Time passes, and soon enough, Melanie's fifth year starts off with quite the bang. At Sirius's house, her, Hermione and Ron discuss Harry and his position against the ministry as they await his arrival. He was alright, which was saying something, seeing as he supposedly fought against not one, but three Dementors, and to be punished for it?! Preposterous!
During the summer, all three friends, but Harry, were informed of the Order of the Phoenix, the organization that Dumbledore himself built back in the past to fight against Voldemort. The order consisted of several of Melanie's most favorite people. Aside from her grandmother and a few others, there was Sirius himself, which Melanie had grown to like very much and admired his care for Harry, there was Lupin, her once favorite professor, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, the real, much nicer Mad-Eye Moody, and, to her great distaste, Severus Snape.
Upon hearing this, Melanie was quite surprised, but, nevertheless, satisfied with knowing that there were truly people out there who believed Harry, who knew Voldemort was coming back and were doing something to stop it, to avenge Cedric.
However, Melanie was devastated with the fact that she, and the other two, were banned, by Dumbledore himself, from speaking a word about the organization to Harry, meaning he had been kept in the dark, for safety reasons, and lied to by non-other than his closest friends.
She knew he'd be upset, but if Dumbledore thought it was necessary for his protection, then so be it.
As expected, with Harry's arrival, and his friends finally coming out to him with the truth, he was more than upset, but he understood, and didn't hold it against them.
Dinner time arrives and, as they eat, the Order discusses with Harry how the minister was trying to cover the truth of Voldemort's return by any means possible, which drove him into a fit of rage, but there was nothing any one could do to change that.
The next morning, Harry's taken to the ministry by Mr. Weasley and is put on trial for use of underage magic in the muggle world. With Dumbledore's interference, the trial ends with Harry proven innocent and able to return to Hogwarts as a regular student.
With that cleared, the four friends ready themselves for another mysterious year at the ever-surprising school of wizardry.
….
At the train station, the friends get split up in the crowd. Harry heads up to speak to Sirius, who had appeared to give him one last word of advice, Ron and Hermione were already inside the train, and Melanie, being Melanie, was lost, and looking for her friends.
She eventually gave up and decided to look for them within the train itself, that is before she was shoved by the crowd into something, or rather, someone quite harshly. Losing her balance, she would have fallen back, had it not been for the two strong arms to hold her up before she toppled over.
"Gosh, Redwing! I know you've missed me, but I didn't think you'd go as far as throwing yourself into my arms!" A deep voice said, a voice she recognized all too well. She looked up into the striking grey eyes of Draco Malfoy, who smirked down at her admirably, studying every detail of her ever-glowing face. To say the least, she was as mesmerized with him as he was her.
Summer hadn't been quiet between them. On a certain day, Melanie had taken the decision to write to him, and it didn't go in vain. They spoke of nothing in particular, mostly played riddles, but for something like this to happen between them in the first place was a big step forward.
She giggled at his comment, making his heart jump. He hadn't heard her laugh for so long, it felt like an eternity. "It's just your luck, Draco. Always around when I'm down." She joked. He grinned, helping her stand up straight.
"Well then, that makes the odds in both our favors." He told. She arched an eyebrow at that, her own grin still there, her heart beat rising. Had he just flat out admitted that he liked catching her fall? He did.
They were stood several inches apart, trying as much as possible not to collide with the ever-growing crowd. She could feel his icy breath on her skin and couldn't stop smiling, nor blushing, at how close they were. In that very moment, she'd realized just how much she'd truly missed him and everything that used to go on between them, everything he made her feel.
"Draco, dear." Malfoy's mother, Narcissa Malfoy, beckoned, coming by him, not noticing Melanie yet. She was an aging woman with a kind face, which was something you couldn't over look, though her attire was just as dark as the rest of her household, not that Melanie complained about their dark choice of wardrobe, black looked good on them and it made Draco all the more irresistible.
"Have you seen-Oh, hello there!" She greeted. Melanie smiled up at her brightly, quite content with the woman's politeness.
"Hi! You must be Mrs. Malfoy. I'm Melanie." She put out her hand. Narcissa smiled graciously at her, and took it, shaking softly. She smirks at her son, who's too distracted by Melanie's presence and her attitude towards his beloved mother.
"Why, indeed I am, dear. Are you a friend of Draco's?" Narcissa asks. Melanie hesitates in answering. She knew his family's reputation for hating all non-Slytherins.
"Um…" She glances at him. He catches on and answers for her.
"Yes, she is." He tells firmly, making the Redwing much happier than she thought she'd be for hearing him say it out loud.
Narcissa smiles at that, but then furrows her eyebrows in confusion. "But I know all of your Slytherin friends. I would have remembered someone as sweet as Melanie here." She smiled Melanie's way, Melanie smiled back politely. Draco chuckled at his mother's comment, knowing full and well just how sweet Melanie was. "She's not Slytherin, mum. She's a Gryffindor." He told without a hint of concern, Melanie however, was quite wary of his mother's reaction to that, but was surprised to see the woman's smile grow.
"Really?! Oh, how exciting! Someone who isn't as"- Draco cocks an eyebrow at his mother. She bit her tongue before accidentally insulting his entire group of badly influential friends. "As 'standard' as your group of friends." She tries, making Draco shake his head irritably and Melanie chuckle. He knew his mother didn't like his friends, but she didn't have to publically declare it!
The train honks in the distance, signaling the students to haste. "You two best head off now. It's been a pleasure, dear." Narcissa tells Melanie.
"Likewise, Mrs. Malfoy." Melanie replies. Narcissa turns to her son.
"Take care, darling." She pats his shoulder; he smiles at her without a hint of embarrassment for the way she was treating him.
His mother used to be the only source of compassion he'd ever get, until he met Melanie that is, and that was why he'd allow his mother to treat him however she saw fit in public, and whoever was to say a word against that, or her, he'd make pay greatly. "Will do, mum." He last says.
Melanie is in awe at the exchange that went on between the mother and the son. Seeing him being nice to someone other than herself was good for a change. Always trust a man who respects his parents in her opinion, and she was glad he'd managed to earn her trust even before seeing that.
Draco steps up beside the dazed Melanie and places a hand on her back, forcing her to move gently as the train readied to leave. Melanie waved one last goodbye at his mother, making him smile brightly. He was more than happy his mother and his…'friend' were getting along so well.
She was well aware of where his hand was placed, and was too stiff to do anything about it, not that she wanted to do anything about it.
She smirks back up at him. Not quite believing this was the Draco Malfoy that used to taunt her all those years ago, the same boy who loves his mother and calls her a friend. How people change was beyond Melanie, but they did, and that's what mattered most.
"Your mother is very nice." She comments cheerfully. Seeing how much he cared for her, she thought getting on his good side was a grand idea, and it seemed that on his good side was his mother. Melanie had a lot to thank her for.
"Yes. And I'm sure she thinks the same of you, Redwing." He tells, eyeing the train for the entrance, his hand still firmly placed on her back, making sure she didn't fall or get lost yet again.
"Does that bother you?" She asks curiously. Far from it.
He turns his eyes to hers, smiling softly. "No." He utters, making a blush creep up her cheeks at the way he looked at her, a way she never quite understood, a look he rarely gave her, arousing the butterflies in her stomach, the ones that only showed up whenever he was around, or even when his name was brought up in a conversation. He had quite the effect on her, but she knew she was as effective on him as he was on her.
They reach the door and hustle up, pushing through the thick fog of students. They're forced to walk in a straight line, him behind her. She sees Harry enter a compartment, he doesn't notice her. "Well, that's my stop." She tells.
"Try not to get lost on the way." Draco teases. She chuckles and looks over her shoulder at him momentarily. He's smirking down at her, and she shakes her head at how much she'd truly missed that smug face.
"I'll see you around, Draco." She last says before reaching her compartment door and pushing herself in.
….
"Where have you been?!" Hermione asks impatiently the moment Melanie enters the compartment. She had been worried sick! thinking the train would leave without her.
Melanie widens her eyes at the sudden impact, and, instead of answering, she turns to Harry beside her, whom she'd seen come in seconds before herself.
"Did she harass you too?" She asked, he smirked at his friend, and was cut off by Hermione before he could answer.
"No! Because I knew he was off talking with Sirius, but you were supposed to be right behind us!" Hermione yells furiously.
"I got lost!" Melanie tells innocently, making Ron laugh, which earned him a death glare from the girl beside him, immediately shutting him up.
To ease the tension, Melanie explained further. "Then I had a run in with Draco and his mom." She told. The three others widen their eyes. Harry scoffs.
"What was that like?" He asks.
"Yeah! The mother of the devil himself!" Ron exclaims excitedly, making both girls roll their eyes and Harry grin.
"I'll have you know; she was very nice." Melanie told seriously. Ron scoffs in disbelieve.
"Rubbish!" He waves off.
"Not! She seemed to really hate Draco's other friends too, and was very pleased to see someone well-mannered for a change." Hermione smiles at that. It was nice to hear not everyone in Draco's family was a total tool. She then smirked at her friend.
"And I bet he was just as happy to see you." She states.
"Hermione!" Melanie warns, making Harry chuckle and Ron grin.
When once visiting her friend in her house, Hermione had found the letters Draco had sent back to Melanie. She interrogated her for nearly two hours! Making sure she got every bit of truth. She wasn't very happy about it, knowing what Draco's father was, a Death Eater, and when attempting to use common sense with her friend, she would refuse, saying that just because his father was one, doesn't mean he was going to be one too, which Hermione didn't agree with, but after so many tries, she eventually stopped trying to convince her friend, whose mind was made up, and she still wanted to know if Melanie felt for Draco, but her friend wouldn't give her the satisfaction of that knowledge, mostly because she didn't know herself, and she was yet to see if Draco felt something for her too.
One thing Hermione knew though, was that her friend didn't like it when she brought up the subject in public, and since she just had, she decided to quickly cover the subject with another. "So, Harry. What did Sirius say?" She asks, Harry smiles at the encounter.
"He just wanted to see me off." He told, barely able to hide how that made him feel, to have someone care enough to take such a high risk only to give a piece of that childhood he never got a taste of.
Harry furrowed his eyebrows, thinking his friends would probably want to see it. He reaches in his pocket. "He, uh…also wanted to give me this." He says, handing Hermione the photograph of the old Order of the Phoenix.
Hermione creases her forehead at it in thought. "It's the Order of the Phoenix…Your parents." She smiles sympathetically at him.
"Yeah." He calls gloomily, Melanie placing a hand on his shoulder, he smiles gratefully at her.
Hermione studies the photograph some more, calling out the names of the people she knew, which was everyone, taking it as far as implying who was killed and how, except for Harry's parents of course.
Melanie hated the topic. So many people died to take out the darkness. Neville's parents! Why would anyone want to hurt them?!
The ride to Hogwarts was a quiet one, Harry fell asleep by the window, so Melanie placed his head on her lap before he got a neck cramp. The three awake friends spoke softly, about nothing in particular. Hermione and Ron were bickering or, more accurately, flirting, and all Melanie could do was grin at them.
Her two best friends, together! It was quite the thought, and only a matter of time before it became true. They were a perfect match, she knew, ever since the year before, when Ron lashed out at Hermione at the Yule ball. It was because he was jealous he wasn't the one who asked her first, because he fancied her! They even fought like a married couple. All. The. Time.
Melanie's thoughts were interrupted when Hermione advised to wake up Harry, seeing as they were five minutes away from the castle and the beginning of another year.
….