At the bridge, Harry and Hermione reunited with the others after letting the centaurs deal with the vile thing that was Umbridge. The group make their way to the forest where they were able to ride creatures that only Luna and Harry were able to see, the Thestrals. To Melanie, they felt like boney horses, but that didn't matter, they had to get to the ministry.

There at last, the group follow Harry through the many, seeming abandoned hallways until they reached the door from his visions, the Department of Mysteries.

Harry sought out the key to their journey. In a room full of Crystal Balls, he searched for the number he saw in his dreams, but couldn't find it, until Neville pointed a specific ball that had Harry's own name on the tag.

It was a prophecy, the prophecy. The knowledge it contained proved, once and for all, that Harry, truly was, the one person that could defeat the Dark Lord, but Voldemort had to hear it for himself, after all, it was held the key to defeating him.

Sending his henchmen, the group's work was interrupted by Death Eaters.

"Where's Sirius?" Harry asked the hooded figure. The man behind the fear-striking mask spoke.
"You really should learn to tell the difference between dreams, and reality." He unsheathed his wand to dissipate his mask, revealing the face of non-other than Draco's own father.

Melanie never thought the day would come, where she'd meet face to face with Luscious on terms like these, against one another. It angered her now, seeing with her own eyes, where his devotion lied.

"You saw only what the Dark Lord wanted you to see. Now hand me the prophecy." He demanded coldly, making Melanie angrier than she should be.
"If you do anything to us, I'll break it." Harry warned. Just then, a sick, maniacal laugh emitted, one that belonged to the one and only, Bellatrix Lestrange. Oh, Neville.
"He knows how to play! Itty, bitty, baby, Potter." She spat mockingly.
"Bellatrix Lestrange!" Neville exclaimed. Melanie immediately put a hand on his shoulder. She couldn't even begin to imagine what it must feel like to be faced with your parents' murderer.
"Neville Longbottom, is it?" She grinned. "How's mom and dad?" She asked casually, as if she hadn't killed them herself, igniting Neville's rage to a point he'd never felt in his life.
"Better, now that they're about to be avenged!" He told, pointing out his wand threateningly.
"Neville!" Melanie exclaimed as everyone became tenser by the second.

He may not know it, but murdering someone, even out of revenge, was no small thing. It could leave an unfillable whole in its culprit, a void.

"Let's, everybody, just calm down, shall we?" Luscious began.

Melanie didn't know what came over her, but she had to say something, she was just so angry, angry for Draco. "How could you?!" She yelled, eyeing Luscious with disgust. He was both shocked and confused.
"Excuse me?"
"Did you ever think of him? Of Draco? Of how his life might turn out to be, living under the Dark Lord's command, having to do what you do for the rest of his life?" Her questions came fast and pointed, like the bullets of a gun.

Her words hurt, and it annoyed him that they did. "I'm sorry, and just who are you?" He asked irritably. Her friends were as shocked as he was by her outburst, but they should have expected it, things between her and the Malfoy were no joke.
"It doesn't matter who I am. What matters is that decision you made all those years ago, to become what you are now, a Death Eater, a taker of light and hope…a murderer." She spat. It slapped him across the face. "So tell me, did you ever, for once in your life, put your son first?" He was angry now, and they could all see it. He clinched his jaw in an attempt to control his temper. Who was she to judge his decisions? Who was she to question his fatherhood? Who was she to strike him with such sudden guilt all at once?

"I don't think that is any of your concern, girl." He told, more, warned, but she wouldn't have it, she cared too much about the Malfoy's son to see his father become such a cruel and vile man.
"But it is. Luscious, please. You can stop this." She started, taking on the usual kindness in her tone, hoping he could see sense and this would all end…and it was working, clearly enough that beside Luscious, Lestrange gripped her wand tightly, as if ready to attack the Malfoy himself should he give in. "Think of your family, think of Draco." She tried, but no. Luscious was back to his senses.

She was right, he'd always known the truth of his past mistakes, but it was too late to try and fix things, because, ironically, attempting to defy the Dark Lord at his greats, wasn't the brightest of ideas. It could cost him his life, and his family's, that included the son he cared deeply for. He had no choice, and he didn't need to hear any judgments, he didn't need to explain himself.

"Enough!" He yelled, shaking the group of already scared friends, who in retaliation, readied themselves silently to attack. "Hand over the prophecy." He demanded of Harry, who stayed stubbornly silent.

Not wanting to harm any of them, he was still a father after all, Luscious took a calming breath and tried a different approach. "Haven't you always wondered: What was the reason of the connection between you and the Dark Lord?" He started, more and more Death Eaters nearing the group, making them tense and aware. "Why he was unable to kill you when you were just an infant? Don't you want to now the secret of your scar?" He asked encouragingly in a snake-like manner. "All the answers are there, Potter, in your hand. All you have to do, is give it to me, and I can show you everything."

The group of friends were on high alert now, each with their wands out as the rest of the Death Eaters neared them. They waited for Harry to take the lead, either give in to Luscious, which would have been a very bad decision, or: "I've waited fourteen years."
"I know." Luscious agreed in mock sympathy, he really didn't care.
"Guess I can wait a little longer. NOW!" And at that, the group repelled the Death Eaters using their wands and the first spell they could think of.

They ran as fast as they could with the prophecy in hand. The group separated in the midst of the haste, fighting off Death Eaters as well, their training proving successful, then reassembled once more. Eventually, Ginny used a spell that sent the room literally falling apart, and everyone had to make a run for it. Well done, Ginny.

They ran and ran until they reached the familiar black door, which they rushed through thoughtlessly, and were sent flying down a tunnel, a spell rendering them landed safely, but the Death Eaters weren't done with them yet, and, just in time, Sirius and the Order appeared.

The battle was long and exhausting, and every victory came at a cost, but this one, put Harry off the edge. That very night, Sirius was killed by non-other than the same Lestrange that murdered Neville's parents. She fled, but Harry wouldn't let her be.

He ran after her, and almost ended her for good, but then, Dumbledore intervened, knowing that the other person present in the room, the one encouraging Harry to kill for once, was the person that was causing all the chaos, all the pain, that Harry was going through, the Dark Lord.

After another fierce battle between Dumbledore and Voldemort himself, which the minister, who arrived in the nick of time, saw with his own eyes, things ended quickly.

Many of the Death Eaters were apprehended, including Luscious, and because of that, when the group of friends returned to Hogwarts, Draco was nowhere to be found.

It pained Melanie greatly, knowing what he must be going through, hating his father for being the reason for it, wishing she could have gone back to the minute Luscious decided to condemn his and his family's future to the Dark Lord and convince him otherwise, but that was impossible, there was nothing she could do now.

...