"Hermione, Calm down". Melanie advised as her golden-haired friend paced the empty bedroom wildly.
"I can't, Melanie!" She yelled back, then Melanie laughed aloud, making the Granger halt in her steps and glare at her mocking friend, but the last thing Melanie was doing was mocking her. Hermione crossed her arms furiously.
"Do you find the situation amusing?" She questioned expectantly. Melanie shook her head in assurance, rising from her seat on the edge of her bed.
"No, no. It's just..." She started, approaching her friend, slapping her hands on the Granger's shoulders. Hermione eyed her warily. "I've been waiting for this day for a very long time." She explained, which only braided her friend's confusion. Melanie then smiled brightly, eyes glistering with joy. "My best friend's in love." She breathed.

Hermione's heart found panic and her eyes went wide. She brushed off her friend's hands and stormed to her bed, flopping down, her thoughts running at train speed. Melanie followed and sat opposite her. She could tell her words bothered Hermione greatly, and didn't fully understand why. "It's alright, Mione." She tried, but the Granger shook her head furiously.
"No, it's not! Ron's become an unavoidable distraction! I can't concentrate in class! I can't think of anything else! And I simply cannot control the impeccable blushing that insists on exposing me!" She complained heatedly.

Melanie could see true fear in her friend's eyes. She leaned forward and took Hermione's hands in hers. "Hermione." She started, a firm look on her face that assured the Granger's attention. "I know you better than anyone else, better than yourself. I know that you hate it when something you know nothing of begins to affect you, and I know that it bothers you even more when you can't control it. But, darling, this is love, not the end of the world. You have to accept that it's alright to have feelings for someone else, and that's it's more than fine to feel the way you're feeling now. Once you accept this, you will find a way to cope with it, and when that happens, you will start to see things very differently." She explained. Hermione furrowed her eyebrows at the last statement.
"Different how?" She asked. Melanie simply smiled, rising once more.
"Good different."

…

A few days pass. Things were neutral. One day, Harry had went off to see Dumbledore. He came back, telling his friends what he'd witnessed when the professor decided to share a very personal memory with him about the one and only Tom Riddle.

Of course, this concerned them, especially Melanie. Apparently, Dumbledore was hoping Harry could help him in finding a way to defeat the Dark Lord, whose power was expanding on an hourly basis.

Dumbledore seemed to think that the key was with professor Slughorn. He'd asked Harry to try and reason with him, in hopes of getting truth.

Until then, nothing was noted on the topic, and the days went by as usual.

It was the middle of the day. Melanie was done with classes for the time being. She was off to meet up with her friends in Quidditch yard. Harry had been promoted captain, and Ron was trying out! Things she thought she didn't want to miss, until, on the stairways, she stumbled upon Draco, who seemed to be descending from somewhere.

It was the look on his face that sent her rushing towards him. Draco saw her coming and froze. The white-head panicked, unable to think, unable to speak, considering what he was doing just minutes ago, he feared exposure by the keen-eyed Redwing.

"Hey, what's wrong?" She questioned worriedly. Why did she have to worry? No, he had to pull together, for both their sakes.
"Nothing, love." He smiled as best he could, but she wouldn't give in.
"Yes, something. You look dreadful." She pushed. Draco couldn't help chuckling at that.
"Thank you for that." He told, making her chuckle as well, growing red with embarrassment. Draco had realized he'd unknowingly succeeded at distracting her from his true state, something that forced shame down his conscience for lying to the one person he never thought he'd have to lie to ever again.
"I'm sorry, that's not what I meant." She tried. He shock his head dismissively.
"It's alright, love. I'm just...tired, that's all." He explained, walking off, motioning for her to follow as he made his way down to the courtyard, not entirely sure where he was going, he just needed to be outside.
"Are you sure?" She asked.
"Yeah, but enough about me, where were you headed off to before I became a distracting obstacle?" He noted, her giving him a slight punch in the arm for being cocky as she rolled her eyes with a grin, making him smirk at the reaction.

How she was capable of making him smile so much in times like these was beyond him, but he loved it, as much as he loved her, and it only made him feel worse.

"If you must know, I was headed for Quidditch practice." She told, he cocked an eyebrow, so she explained as her resumed leading the way.
"Harry's been promoted captain, and Ron's trying out for the first time." Draco hummed in reply. Melanie eyed him curiously.
"So, why did you stop trying?" She asked, and for a moment, he wasn't sure what she was asking, because in all honesty, he wasn't sure he was trying, he felt like there was more he could do, but he was holding back, because it was wrong. "For Quidditch." Melanie continued in reply to his overly confused expression, which she found quite suspicious.
"Oh." He realized, a sinful wave of relief washing over him. "Um, it just...got boring." The Malfoy explained.
"Boring?" She questioned perplexedly.
"Yeah." Was his sole reply.

Coming to a stop, Melanie realized he'd led them to their spot by the black lake. She eyed him strangely. He'd never come here before on his own account, so what changed. What surprised her further was the look on his face as he just stood there, breathing in the air, eyes closed and features facing the warmth of the sun.

Melanie put a soft hand on his shoulder. He turned to the Redwing, whose face shimmered in the light. Her glimmering eyes wondered over his pale features in care and concern. "Are you sure you're alright?" She repeated.

Draco had almost entirely forgotten all that had went on, and was still happening, just by looking at her. "Never better."

Draco then turns to sit on the ground, his back pressed against the log they'd always come to.

She chuckled slightly at the bizarre sight. He eyed her in entertained confusion. "I thought you hated grass." She said, moving to sit next to him.
"Well, you have yourself to thank for this." He said raising his arm and placing it around as she moved closer, resting on his chest.
"Me?" She asked.
"Your birthday present was quite therapeutic." He told.

It took her a moment to recall what he spoke of, then she remembered. The painting. All those months, trapped in his own, dark, cold, so called home, with the demons in his head. The only source of warmth and hope, was that bright painting that hung next to his regularly empty bed. At some point, he'd grown tired of just seeing nature, he wanted to feel it. To feel the sun on his skin, the wind. To smell the grass, the trees. To hear the birds sing. Desperate for a glimmer of anything but the darkness around him, and inside him.

She broke into a wide smile, a satisfied smile at unintentionally changing a huge side of the boy that once found forests disgusting.

She cuddled closer to him, and he welcomed it, resting his chin on her head and closing his eyes, focusing all his senses on just her.

After a whole minute of silence, Melanie exhaled as if in relief. "I miss this." She uttered. He exhaled as well.
"Yeah." Draco breathed.

Thirty minutes had passed, and they barely felt it. Draco had literally almost fallen asleep when Melanie noted that it was getting dark.

He hadn't slept in so long, he couldn't help it. He just felt so safe with her, safe from it all, safe from himself, and he hated it.

He felt like he was using her, but couldn't find it in him to keep away, just couldn't, and he doubted he ever could now.

He knew he should. He knew she deserved better. But he just couldn't.

…..

"There you are!" Hermione yells when Melanie enters the dorm. Almost all sixth year Gryffindors were in the Common Room at the moment.
"You missed tryouts!" Whined Ron, turning from the couch to look at her as she approached them, nodding a greet to the many acquaintances around her.

Hermione was on the ground, scouring a copy of the Daily Prophet, Harry too, his potions' book in hand. He'd been kind of obsessed with it lately. Apparently, it had already been used by someone in the past Hogwarts school years. Whoever that someone was, had been keeping record of some very interesting spells, and potions' notes, that fascinated both Harry and professor Slughorn, who thought it was all Harry.

Melanie went to sit on the ground as well, in front of them. "Sorry, guys. I had a run in with Draco. He didn't look very well." She notes in concern. Harry immediately turns to Hermione, who glares intensely at him to keep shut.

Melanie doesn't notice as she fiddles with her nails, a bad stress habit. "What, like sick? I've never seen Malfoy get sick. Huh." Utters Ron curiously, cracking walnuts for some reason. Melanie smirks, shaking her head softly.
"It's nothing." She assures, considering he seemed fine before she left, better anyways. However, her reply only feeds into Harry's suspicions, but he says nothing so as not to anger the dangerously close Granger. "So what did I miss?" she asks instead.
"Me, playing brilliantly!" Ron exclaims proudly. Melanie's eyes go wide with excitement.
"Really?!" She questions in disbelief.

From in front of her, Melanie doesn't notice as Hermione tenses up. The Granger had spent most of the game making Ron's victory herself with whispered spells, something she intended on telling Melanie sooner than later. Currently, her best friend was the only person she could ask for advice on the situation.

"Yeah. He was brilliant!" Comments Harry happily as well, before turning back to his book. Ron nods excitedly, grinning, and Hermione smiles in admiration she both enjoyed, and despised.
"Have to admit, thought I was gonna miss that last one. Hope Cormac's not taking it too hard." Ron states casually, then turns to Hermione, who he could only see the back of her head, as well as Harry's. "Has a bit of a thing for you, Hermione. Cormac." He tells neutrally.

Hermione's eyes go wide at this, Melanie's too as she glances at Granger. Harry didn't hear what was said. "He's vile." She comments last.

Quickly then, Harry cuts in. He leans towards Hermione and points at something in his book. "Ever heard of this spell? Sectumsempra." He asks.

Hermione frowns tiredly. He'd been torturing her like this all week. Melanie could tell that Hermione was secretly, and unwillingly, jealous, about Harry's new source of information. She was especially mad because she didn't know most of it.

"No I haven't! And if you had a shred of self-respect you would turn that book in!" she cries.
"Not bloody likely!" Ron cuts in. "He's top of the class. Even better than you, Hermione. Slughorn thinks he's a genius!" He tells casually.

Melanie, of course, knew this. Potion's was her favorite class. She was usually very good, her and Draco. Then Harry stepped up the ranks, and what kind of friend would she be if she loathed him for it, but it was different for Hermione. Of course she wanted to see her friends succeed, but with the constant nagging about the bloody book, and the comments from Ron, it was pressuring.

She turns and glares at him from the front. "What?" he asks innocently.

Hermione then gets up. "I'd like to know just whose book that was. Let's take a look, shall we?" she says. Harry stares at her alertly. He hurriedly gets up as well.
"No." He tells irritably. Melanie cocks an eyebrow. This wasn't going to end well.
"Why not?" Hermione asks suspiciously, following him around the couch as he walked with his back, facing the determined Granger.
"The binding is…fragile." He replies quickly, simply not wanting her to touch it. He liked being top of class, and disliked that Hermione so obviously disliked that.
"The binding is fragile?!" Hermione asks in irritancy.

Harry holds it down out of her way, but failed to notice Ginny, behind him in a chair, as she plucked it out of his hand and rushed away with it just as he turned to look.

She opens it quickly, and looks at the name, then turns to them. "Who's the Half-Blood Prince?" she asks.
"Who?" Hermione asks as Ron and Melanie furrow their eyebrows.
"That's what it says. Right here. 'This book is the property of the Half-Blood Prince.'" Ginny explains, tossing him the book again. He takes it and rushes off irritably, glaring at both girls before leaving, making them smirk in amusement.

….