do some major research on this topic. There had to be something in the library about this kind of thing. If worse came to worse, he supposed he and the Headmaster could devise a plan of some sort. They were going to have to figure out a way to help Melodi through her changes. But before he could do any of that, he was going to have to tell her the entire situation...especially before Miss Bloody-Know-It-All Granger did.

Draco rolled over, the sunlight pouring right into his eyes. He covered his face with his hand and sat up.

"Well, Mr. Malfoy, good morning!" Professor Dumbledore was standing in the middle of the hospital room, his eyes twinkling. "How are you feeling?"

Draco sat up, he was grumpy, groggy, and still incredibly sore.

"Terrible. Am I not mistaken in thinking this is the hospital ward?"

"That it is my boy, why do you ask?"

"Well, I was under the impression that when in a hospital ward, people were able to rest and sleep. I have not been able to do much of either with everyone walking and talking in here."

The elderly man grinned despite Draco's rude comments.

"My apologies Mister Malfoy. I assure you that all the 'hustle and bustle' was necessary."

Draco crossed his arms over his chest and sat in stoney silence. 'Stupid old man.' He thought to himself as his eyes followed Dumbledore over to Melodi's bed. It was empty!

Draco felt his heart jump into his mouth. Where was she? He was sure she had been there last night.

"Madame Pomfrey took her for a walk and a shower."

Dumbledore's voice answered Draco's questioning look. "Don't worry, she's on her way to full recovery."

Draco turned his gaze to the Headmaster. A small smile was hidden behind the long white beard. Draco forced his face to become expressionless.

"I wasn't worried, just curious." Draco's voice was dry and dull. 'Why should I be worried, she's not my girlfriend or anything.' He gasped in his own head. Where had that thought come from? Melodi, his girlfriend? No, no, no, no. The potion he had taken was making him delusional. He needed ... he didn't know what he needed. He needed to get out of the hospital ward, that much was certain.

He heard low voices down the hall and turned to see Madame Pomfrey and Melodi slowly walking towards him and the Headmaster.

"Don't worry dear, by this time tomorrow, you will be back to brand new. You are getting better rapidly!" Madame Pomfrey had her hand on Melodi's back and left arm but she wasn't actually supporting the young witch. Madame Pomfrey was surprised to see how quickly Melodi had recovered. She had been unconscious when first brought to the hospital wing, and now, now she was perfectly fine. She could go back to classes today but Poppy wanted to keep her a few more nights to observe her.

Melodi was feeling completely better. Her head was clear, her limbs were lithe and loose. Even catching up on her classes wasn't an issue, she was so far ahead of everyone else. She only had to worry about Draco and even on that issue she pretty much knew what she was going to do. She was just going to ignore him and avoid him until her mother came to get her from Hogwarts. Tonight she was going to write out her letter and owl it to her house. It was the only way out of this awful situation.

Melodi and Madame Pomfrey rounded the corner leading back to the beds and Melodi saw Draco, sitting up in bed and talking to the Headmaster. 'Probably squealing on me, the little prat.' He was devastatingly handsome though; his white-blond hair that framed his face, pale porcelain skin, and those unearthly blue eyes. 'Stop it Melodi. He is off limits!' She looked up from the ground only to see him starring at her with an intense look. Melodi quickly averted her eyes and let Madame Pomfrey put her back in her bed.

"Well, Melodi, how was your walk?" Professor Dumbledore asked.

"It was fine Headmaster, thank you for asking." Melodi played with the blanket on the bed, eyes downcast, avoiding raising her head for fear of meeting eyes with Draco. The Headmaster seemed to realize there was something going on between the two students, he could feel the tension in the air. He figured it had to do with how they both ended up in the hospital ward. Dumbledore was still under the impression that Hogwarts' houses just had little tiffs, but were friends in the end. He took it upon himself to set up a situation where these two would have to reconcile their differences. An idea popped into the Headmaster's head and he chuckled quietly to himself. Severus had said they needed to find a way to help train Melodi while she was changing, what better person than the best DADA student to hit Hogwarts in years?

"Good to hear, my dear." Dumbledore turned to Draco, "And how are you feeling Mr. Malfoy?"

"I've been better." Draco's voice was emotionless, empty and hit Melodi right in the heart.

"That's splendid. Now, on to why I am here." The Headmaster couldn't help smiling, and his eyes were twinkling brighter than ever. "I have a special assignment for the two of you. Professor Snape and I are working on a...project, and we think that the two of you are perfect for the assignment. Plus, we will consider it as an extra credit assignment to help you catch up on the work you have missed and are going to miss for the rest of the week."

Melodi sat down on her bed, her face set in the same blank stone stare as Draco's. If he wasn't going to show emotion, neither was she. "Headmaster, pardon my stupidity, but why are we going to miss even more work the rest of this week?"

"My dear, Madame Pomfrey is keeping the two of you here to make sure that you both recover completely. The both of you have been through so much and we want to make sure that you are well enough to be able to handle working on our special project plus being able to finish your regular school work. It's merely precaution, nothing to worry over. Now, once the two of you are feeling better, I will fill you in more on the happenings of this project, but for now, I will leave you to rest." With that the Headmaster walked out of the hospital wing, leaving two bewildered students behind him.

'A special project...with Draco?! Dumbledore had to be losing his mind. There was no way she would or could work on a special project with Draco.' Melodi sighed to herself as she climbed under her covers.

"What was that for?" Draco's voice broke the tense silence.

"What was what for?"

"That sigh. Angry you have to work with me on a project or are you angry that you have to wait all week till we start working on the project?" Although the words were joking, Draco's tone was not. Melodi bit her lower lip in worry. He really was mad at her.

"I'm not angry, in fact I am excited to be doing a special project. I've only had one day of classes so far, but I know everything all ready. Half of this material I covered years ago with my private tutors." Melodi haughtily fluffed her pillow.

"Oh, well excuse me. Maybe if Hogwarts isn't challenging enough for you, you should leave." It was all Melodi could do to not gasp out loud. He wanted her to leave! Although she had decided to do that already, it hurt more to know he wanted her gone as much as she wanted to leave.

"As a matter of fact, I intend to do just that as soon as I can. I am writing to my mother and once she gets my letter, there is no question that she will come and get me. I can't wait to leave this wretched place." Melodi didn't mean what she was saying. She didn't hate Hogwarts, far from it actually. She loved Hogwarts, it was breathtakingly beautiful and the people were so nice...well, most of the people were. "Now, if you don't mind Mr. Malfoy. I intend to get as much rest as possible. I do not feel like arguing with you, nor do I feel like lying in my bed and looking at your stupid face for the rest of the day. Good day to you and may your wounds become infected with maggots." Melodi turned on her side and closed her eyes tight.

Draco was dumbfounded and speechless. That always seemed to happen to him every time she was around. 'She wants to leave?! Why would she want to leave Hogwarts?' 'You prat, you just told her to leave, she thinks you hate her.' 'But I don't hate her.' Whoa! Where did that come from? Draco looked over at Melodi, she was sound asleep. Nothing seemed to bother her when she wanted to sleep. But she did want to leave. That thought made Draco feel weird. He didn't know why, but it did.

"Albus, you have officially lost your mind!" Severus was yelling at the Headmasters floating image in his fireplace.

"Severus, dear boy, it is perfect. You said it yourself, Melodi needs to be trained to use and control her new powers. Who better to help her with that than Mr. Malfoy? You must agree, he is very adept at defending himself." Severus sat down in his arm chair, head in hands and sighed.

"But, Albus, we have no idea how to train Melodi. We don't know how quickly she will progress or even the full extent of her powers! Putting Draco in this situation is too risky, and imagine what his father would say if Draco ever got hurt?! Not to mention what would happen if Draco told his father about Melodi's powers! Voldemort would be here in an instant!" Snape shuddered at the though of Voldemort going after his niece. It wouldn't be pretty.

"You really do worry too much Severus. Trust me on this. And if the elder Mr. Malfoy has any qualms, I will speak with him personally. As for Draco telling his father and word getting to Voldemort, that is a chance we will just have to take. I do not think that you put enough trust in your students, Severus. Now, I suggest you get some rest. I expect that Monday evening the three of you will start training. Goodnight." With that, Albus' head popped out of sight, leaving Snape alone in his darkened room.

"Bloody wonderful." Snape said aloud as he reached for his decanter and glass. He poured himself some whiskey and downed it in one large gulp. After his fourth glass, the warm numbness overtook him and he headed to bed.

The days seemed to fly by and soon it was Sunday afternoon. Melodi put down her Advanced Potions book and sighed. All week Hermione had been bringing her her missed assignments so she could keep from falling behind (not that that was much of a problem anyway). Hermione would sit and chat with her about classes and all the latest gossip. Then, at some point, Ron and Harry would come in and all four of them would strike up a conversation. Usually though, it always ended up being one thing: what had happened to land her in the hospital ward. No matter how many times Melodi said she didn't remember the incident, she felt that deep down inside, her friends didn't believe her. 'And why should they?' she asked herself. 'You're lying through your teeth. They're your friends, you should tell them the truth.' Melodi sighed again. 'But the truth doesn't make any more sense than a lie, so there's no point in it.'

Melodi shook her head to clear her mind. She looked over at Draco who was also working on some missed work. From the way he was chewing the quill tip, he was doing his Arithmancy homework. He always chewed his quill while he did his Arithmancy, or at least he had done so all week. She giggled in her head, who would have thought that Draco Malfoy could be so utterly adorable while doing his homework? Just as she started to smile, Draco looked up at her.

"What are you smiling at?" he asked menacingly. Melodi was startled out of her daydream at his voice.

"I...I was just thinking of something." She stuttered.

Draco let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. He was somewhat saddened that she hadn't been smiling at him. 'Why would she? You've been mean to her all week. She was probably daydreaming about Potter or that stupid Weasley who keeps fawning all over her.' He thought to himself. Well, that's fine. She could pine all she wanted but not while looking at him.

"Just keep your eyes to yourself." He said. Draco mentally slapped himself. That couldn't have sounded as stupid as it was. And much to his dismay, Melodi broke down into helpless giggles. Draco just glared as he watched her. Her hands flew to her mouth to try and hide the guffaws and she was physically shaking on the bed.

After a few minutes she looked straight at him and said, "Draco, that has got to be the most stupid, funniest thing I have ever heard in my entire life. 'Keep your eyes to yourself!'" She started to laugh all over again, and tears were streaming down her cheeks. Draco cracked a smile. He liked the way she laughed, even if it was at him. Her eyes shone a radiant purple hue, and her face turned a slight rosy shade. She really was beautiful- uniquely and breathtakingly beautiful. And Draco realized suddenly, that he wanted Melodi to be his, forever.

A.N.- Again, I want to apologize for how long it took for me to get this chapter up. It's been a weird summer y'all, and I apologize profusely. I hope this chapter is at least up to par of what you expected. Chapter six should hopefully be coming soon!

Thanks again to all reviewers and to my awesome Beta- you rock!