It was officially time for the first task of the tournament. Harry was pacing the waiting tent anxiously, freaking out internally. "Pssst." Melanie called from behind the tent. She had been going mad with concern. Dragon?! Would he make it? Would he get hurt? Or worse? It was too much, but she had to keep it bottled up, for his sake.

Harry leaned towards the tent's wall. "Pssst." She called again. "Harry, is that you?" She questioned.
"Melanie?"
"Yes, Harry. How…how are you feeling?" She asked in concern, failing to hide it. She'd come to wish him luck, encourage him, tell him it would be alright, but it felt like she was the one who needed to hear that.

He was more than happy she was here, even considered running out of the tent and getting her help in hiding, but that wasn't a valid option. He stayed silent, not really knowing what to say. He was scared, no, terrified, and she could feel it. "It'll be alright, Harry. You just have to concentrate, then you'll"-
"Battle a dragon?" He finished grimly. Melanie winces at the words, the reality of the situation hitting her hard. Without thinking, she rushed into the tent and engulfed Harry in a tight 'don't go' hug. He hugs back with equal pressure.

A camera flashes and a certain Rita Skeeter enters with her camera man close behind. "Young love! Ohh how…stirring. If everything goes unfortunately today, you might make the front page." She said bluntly. How could she say that?! Melanie was about to tell her off when Victor Krum beat her to it.
"You have no business here." He starts. "This tent is for champions and friends." Rita flashes him a dirty look.
"No matter. We've got what we wanted." She last said before leaving. Melanie had a bad feeling about the reporter's words.

Dumbledore soon enters and asks the champions to circle around him. About to explain, Dumbledore turns to Melanie, confused. "What are you doing here, miss Redwing?" He questioned.
"I was just leaving." She told, giving Harry's hand an assuring squeeze and flashing him a weak smile before she left completely.

….

The first trial was indeed, a massive success. Melanie couldn't believe it when Harry used his wand to call on his broom, tipping the odds in his favor with his flying skills, but the moment the dragon got lose and flew after him, the crowd went crazy, waiting for a full six minutes for both their returns, and, to most people's surprise, not only did Harry win, he did it with style.

The Gryffindors celebrated in their Common Room. Harry had apparently won some kind of a golden egg, and unfortunately, when he opened it, the only thing that could be heard was an endless, ear-piercing scream. It was supposed to be a clue to the next task, but until he figured it out, it was junk.

On another note, Harry and Ron were back to being buddies, quite suddenly at that. The four friends were back to being a functional, loving group.

The next morning, the four friends are seated together in the Great Hall on the Gryffindor table. It felt like it had been so long ago since they'd done so, with all the things that had been going on with the two boys, but that was all in the past now.

From across the room, Cho smiles at Harry, who stupidly smiles back without swallowing his drink, making it spill from his mouth. Hermione chuckled from his side, Ron was engrossed with a muffin and Melanie was gawking at the first page of the Daily Prophet.

"Unbelievable." She muttered. Ron turned to see what she was looking at.
"What?" He asked, then burst into laughter when he saw it. She punched him in the arm. "Ow!"
"What's wrong?" Hermione asked, looking as curious as Harry.
"Look at this!" She turned the page to them. Hermione immediately covered her laughter with her hand.
"You've got to be kidding me." Harry commented bitterly. Melanie started looking around, people were stealing glances at them and pointing.
"I hate rumors." She said irritably.
"Don't worry, Mel. I'm sure it'll pass. At least she didn't ship you with Draco." Hermione said. Melanie turned to her sharply.
"What?! Why would she do that?!" She asked in shock, feeling her pulse rise at the mention of his name, now wondering what his reaction would be to reading this. She wouldn't hear the end of his mockery.
"More like 'why hasn't she already?'." Ron commented from beside her.
"Excuse me!" She yelled at him. He looked at her innocently.
"Well, I mean…" Before he found the words that would save his life, Nigel appeared with a wrapping.
"Parcel for you, Mr. Weasley." He said respectfully, handing it to him.
"Thank you, Nigel." Ron told in relief. Nigel stood still, gazing at Harry. Ron notices. "Not now, Nigel. Later. Go on." He instructed, his friends eyeing him suspiciously. Nigel scuttles away.

Ron turns to find his friends staring at him expectantly. "I told him I'd get him Harry's autograph." He explains, they nod understandingly. Nigel's always looked up to Harry. Melanie found it quite adorable, but it sometimes annoyed Harry. Ron picks up the note "Look, mom sent me something." He says. He unwraps the object. It's a cloth of some sort. He gets up and dangles it to get a proper look. "Mum sent me a dress?" He asked, perplexed. Melanie chuckles at the comment.
"Well, it does match your eyes." Harry jokes and the two other girls laugh at that. Ron glares at Harry, but he doesn't notice. "Is there a bonnet?" He asks, searching the paper wraps. "Aha!" He found it. Ron rolls his eyes and walks towards where Ginny was seating some ways from the group with her own friends.
"Ginny, these must be for you." He told.
"I'm not wearing that, it's ghastly." She comments in disgust. His friends laugh at how oblivious he was. He snaps to them.
"What are you on about?" He asked in annoyance, and confusion.
"They're not for Ginny, they're for you. Dress robes!" Hermione explains, bursting into laughter once more.

….

The group were headed towards Potions and Melanie felt butterflies in her stomach, knowing she was going to be sharing with Draco again. She hoped she'd get used to it soon, her feelings were driving her crazy.

He came in a few minutes later, and the minute he spotted her, he grew bitter. Ever since the morning, when he'd seen the Daily Prophet, he was feeling the need to punch something, preferably Harry's face. He didn't know what it was he felt, but he knew he didn't like it. Was it betrayal? Jealousy? Those weren't feelings he was accustomed with.

He reluctantly took his seat by her side. "Hey." She greeted sweetly like she always did, and it bothered him even more now.
"Whatever." He replied coldly. She furrowed her eyebrows at him.
"What's with the scowl?" She asked in concern.
"None of your business, Redwing." He told off. She looked a bit taken aback.
"When you're speaking to me like that, it is." She stated firmly and he felt the faintest bit of guilt. He sighed tiredly.
"Did you do the assignment or not?" He asked quickly, trying to change the subject. She played along, hoping he got the hint.
"As a matter of fact, I did." She replied, he scoffed. She sharply turned to him. "What was that for?!" She asked in both confusion and irritation.
"Nothing. Just surprised you had the time." He replied casually, but his words felt heavy to her.
"And what is that exactly supposed to mean?" She questioned.
"Well, you know. I thought you'd have rather been off snogging with your boyfriend." She widened her eyes. He then shook his head and turned to her heatedly.
"Why did you even bother denying it before?" He asked irritably.
"Is that what this is about?" She asked back angrily. He stayed silent.

She was about to retort harshly, but picked up on something of peculiar interest. She arched an eyebrow. "Are…are you jealous, Draco?" She questioned curiously, eyeing him carefully. He scoffed again.
"Me? Jealous of Potter?! You're mental." That was all she needed to hear to confirm her suspicion. The butterflies in her stomach grew restless again, her cheeks blushing hard. She looked away and he watched her intently, wondering if she'd cracked him. He couldn't tell.

Professor Trelawney walks into the classroom, saying that Snape was absent for the day, which was rare, but not impossible. It at least gave Melanie a proper chance to clear things between her and Draco.

"Well, for the record. I never denied it, because it was never true, and it still isn't." She turned to him seriously. "Harry's my best friend. He's like a brother to me, and I will never see him any other way." She stated firmly. He didn't believe her.
"That's not what the news said." He told.
"And you would take Rita Skeeter's word over mine?" She asked in disappointment, but he was looking away.
"Then how do you explain the photo, Redwing?" He asked, hoping he didn't sound as jealous as she thought he was.
"It was just a hug! Friends do that, you know, during times of fear, sadness, and even joy. If your friends cared about you, you'd know that." She told. The comment didn't bother him. He knew his friends didn't care about him, and he didn't care about them, but she didn't find her words appropriate, she found them hurtful and immediately regret them. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way." He shook his head dismissively.
"No, Redwing." He sighed. "You're not wrong." He told blankly. She eyed him sympathetically.
"Well, for what it's worth. I consider you my friend, and…I do care about you." She smiled warmly, it took a lot of guts to say that. He could barely believe the words escaping her lips, and couldn't help the smile growing on his.

….