After lunch, the four friends, like several others, crept towards the Room of Requirements, in an umpteenth attempt to exceed their defenses, and it was working, but nothing was ever easily achieved.

Soon after their movement, the Inquisitorials group followed with quick pace. Though Harry and the others were temporarily out of sight, filling the rest of the students into the room, their actions didn't go unnoticed.

Draco, in great hurry, spotted Melanie and Harry, the last two behind, headed towards the door. The two noted the Malfoy, who gave Melanie one mischievous look before hurrying in the opposite direction and yelling for his group to follow, diverting all Inquisitorials' attention to a false lead.

Melanie smiled mockingly at Harry, who gave a quick head shake of disbelieve that Draco had actually helped them. Upon entering, the two, along with the rest of the students, continue their daily training, which was, as always, a massive success, and thanks to Malfoy, it became ten times easier to accomplish it every day, but they all knew, it wouldn't last long.

At the end of the day, in the Common Rooms, Harry had shared the exciting news of sharing his first kiss with Cho under the mistletoe. For once, the four friends felt like normal teenagers discussing normal teenage things.

As they talked, Melanie couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like to kiss someone, and at that very moment, she thought of only one person to experience it with, her favorite Slytherin, but she quickly dismissed the thought in embarrassment as her face reddened and her butterflies aroused. Instead, her mind waited until she was on bed to venture through the thought more thoroughly, and she loved it, she wanted it, and a part of her told her she wouldn't have to wait too long.

However, her fantasy was cut short when she heard rumbling outside her room. The only girl awake it seemed, Melanie got out of bed and made her way to Hermione's, waking her up as well. "What? What?!" Hermione groaned irritably, squinting her eyes at her friend.
"Listen."
"…wrong with him?" A voice asked from behind the door.
"Harry, can you hear me?" Another questioned with concern.

At hearing their friend's name, the two girls rushed out of the room hastily. The sight before them was more than troubling. Harry was held up by George and Ron, Fred following after them. "What happened?!" Hermione asked, hustling over along with Melanie.
"Woke up yelling. Tried to ask him what was wrong, but he just won't talk!" Ron replied frantically.
"What do you mean he won't talk?!" Hermione scolded furiously.

Harry looked as if he was in a daze, staring at emptiness. Melanie stepped in front of him. "Harry, can you hear me?" She asked. Nothing. Melanie was more than concerned now. She cupped his face to force his eyes to hers, and in that moment, it seemed to have worked. They were conscious…they were afraid.

The group, along with Ginny, who had woken up as well, made their way to their Head of House, professor McGonagall, who, still in her nightgown, led them towards Dumbledore.

Together, in his office, Harry finally spoke, saying he dreamt of Mr. Weasley getting gruesomely injured by what seemed like a snake, which Dumbledore took to heart and immediately took action in confirming.

He then explained the connection Harry had with non-other than the Dark Lord himself. He was manipulating Harry's thoughts and emotions, which explained a lot.

Upon hearing this, Melanie's heart raced. Things were suddenly getting bad very fast, but there was still hope. Dumbledore assigned Severus to help Harry overcome this connection, starting that very night.

All anyone could do now, was pray things go according to plan and not take a turn for the worst.

….

Straight afterwards, students were headed home for Christmas. In record's time, and more importantly, thanks to Harry and his visions, Mr. Weasley was rescued before too much damage was made. The truth in Harry's nights was as frightening as it was life-saving. Things were looking up once more.

At Blake's house, Melanie, Madeleine, Hermione, Ron, Harry and all those left of the Order were celebrating their Christmas Eve together. They shared presents, dinner, and marvelous desert.

In the midst of it all, Melanie had snuck into the kitchen, borrowing a patch of her grandmother's cookies. In the bedroom upstairs, she boxed them up and sent her great horned owl, Crumps, to Malfoy Manor, with a letter that noted it specifically to Draco. Then, Melanie continued the pleasant night with no one non-the-wiser.

Malfoy's Christmas, however, was far from pleasant. His father hosted a proud night full of fellow workers, aristocrats and Death Eaters. Draco was forced to greet each guest and spend the whole day with his group of pathetic friends. but his night switched from dull to warm, and delicious, when the guests had finally left and he took notice of the curious owl in his room, the one he'd seen so many times. Seeing it, he knew his day had been made up for, and it was.

….

Soon enough, the students return to Hogwarts, more emotionally prepared, which was saying something

The four friends receive the news of Hagrid's return and they immediately rush over to his cabin. Hearing a squeaky voice through his door, the friends peek at his window to be greeted by the vile sight of the pink witch. She seemed to be interrogating the mountain-like, bearded, and excessively hairy man.

The friends smuggle behind the cabin when Umbridge exits it, then they enter. Apparently, Hagrid had been sent by Dumbledore to convince giants of all things to take their side against Voldemort, to help the Order defeat him, but the Dark Lord's men were up to the same thing, so Hagrid was unsuccessful.

Worst comes a few days afterwards. There was a break in Azkaban. Several prisoners escaped, specifically former Death Eaters, and Black's cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange the mad, murderer of Neville's parents. The poor boy was in shambles of fear, and Melanie did what she could to help him.

Of course, the minister jumped at the chance of blaming Sirius and, once again, there was no one to stop him.

Throughout all that had been happening, Melanie hadn't had the least bit of privacy, which was a very bad thing in her opinion. If she couldn't find the time to tame her fears and worries, then she wouldn't be able to help her friends overcome their, so on a desperate night, the girl made her way to the seventh floor, the one she knew had several abandoned classrooms due to the fact that it was restricted to students.

Still in her uniform, Melanie snuck out of her Gryffindor Common Rooms, and to her great distaste, noticed that some of the Inquisitorials were up and walking. One of their many privileges was wondering the halls at night. She, however, didn't know that she was spotted by not one, but two of the group's members.

She climbed the stairs and downed the halls she'd walked so many times. Melanie spent a full ten minutes by a broken window in one of the abandoned classrooms. The winds were brisk and the moon was kind, illuminating all that lied below and before.

She would have put her mind to work, but she could hear footsteps, or at least she thought she did. The presence of the Inquisitorials was worrying her greatly. She didn't want to get caught.

Regretting the idea of coming up here in the first place, Melanie strode carefully out of the room, making sure all was clear, even though she barely saw a thing, it was practically pitch black at that time of the day. She would have used Lumos, but the footsteps were putting her on edge. She stuck to the walls as best she could, feeling her way around, then, without warning, a wand lit up, revealing the face of, as Melanie dreaded, an Inquisitorial, Mike.

He was a tall Slytherin with a slight tan, bushy brown hair, and greenish eye. "Watcha ya doing out here, precious? It's a bit late for someone as pretty as you to be lurking." He said, eyeing Melanie in a way that made her mind scream to run, but she stood her ground and acted casual.
"Sorry, must have taken a wrong turn. I'll be off to my Common Rooms now." She told as calmly as possible, stepping to walk off, but he side-stepped her.
"Off so soon, love. What's the hurry?" He questioned hungrily, his fingers brushing Melanie's hair and cheek, igniting her deepest of anger.

A split second away from punching his face to crimson red, another party intervened. Draco shoved Mike into the nearest wall, forcing the air from his lungs as he took hold of both his collars. "Draco! What are you doing?!" Mike questioned in shock, then he looked over at Melanie and a look of realization came upon him. "Oh, I get it." Draco furiously shoved him once more and he let out a huff of pained air. How dare he look at his Melanie like that?! How dare he touch her?!
"Listen well, you moron. You come near her again, and I'll make sure your mom knows just what went down in the Leaky Cauldron last month." Draco threatened, knowing muscle wasn't what idiots like Mike feared.
"You wouldn't." Mike warned, but Draco was dead serious and he could see it. "Fine. She's all yours." Mike spat. Draco let him go and the boy walked off, wrathful at his embarrassment, but there was nothing he could do, it wasn't worth it.

Draco turned back to his Redwing. "You alright?" He asked, concerned. She quickly nodded in assurance, a smile spreading across her face. She was ecstatic. Her knight in shining armor had just come to her rescue.
"I'm okay. Thank you, Draco. Though, I had it under control." She smirked. He rolled his eyes at the last comment.
"You're welcome." He told, lending her his arm, which she, without hesitation, took. They strolled through the halls with his wand alight.

"What the bloody hell were you doing out here, in the middle of the night?" He asked irritably. After what had just went down, Melanie didn't think he'd like the answer, but she told him anyways.
"I was getting some fresh air." She replied honestly, readying herself for some yelling.
"Fresh air?!" Draco exclaimed. "You come out in the pitch black dark, two am, on the forbidden floor, and get attacked by that blockhead, for some fresh air?!" He whisper-yelled.
"One: It's not that dark. Two: I couldn't sleep. Three: I don't care. And four: I can take care of myself." She defended.

Draco raised her a sarcastic eyebrow. She mimicked his expression, which moved something in him that made him feel as if the air grew hot, or she did. If the Redwing continued to tempt him, things would escalate rather quickly. To distract himself from his wild thoughts, he sighed, feigning annoyance. "If I had a gallon for every time I thought you were mental." She giggled, and he eyed her admirably.

Walking together like this, it seemed foreign to them, but it also seemed just right, and they didn't want it to end, but everything eventually does. Upon hearing the grumbling of professor Filch, Draco took out the wand-light, pulling Melanie to a corner. Filch's footsteps became louder and the two were forced to move out.

Hand in hand, the two jogged down hall after hall, attempting to stay out of Filch's cat-radar and find their way back to the stair ways. "Ouch." Melanie hissed, tugging at Draco's hand as she leaned against the wall and held up her ankle. "Ugh! I twisted it." She whisper-yelled furiously, panicking.
"For god's sake." Draco mumbled, scoping the petite girl into his arms, making her let out a small gasp at the sudden movement. He continued running with her in his arms. He started wondering if she ever ate.
"Wait, wait!" She told.
"What?!" He asked in haste.
"Go that way. It's a shortcut." She pointed. He hurriedly complied, hoping she knew what she was doing.

In the hall of stairs, they slowed their pace, praying the paintings stayed unalarmed for their sake. Draco tiptoed to Melanie's Common Rooms, the only thing in his way was the painting of Sir Cadogan, "Sir Cadogan." Melanie tried, attempting to awaken the sleeping portrait.
"What are you doing?!" Draco asked worriedly.
"We need him to get us through! Just let me do the talking." She told. "Sir Cadogan." She called again. The dousing knight arose, groaning irritably.
"Again, Melanie?" He asked tiredly, whispering as well. It wasn't the first time Melanie snuck out in the middle of the night and asked Cadogan to let her back in. He only ever agreed because she was so sweet.
"Sorry. Could you please let us in?" She requested, but Cadogan was eyeing Draco menacingly, who held the girl in his arms suspiciously.
"What is he doing here?" He questioned bitterly.
"He's helping me. It's fine." She replied frantically as Draco kept a look out.
"He's not allowed in, Melanie." He warned, the Malfoy turning to him irritably.
"She's hurt! You gi"- Melanie quickly put a hand on the stubborn boy's mouth, him shooting her a look.
"I know. He's not coming in, just please, let us through the corridor. I promise he won't go further." She plead, removing her hand, hoping the Malfoy was capable of keeping it shut on his own.
"Very well." Cadogan replied reluctantly, opening up.

Draco hurried in. The two were stood in the short, narrow corridor between the painting and the wooden door to the Gryffindor Common Rooms, unheard and out of sight.

Draco placed Melanie gently onto her feet. Breathing heavily, the pain was numbed as all she could see were the eyes of the Slytherin before her. He was panting as well. Her hands were still placed around his neck, and his on her waste. They were so close and time stood still for a moment.

In a split-second's decision, the two crashed their lips into one another's lustfully, unable to resist any more. They moved in sync, their lips tearing at each other yearningly. Draco pressed her against the wall, one hand on her waist and the other slowly moving down to her outer thigh, causing her to moan softly against his lips at his cool touch, which only encouraged him in deepening the kiss as she tangled her fingers in his soft, platinum hair locks.

Out of breath, they pulled an inch away, panting heavily. "Draco?" Melanie breathed, barely able to think straight. Shocked was an understatement.
"Yeah?" He asked, head still spinning. She bit her lower lip, not really wanting to.
"I…I have to go." She told sadly, hoping maybe he'd stay, but she knew there was no way that would happen.

Processing her words, he nodded with a dry chuckle, a bit disappointed as well, but he too understood.
"Yeah." He agreed, turning to leave, but she pulled him back for one last kiss.
"Now you can go." She said., forcing herself off of him.
"Don't worry, Redwing. This won't be the last time." He smirked, happier than he ever thought possible. She grinned at his retreating figure, her face hot red.

She couldn't believe that had just happened, but she couldn't have picked a better time either. Melanie had gotten her first kiss with the prince of Slytherin in a dark and cramped corridor right under the noses of her Gryffindor friends and the entire school.

….