Disclaimer: I created Melissa, Helen, and that new Knight Bus conductor (who will be in the story later, oops I shouldn't have said that). Anything else is either created by J.K. Rowling or the Bagel Gods of Eggnog Land. Tally-ho.

This has been a very changed and revised chapter. I hope you enjoy it and that you may have some new ideas for the future that I can fit in. The plot is very open to suggestions and I think that it is kind of fun to have others participate in my story. Gives it a unique touch, really. Thank you.

Chapter Five: Breakfast is Served

The sun rose slowly over the horizon, casting soft rays of light everywhere, birds chirped in the trees, and dawn arrived with a subtle crimson shadow. The silence was perfect until a loud crash was heard in Prof. Severus' house. "Bloody hell!" somebody yelled in frustration.

Melissa turned from her sleep and sat up in surprise. The first three thoughts that crossed her mind were "What was that? ", "Where am I? ", and "Oh yeah". She gazed at her surroundings and realized that she must have passed out or fallen asleep last night. She laid back down and snuggled under the warm covers. The bed she lay in was a canopy bed, layered in deep green curtains, linen, and had a ceiling.

Secretly, she wished that she could live in a place like this, because it was slightly better than her house, which was a little more than average size and quite refined on its own. The Merlin's were always travelling around, due to her parents being Aurors, and they felt it unnecessary to have an expensive house, since they barely spent any time at home anyway. Also, most of the neighborhoods they lived in were muggle so their house had to be as normal as possible.

She turned to rest on her side and closed her eyes. The pillowcase was made of satin and it was very soft. "What am I going to do now?" She could not think clearly with the anxious thought constantly poking at her mind. "What is that lovely smell?" She recognized a slight hint of lavender fragrance in the sheets, which was probably there because of its relaxing properties.

"I think I will go find the bathroom," she thought finally, "before I fall asleep again". She got out of bed and walked across the room, past a mahogany desk and wastebasket, and slowly opened the door, peering out into the hallway. A door in front of her and two hallways branched out to the right were her choices. "Decisions, decisions," she sighed, choosing the door in front of her, because it looked like a bathroom door for some strange reason.

Melissa walked towards the door and carefully turned the doorknob. She fumbled for the light switch on the wall and flicked it on. A single row of light bulbs above the sink and a hanging light in the middle of the room lit up. Sure enough, it was a bathroom. A pretty fancy bathroom, in her opinion, admiring its harmonious appearance.

A white porcelain free standing tub stood on the left wall, which was conveniently placed underneath a privacy window. Next to the tub was a small enclosed room, which, she assumed, contained a toilet. On the right wall was a gorgeous double sink cabinet, covered in black marble, above it an extensively large mirror. And the opposite wall was layered in shelves, which were filled with various things like towels and other stuff that you might find in a bathroom. Like, toilet paper.

The bathroom was very charming, with little knick knacks here and there, She felt comfortable here even though it was a rather large room. She walked over to the sink and stopped midway to admire the huge rug that covered the majority of the floor. It was an Oriental rug of some sort, but lovely all the same, she felt rather ashamed to walk across it. She did, however, and stopped in front of the sink counter, looking into the mirror.

Her hair was a bit ruffled, her face a bit paler than usual, but that was only because she didn't eat anything last night, and her eyes were brown. "Thank God." She sighed in relief. If she hadn't have taken her medi-potion, her eyes would be golden yellow. She diverted her attention to the different bottles and containers that were spread out on the countertop.

"Madame Snaffle's Body Talc", "Mr. Portlio's Deodorant Spray", and "Miss Chop's Mouthwash" were just a few of the toiletries lined up. She turned around and looked decisively at the tub, "I should take a shower," she said to herself, picking a leaf out of her hair. She closed the door and locked it, securing her privacy, and returned to the bathtub.

There were five different sized faucets and knobs. Upon closer inspection, she noticed special labels matching with each knob. From left to right they were marked: Strawberry bubbles, Vanilla bubbles, Cold-Warm-Hot variation for the water faucet, Raspberry bubbles, and non-scented bubbles.

"How interesting." She remarked. "Now I just need a towel." She looked around and spotted a stack of black towels on one of the shelves. Grabbing one, she started to turn the water on when she heard something that sounded like a knife cutting something on a cutting board. Shrugging, thinking that somebody was cooking something for breakfast, she continued getting ready to take a shower.

Downstairs, in the kitchen, three people collaborate to try to prepare breakfast for four. Lupin tends to the toast and drinks, Helen makes the eggs and bacon, and Severus is busy cutting up assorted fruits with disgust.

"You know, I really don't want to eat, or even cut these things," Severus mumbled.

Lupin sighed, "Can't you even try to act like you are interested in the food your girlfriend is making for you?" he said calmly, careful not to let Helen hear, who was listening to music on the other side of the kitchen.

"Lupin, put a sock in it, you are just trying to get more biscuits then you really need," Severus growled.

Lupin fell silent. He knew that Severus was upset and worried about Voldemort, but he tried not to let Severus' agitation get to him. Biscuits were, after all his favorite food.

After a minute or two of nothing but the cutting of fruit, buttering of toast, and sizzling of bacon and eggs, Lupin asked "So, do you think that Melissa is alright?"

Severus thought for a moment, still numbly cutting up the fruits, and replied, "I don't know. We don't need to pry into her life, it's already a mess. I would think that she is still a bit shaken up, but fine."

"Okay, well I will go wake her up, breakfast is almost ready." Lupin says after setting the table.

When Lupin left the kitchen, Helen walked over to Severus, put her arm on his shoulder and asked, "Darling, what happened to Melissa last night? She looked awfully pale."

Severus put all the diced fruit into a medium sized bowl, washed his hands, and told her what happened.

After a good long shower, Melissa stepped out of the tub. She dried off and put her clothes, and thought she smelled bacon. ""Breakfast is served." She thought pleasantly, because she was hungry.

After putting her clothes on the guest room bed she slept on, she walked into the hallways, found the stairs, and walked down them quickly.

Lupin was half way up the stairs when he heard that somebody was coming down them pretty quickly. Melissa looked down the stairs and stopped so suddenly not to run into Lupin that she tripped and fell into Lupin's arms. They both went stumbling down the stairs, causing such a loud ruckus that Helen almost dropped the plates.

At that exact moment, Severus walked into the hall to see what was holding them up, just to see that both of them were tangled in a heap at the foot of the stairs.

"What happened?" He asked impatiently.

They both stood up and Lupin explained, "I was going up the stairs when Melissa came down the stairs at the same time," Melissa interrupted, "I guess I was coming down the stairs too quickly because I ran into Professor Lupin and we fell."

"Whatever," Severus said in a disinterested tone.

He walked into the dinning room. Lupin and Melissa followed him in. Melissa felt so embarrassed, what a first impression. "First, I collapse in the middle of a serious conversation about Voldemort, and now I fall down the stairs, and bring a Professor down with me. God I am so dead."

"Ladies first," Lupin politely stood at the door, letting Melissa pass.

'Thank you." She half-smiled and took a seat across from Severus. Lupin sat next to her and was seated across from Helen. The menu was delicious. "Eggs, Bacon, Toast, Fruit, the whole enchilada." Melissa thought gratefully.Nothing was out of place, the room seemed perfectly arranged for every type of meal.

However, one thing seemed out of the ordinary: on the table, there were lighted candles on the table. Candles so bright, that they were the only source of light in the room. Of course, The large window on the outside wall was pouring sunshine in.

"Severus, do you really need these candles for every meal?" Helen asked while she was putting them out.

"Yes, they are good candles. Besides, there is no other sourceof light in...here" Severus answered, just as Lupin turned the dining room light on, he fumed in silence.

"Okay, let us now eat this delicious meal that Helen has prepared for us!" Lupin said cheerfully. Helen blushed, "I only cooked one part of the meal, I had help." Lupin reached instinctively for the biscuits, but Helen grabbed the basket and said in a mock stern voice, "There is only enough for 3 per person. No more then 3 Remus, Okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, just 3. Got it."

Melissa held in a giggle, and just smiled. "You can have my share of biscuits if you want." She offered.

Lupin laughed, "That's all right, you can have the biscuits." Everyone started to eat, except for Melissa. "Oh my God, what am I going to do about my potion?" her blood froze cold, what if her vampire signs started to show unwxpecedly? What if...

"You can eat now, if you want, Melissa." Helen said as she passed the large plate of eggs and bacon to her.

"Um, thanks, I'm just thinking to myself." She mumbled, taking the offered plate and put a few eggs and bacon on her plate.

Everyone was eating quietly. To Lupin, Severus, and Helen, this was a normal meal. But to Melissa, it was creepy. Everybody ate like robots, silently and synchronized, almost.

"So, Prof. Lupin, what do you do for a living?" Melissa asked between mouthfuls of bacon.

"Well, right now I am in training for the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher job at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Severus is currently the Potions Master at Hogwarts." Lupin answered while chewing his second biscuit.

Melissa almost choked after hearing about Severus' job.

"Really?" Melissa asked, astonished.

"Yes, why? Are you interested in that sort of thing?" Lupin asked, bewildered.

"Well, actually, my parents and I always made potions for anything that we need. You know, the usual cold remedies and what-not." Melissa quickly said, trying not to sound over enthusiastic.

But before Severus could answer to that, something hit the dining room window.

Melissa stood up and opened the window to investigate. It was an owl, very old as it looked, that had just crashed into the window. Lupin, oblivious to the noise because of his food, asked, "What's everyone staring at?"

"A messenger owl just hit the window. Oh, poor thing." Melissa reached for the owl and it perched on her arm. It made an attempt to go for the food when Severus caught it.

"No you don't!" He said while untying the letter from its foot. He read the envelope, "It's addressed to Melissa" he said.

"It is?" Melissa looked curiously at the letter that Severus handed her, written in violet ink. Everyone at the table was staring at her, as if to cue her to open it and read it, except for Severus, who returned to eating a piece of watermelon with a cringe. She found it odd that anybody would know that she was here. The letter fell out of the envelope, she unfolded it and read it quickly.

Dear Melissa,

I know what happened to you and your family the night that Voldemort attacked, and I am truly sorry. My name is Albus Dumbledore and I will be happy to help you in any way that I can. You father had sent an owl telling me about you and asked if I can be responsible for bringing you to a safer place, and I will. I see you made it to Professor Severus' house safely, and you must have met Professor Lupin by now. It's peculiar how fate works, isn't it? I look forward to seeing you today, and remember, you are safe now.

Albus Dumbledore.

She blinked a few tears away. Tears that came for many reasons, but the main one was that she felt safe and that was all that mattered. "Are you alright, Melissa?" Helen asked as she sipped some orange juice.

Melissa looked up and nodded her head, "The letter is from Albus Dumbledore, he wrote that he knows what happened, and that I shouldn't worry because I'm...safe." she cleared her throat and drank a generous gulp of orange juice.

"Well, that's good that Albus knows what happened." Lupin finished up his eggs, picked up his plate, and walked to the kitchen. Everyone else finished up their plates and followed suite. After breakfast was cleaned up, Melissa walked into the living room, not expecting to see Prof. Snape in there at the same time. She took a seat on the couch and held her head in her hands, thinking about what could have happened to her parents.

Severus was sitting in one of the chairs, and he didn't say anything when Melissa came in, because he too was thinking about something, how the hell Voldemort could possibly be back again. He then looked up and was surprised to see Melissa sitting on the couch. He thought he heard a sniffle, and then definitely heard a sob. He couldn't find the words to say right away, but he started speaking before he could stop himself, "I'm sorry that you had to go through this." His voice startled her from her thoughts.

She bit her lower lip and looked up at him. "Thank you, sir," was all she could think to say. As she was going to say something else, Prof. Lupin had strolled in saying "Shall we leave now?" in the direction of Prof. Snape.

Rolling his eyes, Severus stood up and glanced briefly at Melissa, who was wiping her eyes and clearing her throat. "Damn you, Voldemort." He thought angrily. He reached for a bowl on the mantle and handed it to Lupin. "Floo travel. Always fun." Lupin simply said, "Melissa?"

Melissa looked up and smiled weakly, "Yes?"

"We are going to Floo to Hogsmaede, then travel via carriage up to Hogwarts, where we will meet up with Headmaster Dumbledore. Alright?"

"Alright."

"You can go first then, just say Three Broomsticks Pub."

"Right."

"Here you go, then." He handed her the bowl, full of Floo powder. She took a handful and stepped in the fireplace, which was very tall and wide. Throwing the powder on the floor, the emerald green flames engulfed her, and she said loudly, but clearly, "Three Broomsticks Pub," and was gone.

This chapter would not be possible without the constant support from my family and friends (mostly sister and friend). It has been awhile since I have updated, and even longer since I had first published this story. Thank you to my reviewers and bear with me for future chapters to come. Read on, my merry friends. Your reviews are greatly appreciated.