Tom Riddle was not a happy camper.

His followers we steadily declining. He had to camp out in the woods like one of the stupid mudbloods because someone burned down the Manors that were befitting of his status. Most of the pureblood lords who funded his campaign died and their vaults were sealed. Someone had the nerve to fight back against him.

And on top of that, there were rumors that that blasted girl, Melody Potter, was back on British soil.

Suddenly, he had a vision of a dark haired girl dressed in silver glaring at him. 'It's Melody Pearl!' she shouted.

No, Tom Riddle was not a happy camper.

He turned back to the table, looking at various newspaper clippings and items that Severus and some of his other spies had fetched for him. An old picture here, a tattered book there. This was the Potter―Pearl girl's life.

Eerily, Tom could see many similarities between them. They both had dark hair, both were sorted into Slytherin, both were abandoned and neglected, both were parselmouths, both had been involved in the Chamber of Secrets, both tried so hard to be recognized, both had disappeared for years and come back changed.

And that's where the similarities ended.

One of his Death Eaters had managed to survive a raid and made it back to him. He had a stab wound in his stomach that refused to heal. Before he bled out, he had told his lord that a trio of girls wearing silver had attacked them. The Death Eater had given Tom his memory before dying.

Tom Riddle would never admit it, but what he saw terrified him.

The three girls had come out of nowhere, wielding silver knives and bows with hoods hiding their features. They had cut through the ranks of Death Eaters like they were butter, moving at inhuman speeds and lifting ridiculous amounts of weight. The Death Eater who had delivered the memory was stabbed in his stomach before apparating away. Before he left, the girl who stabbed him's hood had fallen down her shoulders.

Tom had paused the memory then to take in her appearance. She was pretty, he supposed, but he cared about who she was.

She had long dark hair with red highlights that streaked through her hair. Her eyes were almond shaped and were a bright, almost unnatural, sea green with speaks of emerald and gold. She had a small button nose and pink lips.

And she looked exactly like how Melody Pot―Pearl looked twelve years ago.

This had sent Riddle into a rage. How did she still look fourteen? Had she discovered the secret to immortality when banished? Had she become some kind of god? How had this happened?

Then, like a whisper in the back of his mind, an answer came to him.

Severus had said that he was bound under oath to not share what had been said by the Pearl girl in the meeting. All he could say is that the Pearl girl had come with two of her sisters, that she had the largest family in the world, and she was not a person to mess with. Apparently she was powerful. Extremely powerful.

Severus, his faithful spy, told him that the Pearl girl had been in America all these years.

So to America he would go.

Tom would go to America, kill Melody Pearl's family so he could strike a blow against her and weaken her spirit, and then he could kill her. He smiled. Yes, he liked this plan very much.

…

"No."

"But Melody," Astrid whined. "It'll be so much fun!"

I gave my sister an unimpressed look. "No."

She pouted. "Meanie."

"Astrid, as much as I would love to, blowing up the Ministry of Magic is not a good idea," Thalia called from her room.

A beeping sound came from the hallway. We ran to where our small radar that showed Death Eater activity was attached to the wall.

"Attack on Greengrass Manor," Thalia announced.

"Aren't they a neutral family?" Astrid asked me. "Yeah," I nodded in agreement. "They must have said no too many times for Riddle to be happy."

We stepped out of the tent and took it down before Thalia and Astrid grabbed my hands. I apparated us to Greengrass Manor and we leapt into the fight below.

The wards seemed to be holding for now, but I could tell that that wouldn't be the case in a few minutes.

Up ahead, we could see the imposing figure of Tom Riddle.

"Oh my gods," Astrid said in awe. "He has no nose."

They must have heard us because Riddle and the Death Eaters turned to us.

"Hi!" I waved cheerfully. "Lovely day, isn't it?"

"Melody Potter," Riddle said. "Come to die?"

He moved out of the way as a cutting curse was aimed in the direction of a certain… asset.

"You know," I sai conversationally to Thalia. "I keep telling people that it's Melody Pearl, but I don't think they're getting the message."

Thalia sighed in mock sadness and activated her shield. "I think we need to rectify that."

We charged down the hill to meet the oncoming Death Eaters. Some made the smart choice and Disapparated when they saw Thalia's shield. Others tried to take on Astrid who looked easier because she was the smallest. That was a mistake. Astrid is a demon with her twin katanas.

We made it about half way to Riddle when something changed. The Death Eaters took out hidden weapons. Thalia burst out laughing. "Really? You think you can beat us with weapons other than your stupid sticks? Idiots!"

It went a bit slower now that they were using magic and weapons, but we were still better. Astrid went for the snake, while Thalia ran inside the Manor to get the Greengrass family out safely.

"Hello, Tom," I smiled coldly.

"Pearl," He snarled, angry with the use of his real name. "Bow to death."

I shrugged. "I'll bow to him when I meet him. I've met many members of my family, but Thanatos has not been one of them yet."

Using his split second confusion, I leapt at him, my silver knives flashing in the fading light.

I used one of the knives to block a killing curse and the other was thrown impaling his arm when he tried to put up a shield charm. I made a pulling motion with my hand and the knife was returned to my hand.

I ducked under the next killing curse he sent at me and was now close enough that I kicked his chest, forcing him back. He drew a knife and tried to cut me, but was clearly experienced with it beyond potions making.

I kicked the knife out of his hand and used his shoulders as a springboard to flip over his head to his other side. I landed in a crouch and kicked out, sweeping his legs out from under him. I was about to stab his chest when he rolled out of the way.

I glanced at Astrid who was struggling with Nagini. Just because her father's sacred animal was a snake doesn't mean they like her. Trust me, I've met some rude horses.

I turned back to Riddle who was trying to fire off a killing curse while I was distracted. I leapt out of the way. "Coward," I snarled as I threw a knife into his chest. "You wait until your opponent is facing you."

Riddle gasped in pain as I leapt forward and pushed my knife into his chest deeper than it had been.

"So again I say," I hissed to him. "Coward.'

I yanked my knife out of his chest and took a step back, watching dispassionately as he stumbled back, gurgling on his own blood.

"Here's a tip," I told him. "Never come between a Hunter and her family."

Riddle grabbed something from his pocket. A rock. "No!" I leapt forward as he activated the portkey. In desperation, I threw my knife, aiming for his head. Unfortunately, he left before it could impale him.

I screamed in rage and threw my other knife at Nagini's head, killing her at the same time Astrid brought a katana down on her neck. Astrid looked up at me, annoyed. "I had that, thank you."

I turned on my heel and hunted for the knife that missed Riddle in the snow, muttering a few choice curses under my breath as I went.

Thalia led the Greengrass family out of the house and stopped when she saw us. "Did you get him?" she asked. I glared at her and muttered something unfit for young ears under my breath.

Thalia raised an eyebrow. "Wow. That wasn't so nice. Care to elaborate?"

Louder I said, "He got away. He had an emergency portkey on him."

Thalia's expression cleared in understanding.

"Melody Potter?!"

I turned in surprise to see a grown up Daphne Greengrass. My face cooled to a mask that could rival the blonde's.

"Pearl, Miss. Greengrass," I bowed my head to her. "Melody Pearl."

Daphne looked confused. "But you're so young! What happened?"

I shot her a cool look before turning away. "Life. Thalia, Astrid, let's go."

They grabbed onto my hands and I Disapparated us away.

…

Melody Potter? Or Melody Pearl?

By Rita Skeeter

Ladies and gentlemen, it is my pride and pleasure to announce that it has been confirmed that the Girl-Who-Lived is back on British soil.

It was confirmed last night by one Daphne Greengrass that Melody is back and fighting You-Know-Who.

"It was getting dark when the wards alerted us to someone trying to get through," Miss. Greengrass told me yesterday. "I looked outside and… and I saw You-Know-Who leading an army of Death Eaters to our Manor. All of a sudden, three girls appeared dressed in black and silver. It was too far away for me to clearly see their faces."

"They drew weapons," Daphne's younger sister, Astoria, told me. "It was all made out of silver. There were bows, knives, and strange swords that didn't look like the ones around here. They attacked the Death Eaters, kill a lot of them."

"The Death Eaters seemed like they were expecting them," Daphne recalled. "They pulled out weapons to fight with. One of the girls laughed like they were amused. They still won easily. When all of the Death Eaters were gone, they split up. The first one went for You-Know-Who, the second went for the snake, and the third one ran inside the Manor."

"She introduced herself as Thalia," Astoria informed me. "She had really short black hair and electric blue eyes. She was dressed in what looked like muggle clothes. She had a couple knives strapped to her belt, a spear in her hand and the most terrifying shield on her wrist I have ever seen. She said she was going to protect us while her sisters took care of You-Know-Who and the snake."

"We hid in the second floor and watched the fight outside. The girl fighting You-Know-Who nearly killed him, but he had an emergency portkey and left before she could finish the deed. You-Know-Who's snake was killed and the fight was over," Mrs. Amathea Greengrass said. "Thalia led us out of the house to the girls she called her sister."

"The girl who fought You-Know-Who turned around, and to my shock, I recognized her as Melody Potter, who had been in my class at Hogwarts," Daphne said. "But the thing was, she looked so young! She still looked fourteen, not twenty six. I called her and she told me her name was Melody Pearl, not Potter."

"She called her sisters, Thalia and Astrid, and they Disapparated," Mr. Charles Greengrass reported. "We cleaned up and owled the Daily Prophet."

Now, dear readers, I ask you this. Where has Melody been these past twelve years? Why did she run away? How is she so young? Why would she change her name? Inquisitive minds want to know!

…

I threw the newspaper to my side and rubbed my temples. "Great," I sighed. "More people are going to find out. Especially because Ronald Weasley can't keep his mouth shut when it means he'll get attention."

"We could threaten Weasley," Thalia offered as she sharpened the point of her spear. "That'll get him to be quiet."

Astrid snorted. "As much as I hate to admit it, you can't threaten every man you come across."

I smirked. "Nah. Just most of them."

"So do we know where Riddle went?" Arthur Weasley brought us back to the meeting we were in the middle of.

"Sorry," I smiled sheepishly. "But no, we don't He could have bled out, our knives are charmed to be magic resistant and to keep the wound open. Either that or he could have made another horcrux because he knows we killed his snake."

"He could be too arrogant to make another horcrux," Hermione suggested. "He might think that we were just trying to kill the snake because it was a threat. He might think that we don't know about his horcruxes and that he's safe because he believes he has six more."

I nodded. "That's possible. Let's hope that that's what happened."

"Um, Melody," Hermione looked down. "My parents were attacked yesterday."

Everyone gasped in understanding and I gathered Hermione in a big hug as she cried.

"And the worst thing is is that Dumbledore promised to protect them. He did nothing!" she sobbed.

I rubbed her back making soothing noises. She sat back when she was out of tears and blew her nose on the tissue I offered her. "Sorry," she mumbled. I shook my head sadly. "It's okay, Hermione. We've lost many sisters," I gestured to Thalia and Astrid.

"Miss. Pearl," Kingsley handed me a stack of files. "I accioed the Death Eaters files. There are a bunch of names that we expected like Nott, Malfoy, and Goyle, but there are also some not so expected names."

"Like?" I raised an eyebrow. He swallowed. "Wood, Goldenstein, and Turpin."

"Wood?!" Fred shouted. "Oliver Wood?" asked George. Kingsley shook his head. "No. His father, Tyler."

I nodded. "We can start bringing in the Death Eaters to the Ministry, Dark Mark showing. Meanwhileー"

A shimmer in the corner caught my attention and we all turned to the Iris Message.

"Lord Apollo," I bowed to the sun god. The mortals hurried to follow my example. "Why don't you go to the sitting room?" I suggested to the Order members who defected. They nodded and shuffled out of the room we were using for meetings.

"How may we be of service?" I asked.

"Melody, Riddle came to America," Apollo told my sisters and I seriously.

I let out a cursed and slammed my fist into the table. "So that's where he went," I growled. "Has Hades given the Furies full reign?"

Apollo nodded his head. "Yes. Riddle didn't bring any of his followers with him thankfully. We're not one hundred percent sure why he's here, but we think he's trying to strike at you by attacking your family." He smirked. "He's going to have a hard time finding us."

Astrid laughed. "Thank you, Lord Apollo. We appreciate the warning. We'll be there soon."

Apollo slashed through the connection and we stepped out of the dining room.

"How do you guys feel about America?" Thalia asked the assembled Order.

…

Most of the Order stayed in England to round up the remaining Death Eaters. Moody, Hermione, and the Weasley twins came with us.

The portkey landed in the woods close the Hunt was. "Ready?" I asked, checking my equipment over.

"When are you ever ready to meet a male hating goddess?" George muttered.

"They're three miles east from here," Astrid shaded her eyes as she checked the sun.

"Three miles?" Fred asked. "What are you, pack mules?" I shot him an annoyed look. "No. This is just the way we live."

We started off towards the camp. "Where in America are we?" Moody asked us.

Astrid and Thalia burst out laughing as I turned red. "Little Rock, Arkansas," I grumbled.

"How's that for ridiculous?" Astrid teased me.

I shoved her playfully. "Shut up you."

"So why are you laughing?" Hermione asked. I glared at my sisters. "No you may not tell them."

Astrid pouted. "But Melody!"

"No."

"Butー"

"I said no, Thalia!"

"Why?"

"Because we're not discussing my mistakes right now!"

"What happened?" the twins asked.

Astrid grinned mischievously. "Melody got arrested," she sang.

I waved my hand and Thalia and Astrid were silenced.

"There," I nodded in satisfaction.

Both of my sisters pouted at me and we continued onwards for two more hours.

Thalia, Astrid, and I could have run there in a few minutes, but we would have left the others behind. We stopped just before we reached the camp where we were still out of earshot.

"First things first," I said once I unsilenced my sisters. "Do not hit on any of the girls," I told the men. "Hermione, don't ask too many questions. You can ask some, yes, but if you start going on a rant about how some of the stuff we do is inhumane, we can't help you escape the consequences." The bushy haired girl pouted and nodded.

"In fact…" I waved my hand and Moody, Fred, and George were silenced as a precaution. "Bow when you see Artemis and treat her with great respect," I warned them. "Moody, don't be paranoid. Nothing can hurt you but an angry goddess. Fred and George, no pranks. You're lucky Lady Artemis is letting you be here without being turned into jackalopes. Let's go."

We walked into camp. Astrid went to add our tent to the crescent and Thalia and I led the group to Artemis. Several of my sisters waved to us when they say we were back and sneered in disgust at the boys we had unfortunately brought back with us.

I knocked on the tent flap to Artemis's tent and a quiet "Come in" sounded from within.

Thalia opened the door and we entered.

We bowed to Artemis who was standing over a table with figurines that moved in accordance to real life. Figures of monsters and other creatures decorated the woods and rivers of America. She was planning our next Hunt.

"My Lady," I smiled. "We're back."

She smiled warmly at Thalia, Hermione, Astrid who had entered the tent a few seconds ago, and I, but her lips thinned when she saw the twins and Moody.

"I see your brought back… souvenirs," she said, motioning to the boys. I smirked at her. "They've been silenced to be on the safe side, my Lady."

She chuckled. "I am aware, Melody. I can sense your magic cloaking them. Now, Riddle was last spotted in these woods. We've been tracking him since he reached America. Uncle Hades is most displeased with him."

"Duh," Astrid rolled her eyes. "He's been trying to cheat Thanatos. Of course he wouldn't be happy."

Artemis sighed in a resigned manner. "Astrid. Astute as ever." The daughter of Hermes grinned cheekily. "You know me, Lady Artemis. That's why you recruited me in the first place. You need someone to liven up your day."

Artemis rolled her eyes. "Of course. How could I forget?"

"You can't," Thalia deadpanned.

"The males can sleep in front of the fire. They're lucky I'm not turning them into jackalopes," Artemis waved a hand in their direction as a clear dismissal. I sent them stern looks. "Go to the fire and sit down. Don't do or touch anything."

The left the tent and Artemis led us to a sitting room and gestured to us to sit down.

"Now," she turned to Hermione. "What is your name, my dear girl?"

Hermione looked startled that a goddess was addressing her. "Hermione Granger, ma'am."

Artemis smiled warmly. "Why are you here, Hermione?"

Hermione blinked in confusion. "To kill Voldemort of course."

Artemis laughed. "Hermione, that's not all. What else, child?"

She bit her lip. "No offense, ma'am, but I wasn't sure that Melody was telling the truth. About gods, I mean. Now… now I'm not so sure. I mean… you have this strange energy around you that I don't think is normal. It's too strong to be a witch's magic. So, I don't know. But… I think you are a goddess and the gods of Olympus exist."

Astrid and I exchanged looks. It seemed like Artemis was about to set up another Bonnie situation.

Bonnie joined the Hunt four years ago. She was a twenty eight year old daughter of Hephaestus. Artemis had still accepted her, she just deaged her to make her look thirteen again.

"Hermione," Artemis began gently. "Your parents died recently, correct?"

Hermione looked shocked. "How do you know that?"

Artemis smiled grimly. "I can sense things like that around young maidans such as yourself. Now, am I correct in assuming that muggleborns don't have very many opportunities in the magical world?"

Hermione shook her head. "No, ma'am. I did research during my last year at Hogwarts. There weren't many options at all, and I wasn't smart enough to continue my non magical education, so there are no options in the muggle world either. My parents are dead, so I can't live with them and learn and take over their practice. My only option is marrying a pureblood and hoping for the best. But if I marry, I want it to be for love, not because everyone says I should or I need to. But the only pureblood who would be willing is Ronald Weasley and he… he's not really a good person. He wants a wife like his mother, cooking large meals, giving birth to children every few years, and wait on him hand and foot. On top of that, he's lazy, has horrible manners, eats everything he can get his hands on, and won't be able to secure a suitable job. In the magical world, they still have things like marriage contracts, and they allow slavery, and anything that's not a wizards aren't given equal rights, not to mention the prejudice against muggleborns. Wives aren't allowed to do anything that their husbands say they can't do, they're bound by magic. And Iー" her emotions caught up with her rant and she started crying. "I don't know what to do!"

When she calmed down, I handed her a conjured tissue and she wiped her eyes. "My apologies, my Lady," she said more evenly. "I didn't mean to rant like that."

Artemis laughed and beamed at her. "It's quite alright, Hermione. What if I told you I could help you with your problems?"

Hermione looked slightly hopeful. "You could do that?"

Artemis nodded. "I could. A couple slight adjustments could be made, but it would work out in the end."

She paused for greater effect.

"Hermione Granger, will you join the Hunt?"

…

So? I feel so accomplished! That's four chapters in four days!

On Hermione's rant, I feel like Ronmione shouldn't exist. I mean, the entire series Ron was terrible to her with like one spot of niceness at the end. Said spot of niceness at the end was in the books was the bit about remembering the rule about the law of transfiguration, Gawmp's Law, or whatever. Then they got together. I just don't really get it.

Tell me what you think! Should Hermione be deaged and join the Hunt? Should she turn Artemis down (politely, of course) and try and be ambitious enough to go on with her life?

I am sorry about killing off the Grangers, however. I just feel like Dumbledore promises a lot of things but doesn't go through with them.

Thank you to all who followed, favorited, and reviewed! My corner is itsy in the Fanfiction world, so the sheer amount of responses astounds me. Thank you so much!

Review! What did you like, what did you hate? Tell me! I wish to know!

~mirasecret