AN: Yey! The beginning of a new chapter and a new year! This starts off during the summer and will continue to follow Melanie and the others through the beginning of their second year. Thanks to all those who reviewed the last chapter! You guys are great!
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Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything related to him. They are the sole property of J. K. Rowling. However Melanie and the characters from the orphanage are mine.
Chapter 6: Old Faces, New Worries
"Melanie! Hello, anyone home?"
Melanie snapped out of her daydream to find Faye looking at her curiously. The girl hadn't changed much since the Christmas of Melanie's first year at Hogwarts; the only exception was that her hair was longer. Melanie hadn't changed much either, she was only a bit taller and her hair was only an inch longer. She was still Melanie.
"Sorry, what did you say?" Melanie asked.
"I said…" Faye began, "that I wished the summer had been longer. It's already over!"
Melanie had spent the summer at the orphanage, only being able to write letters to Hermione, Ron, or Harry. And that's what had her worried.
She had sent at least one letter a week to Harry, and he hadn't answered a single one. She was scared for him; she knew how horrible his aunt and uncle were…they wouldn't have done something to him. Would they?
"Melanie?"
For the hundredth time that day, Melanie looked up to see a nearly annoyed look on Faye's face.
"What's wrong?" Faye asked. "You've been acting like this all week."
Melanie sighed. "It's nothing. I'm just…"
"You can't lie to me Mel. I know something's up. I just wish you'd trust me enough to tell me."
Faye left the room and Melanie gave a frustrated sigh. All summer Faye had been trying to pull information out of her, but Melanie just couldn't tell her! Its not that she didn't trust Faye, it's that she didn't think she would believe her if she said, 'Oh, I'm just worried about my friend from school. You know the one where they teach us magic and I nearly got killed last year?'
Plus, Melanie wasn't allowed to tell anyone.
Just then an owl fluttered through the window. She recognized it immediately; it was Ron's owl, Erol. The poor thing must have been going senile, she thought, nearly every time she saw it, it crashed into something or knocked something over.
She jumped up from her bed and went over to him, took the letter he was carrying and ushered him back out the window. He snapped his beak angrily at her, clearly thinking that he would have been able to rest and eat while he was there. Melanie would have allowed him, except if Faye walked back in and saw an owl in the room; it might have been difficult to explain.
Melanie opened the letter and began to read the messy scrawled writing that she had come to identify as Ron's.
Melanie,
I was wondering if you've heard from Harry yet. I haven't and neither has Hermione. So, Fred and George are going to take me to go get him. We don't care what trouble we'll get into by Mum, if Harry's in trouble we're going to help him.
He'll probably stay here for the rest of the holidays. That is if Mum doesn't kill us before we can leave to get him.
We'll see you at school!
Ron
P.S. Don't feed Erol. If you do he'll never leave.
Melanie laughed before going over to the desk in the corner of the room and pulling out a bit of parchment and a quill.
Dear Ron,
No, I haven't heard from Harry. I'm so worried about him. I wish I could come with you to get him, but the Matron has been keeping a very close eye on me for some reason.
Can't wait to see both of you at school! Maybe we'll even see each other at Diagon Alley, if you haven't already gone yet.
Melanie
P.S. I didn't plan to. It wouldn't be too easy to explain why there was an owl in my room anyway.
Melanie folded the letter and called out the window to Erol. The owl flew back into the room and Melanie tied the note to his leg, before he flew back out and disappeared.
She hoped Ron could get to Harry okay. She hoped Harry himself was okay. But most of all, she hoped that even with the two months of separation their friendship was still strong.
Melanie had agreed to meet Hermione in Diagon Alley so that they could do their shopping together, but Mrs. Danielson had still insisted on coming with her. Melanie briefly wondered if this was out of precaution or because Mrs. Danielson wanted to see all the magic for herself. Either way, Melanie took her into the Leaky Cauldron and to the back room, where the brick wall still stood. It took a while for Melanie to get the pattern right (and endless questions from the Matron didn't help either), but when she finally did the bricks finally began to shift and create a large opening.
Mrs. Danielson stood transfixed, and Melanie had to drag her through the arch and into Diagon Alley.
It was the same as last summer and it still carried the same magical quality that Melanie had first noticed. She pulled Mrs. Danielson through the bustling crowd, past the numerous shops and stands towards the huge white building at the very end. Gringotts.
"Melanie!" Hermione cried as soon as she saw Melanie approach the building. She ran down the steps towards her and Melanie was engulfed in a hug.
"Hermione, it's so good to see you!" Melanie said, laughing with her dearly missed friend.
"It's so good to see you too!" Hermione exclaimed. "I can't believe it's been two months already! I can't wait to get back to school. Did you know…?"
"Hermione, one thing at a time!" Melanie laughed. "Maybe we should get our supplies first?"
Hermione laughed before taking Melanie's hand and pulling her over to her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Granger smiled at her and asked how her summer had been and Melanie answered politely. She then introduced Mrs. Danielson, who was acting as her 'grandmother'.
"It's wonderful to meet you," Mr. Granger said as he shook the Matron's hand.
"Yes, Hermione told us about Melanie's parents," Mrs. Granger added in a quiet tone. Melanie assumed that she was not meant to hear it, but she did. Not that it bothered her; she just wondered what Hermione had said.
"Such a shame…a terrible accident," said Mr. Granger.
Melanie looked at Hermione curiously, and then turned to Mrs. Danielson.
"Yes, it was a terrible…accident?"
"Let's go get our things now!" Hermione interrupted, saving her parents from asking more questions.
Melanie and Hermione walked ahead as Mrs. Danielson and Hermione's parents talked about Muggle things. Her arm linked through Hermione's she asked, "What exactly did you tell them, Hermione?"
"I told them it was a car accident," she answered. "It was the best I could come up with when they asked. I told them not to ask too many questions though… you're still pretty broken up about it."
Melanie smiled. She was grateful that Hermione, who had the most difficult time lying to anyone never mind adults, had kept this secret for her. She just hoped Mrs. Danielson could do the same.
They bought their school robes and other necessities and were making their way through the crowd toward Flourish and Blotts, with the adults behind them. Together they entered the shop and immediately recognized Ron and his family, the group of ginger haired kids were difficult to misplace.
"Ron!" Melanie cried when she saw him.
He turned around at the sound of his name and smiled before pushing through the crowd toward them.
"Blimey, you're short Mel," he said as soon as he reached her.
Melanie scowled. "Short? I'm not short. You're gigantic!"
"I was only kidding!" Ron said, raising his hands in defense.
"Where's Harry?" Hermione asked.
Melanie stopped and looked around the shop. Harry was nowhere in sight.
"Isn't he supposed to be with you?" Melanie asked.
"He was," Ron answered. "We Flooed here this morning. He never showed up at the Leaky Cauldron. Mum's in a right state."
Melanie looked around him over to Mrs. Weasley, whom she recognized from last year. The short, plump woman was looking around frantically while at the same time talking to a taller man who also had red hair. Melanie assumed this was Mr. Weasley though she had not met him.
"Maybe we should go look for him?" Hermione suggested. "He can't have gone too far."
"Let's go," said Melanie and they began to head for the exit when Mrs. Weasley called across the room.
"Ronald! Come get in line!"
Ron groaned and looked at them hopefully, wishing they would make him disappear.
"We'll find him," Melanie said before pulling Hermione out of the shop.
It was still busy in the street and Melanie could barely see through the crowd, but both she and Hermione craned their necks in search for their friend. They searched for minutes and were about to give up when Hermione pointed through the crowd.
"There! Hagrid's with him!"
Sure enough, pushing through the crowd was Hagrid's huge form and beside him was Harry. Melanie and Hermione raced forward through the crowd toward them.
"Harry!" Hermione called.
He looked up at his name and smiled as they finally stopped in front of them. Harry, like Ron, had grown taller over the summer and his hair, though it was covered in soot, was longer.
"Hello, Hagrid. Oh, it's wonderful to see you two again," Hermione said. She looked at Harry strangely and Melanie wondered what she was looking at. She casually drew her wand and pointed it between Harry's eyes.
"Oculus Reparo."
Harry's glasses, which were broken yet again, mended themselves magically. Harry took them off and looked at them, a smile growing on his face.
"I need to remember that one," he said.
Hermione and Melanie smiled. "C'mon," Hermione said. "Everyone's been so worried!"
They set off through the crowd again toward Flourish and Blotts, this time towing Harry and Hagrid with them. Melanie noticed it was much easier going back this time, seeing as the other wizards and witches just cleared a path for Hagrid's massive form.
They entered the over-crowded shop and Mrs. Weasley instantly swooped down on Harry, brushing off the soot and dirt that covered his face and jacket.
"Oh, Harry. Thank goodness," she said. "We hoped you'd only gone one grate too far. Come now. This way."
She bustled him over to the place where the rest of the Weasleys were standing in line. Melanie didn't understand exactly why they had to wait, but she placed the thought in the back of her mind and went over to them. Mrs. Danielson was waiting there nervously, as were Hermione's parents. Clearly they were questioning what they were doing there.
Ron finally greeted Harry and Melanie moved up behind them next to Hermione, who started rambling away.
"Isn't it thrilling? Gilderoy Lockhart's going to be here! We can actually meet him! I mean, he's written almost the entire booklist for this year!" she squealed.
Harry looked back at Melanie with a frown on his face. "Who?" he asked.
Melanie just shrugged; she had no idea who Hermione was rambling on about.
Suddenly the crowd inside the shop erupted in clapping and cheers as a man stepped out from the back room. He was tall, with golden hair and pearl-like teeth. Melanie supposed he was handsome, as he winked at the lady in front and smiled for the man taking pictures. However somehow she thought he might have been a little empty-headed.
Gilderoy Lockhart sat at the desk at the front of the line, taking the first copy of his book, Magical Me, from the top of the pile.
Melanie nearly laughed as Mrs. Weasley caught sight of him and began to fix her perfectly fine hair.
"Oh, there he is!" she exclaimed.
Ron rolled his eyes and said, "Mum fancies him."
Mrs. Weasley unfortunately heard this remark and gave Ron a jab on the shoulder.
"Who is that man?" Mrs. Danielson asked from behind her.
Melanie turned, only to be bumped by a short man holding a rather large camera, who was pushing through the crowd.
"Gilderoy Lockhart," Melanie answered once the man had passed. "He wrote the books for this year's Defense class."
Mrs. Danielson made an 'O' shape with her mouth before returning her attention to the shelf of books beside them.
"Out of the way!" the small camera man shouted.
Melanie looked up to see him squeeze between Ron and Harry, who were at least a head taller than him, as he tried to get the best shot.
"This is for the Daily Prophet!" he gloated.
Lockhart looked up and flashed the man a smile, but it faded as his eyes set upon the audience. Upon Harry.
"It can't be Harry Potter?"
Melanie could see Harry try to slink away as the rest of the shop turned in his direction. She felt sorry for him. It seemed everywhere he went someone noticed him.
Before Harry could get away, Lockhart reached forward and grabbed him by the arm, roughly dragging him toward the front. Harry was turned toward the photographer, not looking at all pleased to be there. Lockhart smiled and Harry stood stock-still as the camera flashed, capturing the scene for the rest of the British wizarding community to see.
She thought it was over, as did Harry. He made to move away from the spotlight, but was grabbed by the shoulder as Lockhart opened his overly-bright mouth.
"Ladies and Gentlemen!" he announced so the whole shop could hear. "What an extraordinary moment this is! When young Harry stepped into Flourish and Blotts this morning to purchase my autobiography, Magical Me," a round of clapping began as Lockhart grinned, "which, incidentally is currents celebrating its twenty-seventh week atop The Daily Prophet's Bestseller List…"
For some odd reason, Melanie got the idea that this man was just a tad full of himself.
"…he had no idea that he would, in fact, be leaving with my entire collected works! Free of charge!"
Another louder round of clapping started as a tall pile of books was shoved into Harry's arms and another picture was taken. Mortified, Harry left the desk and walked back through the crowd towards where Melanie and the others were standing. Mrs. Weasley, completely over-joyed, took the books from Harry in order to get them signed.
"Can we please go?" Harry mumbled quietly as people still continued to stare at him.
The others nodded and Melanie handed her books to Mrs. Danielson, who looked very confused at what just happened.
"Did that friend of yours win a contest?" she asked as she took Melanie's books.
"Not really," Melanie answered.
"Then what…?"
"They don't have to be signed," Melanie interrupted. "Just pay for them please."
Rummaging through her pockets, she pulled out an odd number of galleons, sickles, and knuts. She quickly counted out the exact amount and handed it to Mrs. Danielson.
"Here," Melanie said. "That's all you'll need. I'll be outside."
Mrs. Danielson nodded and entered the line behind Mrs. Weasley, who still looked as if she were in heaven.
Melanie grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him towards the shop door, with Ron, Hermione, and Ron's sister Ginny (who she had not noticed until just then) following. They had nearly made it outside when none other than Draco Malfoy stepped in front of them.
He hadn't changed one bit over the summer; he still had the same wicked sneer and slicked back blonde hair. In other words, he was still the root of evil.
"Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?" he sneered. "Famous Harry Potter. Can't even go into a bookshop without making the front page."
"Leave him alone," Ginny warned, appearing on Harry's other side.
"Oh, look Potter!" Malfoy laughed. "You got yourself a girlfriend!"
"Shut your mouth, Malfoy!" Melanie snapped, unable to contain her annoyance or anger any longer.
Malfoy turned on her, his sneer becoming nastier if possible. "What? Jealous, Danielson?"
She continued to glare at him, but he looked past her shoulder. Her curiosity getting the better of her (as it usually did), Melanie looked back to see Mrs. Danielson looking uncertainly around the shop, appearing completely out of place. Her attention only came back to Malfoy when he said, "Stupid Muggle."
Melanie's glare grew even darker as he continued. "Doesn't know what they're doing. They're all stupid if you ask me. Wouldn't you agree, Danielson?"
In a matter of seconds, her wand was out and pointed right between his eyes. Malfoy, however, just continued to smirk at her.
"You take that back, Malfoy!" Melanie demanded.
People around her were starting to stare as her wand hovered just inches from his face, but she didn't care. He wasn't going to insult her only family and get away with it.
"You know that, Muggle?" he asked, making the last word sound like a curse-word.
"Take it back!" she cried.
Now people were beginning to look at her like she was a psycho and she admitted she was acting a tad rash. That wasn't going to make her lower her wand though. She faintly heard Hermione give a warning, asking her to put her wand away, but Melanie was too concentrated on the ugly git before her to really hear it.
"Are you going to make me?" Malfoy sneered, stepping even closer to the tip of her wand. Melanie wavered a bit. She wanted to curse him so bad! She wanted him to hurt! But she shouldn't cause a scene. She wouldn't.
Her wand dropped to her side, but her glare didn't leave her face.
Malfoy grinned. "Didn't think so, you filthy…"
"Now, now, Draco," said a man who appeared behind him. Melanie knew immediately that this was Malfoy's father; the resemblance was uncanny. He had the exact same hair, only his was much longer. And he had the same trademark Malfoy sneer.
"Play nicely," Mr. Malfoy said. His eyes flicked from Melanie to her wand and finally to Harry.
"Ah…Mr. Potter…" Mr. Malfoy said 'politely'. "Lucius Malfoy. We meet at last."
She thought Mr. Malfoy was about to shake Harry's hand, but instead Harry was yanked forward as the man examined the scar on his forehead.
"Forgive me," Mr. Malfoy said, though his apology sounded insincere. "But your scar is legend. As, of course, is the wizard who gave it to you."
Harry jerked away from Mr. Malfoy's grip, a frown upon his face. "Voldemort killed my parents. He was nothing more than a murderer," he said.
"Hmm," Mr. Malfoy replied dryly, "you must be very brave to mention his name… or very foolish."
"Fear of the name only increases the fear of the thing itself," Hermione said.
Mr. Malfoy's eyes focused on her. "And you must be… Miss Granger?" He looked over at his son for confirmation. "Yes, Draco's told me all about you… and your parents… Muggles aren't they?"
Hermione did not answer; she only glared at Mr. Malfoy. Unfazed he turned to Melanie who was still angry from her 'disagreement' with the other Malfoy, who was off to the side smirking as his father talked.
"Now what do we have here?" Mr. Malfoy said as he studied her. She couldn't help but notice (or think, she wasn't sure which) that his eyes grew in recognition, just as Voldemort's had the end of last year. Why?
"Odd," Mr. Malfoy continued. "Tell me…how are your parents?"
Melanie's glare disappeared to be replaced by a look of curiosity and confusion. How did he know?
"But of course," Mr. Malfoy said. "You have no family. Shame…and your only relative is… incapable…"
He turned next to Ron and Ginny, leaving Melanie with no new answers and a million more questions.
"Let me see," he began as he surveyed the two. "Red hair…vacant expressions…"
Melanie's blood began to boil. How dare he? Who did he think he was to walk around insulting people? If he wasn't a much more advanced wizard than she, she would have considered drawing her wand on him. And then Malfoy.
"…tatty second-hand book…you must be the Weasleys," Mr. Malfoy finished. He had taken one of Ginny's books from her cauldron and the look of distaste grew in his expression.
"Children! It's mad in here. Let's go outside," Mr. Weasley interrupted as he suddenly appeared in their group. Melanie was grateful that they now had an adult on their side, not that she wouldn't attack both Malfoys if she had too.
"Well, well, well," Mr. Malfoy said. "Weasley Senior."
"Lucius," Mr. Weasley answered shortly, his dislike of the man before him evident.
"Is it a busy time at the Ministry, Arthur?" Lucius Malfoy asked. "All those extra raids… I do hope they're paying you over-time."
He gave a final look at Ginny's book and the rest of them. "But judging by the state of this, I'd say not."
Mr. Weasley gave no remark, though Melanie could tell he was having a difficult time remaining composed.
"What's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard, if they're not even paying you well for it?"
"We have a very different idea about what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy," Mr. Weasley said. Melanie had to admire him for staying so adult-like. She wouldn't have been able to handle it.
"Clearly," Lucius Malfoy sneered. "Associating with Muggles…" He cast one more look in the direction of Hermione's parents, before dropping Ginny's book back into her cauldron and standing inches away from Mr. Weasley's face. "And I thought you could sink no lower…"
When Mr. Weasley did not retaliate as he had most likely wanted, Mr. Malfoy merely smirked. "I'll see you at work."
He turned and left the shop, and Malfoy took his place, but this time in front of Harry.
"See you at school."
He turned, and with one last glare in her direction, left the shop.
When she left the shop Melanie had her arms laden with a number of new books, and all had been autographed. Mrs. Danielson, who was completely unaware of what had occurred, as well as Mrs. Weasley made sure everything was bought before they prepared to leave.
"How about a treat then?" Mrs. Weasley suggested.
Of course everyone agreed and soon they were piling into Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. It seemed their number was a bit overwhelming for the small shop, but Mr. Fortescue helped push three tables together so that the very large group could sit together. Melanie found her place between Hermione and Harry.
Having never been to Fortescue's herself (the last time Hagrid went in and got her and Harry something), Melanie didn't know which flavor to choose. And some were ridiculous! Broccoli flavored ice cream? Honestly! She ended up picking regular chocolate ice cream.
Mrs. Danielson, who seemed to be getting along very well with Mrs. Weasley, was quite content with allowing Melanie to go to look at the Quidditch shop just down the road. So Melanie followed Harry, Ron, and Hermione out of the parlor and they began walking towards the Quidditch shop.
As they were looking around in the store Harry approached her as Ron and Hermione walked further into the shop.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
Melanie looked at him curiously. "Of course I'm fine. Why shouldn't I be?"
Harry sighed. "Well it's just that… what Malfoy said…"
"I could honestly care less about what comes out of that snake's mouth," Melanie replied, her tone full of disgust.
"I know," Harry said. "I wasn't talking about Draco Malfoy, though."
Again Melanie stopped her browsing and looked at him. "Mr. Malfoy? What about him?" she asked, though she knew perfectly well what Harry was trying to get at.
"I heard what he said about your parents, Mel. I know you're thinking about that."
"I'm not," Melanie lied. "He couldn't possibly have known them…he was lying."
Harry looked at her with a serious expression, and Melanie sighed. She knew she couldn't keep lying to Harry, not after all he had shared about his parents. He was her best friend after all; she knew she could trust him.
"But how Harry? How could he have known them?"
"I don't know," Harry said. "Maybe they went to school together?"
"No," Melanie answered shaking her head. "Dumbledore didn't say that they went to Hogwarts. I'm sure Mr. Malfoy did."
"Maybe… maybe he knew this relative of yours?" Harry suggested.
Melanie thought about it. It was possible, but she didn't know who this relative was! What was more, if she had a relative, did they know about her? And if they did, why hadn't they tried to find her?
"Maybe," Melanie agreed. "But who knows. That relative could be dead for all I know."
Melanie spent the rest of the holidays hiding her things from Faye, which proved to be more difficult then she first thought. It seemed the girl was determined to find out what Melanie was hiding. It had gotten to the point where Melanie had finally asked the Matron if she could put her things in her room, where Faye would never think to look. So now the only thing she had in her room was her wand, which she kept at all times, and the stuffed lion Harry had gotten for her last Christmas.
When the last day of the summer holiday arrived Melanie was both excited and sad to leave. She missed Hogwarts and being able to do magic, but she would miss Faye and the others as well. So half-heartedly, Melanie got into the car with Mrs. Danielson and made her way to King's Cross Station.
It was as busy as ever and it took Melanie some time to weave her way through the crowd to reach Platform Nine and Three Quarters. She had assured Mrs. Danielson that she would be fine on her own, and so the Matron had not come inside with her.
She finally reached the wall and casually leaned against the barrier, disappearing through to the other side. The platform was packed with other students saying goodbye to their families, but Melanie managed to make her way through. She reached the train and loaded her truck onto it, before going off to find the compartment that the others would already be on.
Melanie eventually found the compartment, but only Hermione was inside. As they waited for the boys to show up, they talked about all the things they would do in the coming year and all the exciting things that would happen. But as time passed Melanie grew more and more anxious. Harry and Ron were no where in sight, and time was ticking away. The train leaved exactly at eleven o'clock, it wasn't going to wait for anyone.
Before she knew it, the train suddenly lurched forward, and began to leave the station. While looking out the window Melanie asked, "Where are they?"
It turned out that Harry and Ron never made it on the train, but Melanie and Hermione only found that out after they got to Hogwarts. And one of the two geniuses had thought of taking the Weasley family car, the blue Ford Angela that was bewitched to fly. They did make it to Hogwarts in the car, but nine muggles had spotted the flying car along the way and they had crashed into the Whomping Willow that had been on the school grounds for years. They car had yet to be found; Harry and Ron said it disappeared into the Forbidden Forest.
"Detention? On the first day?" Neville asked, as the group of second year Gryffindors made their way down to the greenhouses. Melanie was walking between him and Harry.
"That must be some kind of record!" Seamus said.
"I should think you'd count yourself lucky that's all you got," Hermione told the boys.
Ron looked at her grumpily. "I should think you'd mind your own business."
"Ron, stop," Melanie said. "Hermione's right. You two are very lucky you weren't expelled."
"Thanks to Dumbledore," Harry said. "Snape was more than ready to kick us out."
"That's Snape for you," Melanie said. "Frankly, I think one detention was a little lenient on Dumbledore's part."
"You think we should have gotten worse?" Ron argued. "Are you mad?"
"Says the boy who thought it'd be fine to fly a car to school," Melanie countered.
Ron shut up after that, knowing that she was right.
They entered the greenhouse and crowded around the long table, ready for their first Herbology class of the year. Professor Sprout, a squat little witch, greeted each of them, before addressing the entire class.
"Welcome to Greenhouse Three, Second Years," she said. "Today, we will be re-potting Mandrakes. Now, who here can tell me the properties of the Mandrake?"
Hermione of course was the only one with her hand up.
"Yes, Miss Granger."
"Mandrake, or Mandragora, is used to return those who have been transfigured to their original state," she stated. "It's also quite dangerous. The Mandrake's cry is fatal to anyone who hears it."
Professor Sprout beamed. "Excellent. Ten points to Gryffindor. As our Mandrakes are only seedlings, their cries won't kill you yet. However, they will knock you out for several hours. That is why I have provided each of you with a pair of earmuffs. If you would then..."
Earmuffs were passed down the line and Melanie was happy to get a pair of simple purple ones, unlike Ron, who was stuck with fluffy pink ones.
"Everyone got their earmuffs? Now…" Professor Sprout began. "Quiet easy. Just grasp the leaves tightly in one hand, and pull!"
She demonstrated, grabbing the leaves in the pot in front of her and pulling straight up. However to Melanie's (and most of the classes') shock, instead of normal plant roots, a small, ugly baby came out.
Down to her right, Neville fell to the floor.
Professor Sprout continued, and dropped the Mandrake into another pot, while the thing wailed and cried. She covered it with dirt and then removed her earmuffs.
"Hmm," she said. "Looks as though Mr. Longbottom neglected his muffs."
Seamus, who had been Neville's partner, shook his head. "No ma'am. He's just fainted."
"Very well. We'll just leave him then. Come now. Four to a tray, plenty of pots to go round..."
Melanie joined the others in re-potting the Mandrakes, occasionally throwing nervous glances at Neville, who had yet to wake up.
The same day at lunch, Melanie found herself being unusually quiet. Hermione's nose was buried in a book titled 'Gilderoy Lockhart's Travels with Trolls', Ron was attempting to repair his wand using Spell-o-tape (it had snapped right in half when they crashed into the Whomping Willow), and Harry was lost in his thoughts as usual.
"Say it," Ron said suddenly, holding up the lame attempt at fixing his wand. "I'm doomed."
"You're doomed," Harry said.
A blinding flash suddenly came from behind her and got both Harry and Ron in the face. Turning around she saw a first year standing behind her with a large camera and a smile on his face.
"Hiya, Harry," the first year said. "I'm Colin Creevey. I'm in Gryffindor too!"
"Hi, Colin," Harry said, his eyes still trying to adjust from the camera flash.
"They're for my dad… the pictures," Colin continued. "He's a milkman, you know, a Muggle, like all our family's been until me. No one knew all the odd stuff I could do was magic till we got my letter from Hogwarts. Everyone just thought I was mental."
"Imagine that," Ron muttered.
Melanie glare at him and mouthed the words 'Be nice'.
"Say, Harry," Colin said, completely oblivious to what Ron had said. "D'you think your friend could take a photo of me and you standing together? Ya' know, to prove I've met you?"
Harry cast a nervous glance at Ron, who looked positively homicidal. Luckily, the owls carrying the post swooped into the Great Hall, acting as an excuse for Harry not to have his picture taken. Colin, however, didn't leave.
No owls came for her, but Erol came flying down the table crashing right into Ron's soup.
"Bloody bird's a menace…," he said. "Oh, no…"
"Heads up, everyone. Weasley's gotten himself a Howler," Seamus warned, though he sounded slightly amused.
Melanie looked at the scarlet red letter in Ron's hand and wondered what on earth a Howler was.
"Go on, Ron," Neville said. "I ignored one from my Gran once... it was horrible."
She didn't understand why Ron was so pale, but she soon found out. He carefully began to open the letter, which sprung to life and folded into a mouth.
"RONALD WEASLEY!" the letter shouted in his face. The voice sounded exactly like Mrs. Weasley and Melanie suddenly knew why he had been so scared.
"HOW DARE YOU STEAL THAT CAR? I AM ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED! YOUR FATHER'S NOW FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK, AND IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT! IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE, WE'LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT HOME!"
The Howler calmed slightly and turned away from the mortified Ron, down the table where Ginny was sitting, writing in some black journal.
"Oh, and Ginny dear. Congratulations on making Gryffindor. Your father and I are so proud," the letter said.
Embarrassed, Ginny looked back down at her journal, avoiding the eyes that were suddenly on her.
The Howler turned back to Ron, only to stick its 'tongue' out at him, before tearing into a million tiny pieces. The other House tables roared with laughter and Colin took a few more pictures, this time of the absolutely crimson Ron.
Harry looked at him sympathetically. "Look at it this way. How much worse can things get?"
He shouldn't have said it, because things got much worse.
Gilderoy Lockhart was a joke. But he definitely made for an interesting Defense Against the Dark Arts class. While the rest of the girls, Hermione included, hung on his every word, Melanie felt slightly left out and instead tried to guess what was inside the large covered cage on Lockhart's desk. Harry and Ron seemed to be interested in it too.
"Let me introduce you to your new Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher," Lockhart began as he paced at the front of the classroom, which had changed dramatically. While last year there had been a number of necklaces of garlic, courtesy of 'frightened' Professor Quirrell, this year there were a number of self portraits hanging around the room, all smiling with brilliant white teeth.
Their new teacher was so modest.
"Me," Lockhart said, answering his own question. "Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League and five times winner of Witch Weekly's Most-Charming-Smile Award… But I don't talk about that. I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at her!"
Melanie assumed he expected everyone to laugh at his 'joke', but instead he laughed himself and only received a few meek smiles from the class.
"I see you've all bought a complete set of my books. Well done," he said. "I thought we'd start today with a little quiz. Nothing to worry about. Just to check how well
you've read them, how much you've taken in..."
Harry, who was sitting next to her, leaned over to whisper in her ear. "Did you read anything?"
Melanie shook her head.
The quiz itself was ridiculous. There was nothing about Defense Against the Dark Arts, instead it was a test on Gilderoy Lockhart himself. How was she supposed to know what his favourite colour was?
When Lockhart collected the tests, it seemed he was thoroughly disappointed.
"Hardly any of you remembered my favorite color is lilac," Lockhart tutted. "But Miss Hermione Granger knew that my secret ambition is to rid the world of evil and market my own range of hair care potions. Good girl."
Hermione smiled; a flush pink rose in her cheeks.
Melanie turned to Harry. "Oh, shoot! I forgot that his middle name was 'Arrogant'! Did you get that Harry?" she said sarcastically.
Harry snickered, as did Ron who was right behind her. Hermione however gave them a disapproving look.
Lockhart turned to the class, his expression suddenly darkening. "Now... be warned!" he started dramatically. "It is my job to arm you against the foulest creatures known to wizard kind! You may find yourself facing your own worst fears in this room. Know only that no harm can befall you whilst I am here..."
Melanie finally caught interest in the class. She knew he must have been about to reveal what was in the cage, which was still rattling loudly.
"I must ask you not to scream. It might provoke them!"
He whipped the cover off of the cage and revealed several blue fairy-like creatures, that shook the bars of the cage and pulled faces at the students. Expecting to be scared by some ferocious monster, Melanie was slightly disappointed by the little fairies.
"Cornish pixies?" Seamus said, laughing.
Lockhart beamed. "Freshly caught Cornish pixies!" he added enthusiastically.
Seamus continued to laugh, provoking snickering around the rest of the class. When the giggling didn't quickly die down, Lockhart said, "Laugh if you will, Mr. Finnegan, but pixies can be devilishly tricky little blighters. Let's see what you make of them!"
He flung the cage door open and the swarm of pixies escaped. Madness ensued. The pixies were ripping books apart, spraying students with ink, and breaking anything and everything. They were like miniature versions of Peeves! The snide little creatures even hoisted Neville by the ears and hung him from the chandelier!
Melanie swatted them away like pesky bugs, but they continued to pull on her hair and robes, shredding them in places. One even tried to rip her necklace from her, the one Mrs. Danielson had given her at the beginning of her first year, but that pixy was quickly put in its place.
"Come on now, round them up, round them up," Lockhart instructed the class, most of which were fleeing the room. "They're only pixies!"
He pulled out his wand and confidently raised it into the air. "Peskipiski Pesternomi!" he chanted. However, unsurprisingly to Melanie, the spell had no effect and one particularly devilish pixy grabbed his wand and tossed it out the window.
Lockhart joined the stampede of students trying to leave the classroom and before he left he turned back to Melanie and the others.
"I'll ask you four to just nip the rest of them back into their cage," he said, before leaving the class and slamming the door behind him.
Melanie couldn't believe him! He was the teacher and he just fled in fear!
"What do we do now?" Ron asked as he used a book to knock away a pixy that was pulling on Hermione's hair.
Hermione raised her wand into the air and shouted, "Immobilus!"
All the pixies froze in mid-air, slowly drifting around the class like meteors in orbit.
"Why is it always me?" Neville asked from above them.
Melanie and Harry helped Neville down from the chandelier while Hermione and Ron grabbed the pixies and stuffed them back into their cage. When they left the classroom, they were all tired and disheveled.
"Can you believe him?" Ron asked as they walked down the corridor.
"I'm sure Professor Lockhart just wanted to give us some hands-on experience," Hermione said.
Melanie looked at her as though she were nuts.
"Hands on?" Harry repeated. "Hermione, he didn't have a clue what he was doing!"
Entirely unconvinced Hermione said, "Rubbish. Read his books. You'll see all the amazing things he's done."
"He says he's done," Ron said glumly.
The rest of the day was perfectly normal and after their first class, Professor Lockhart chose to stick to teaching with books. The first week back at Hogwarts passed mostly without incident, and soon it was their first Saturday. Harry had Quidditch practice that day, Oliver Wood had wanted to start training for the season early, and so Melanie followed Hermione and Ron out into the courtyard. Hermione was of course set on studying, but Ron and Melanie could think of a million better things to do. For that reason, Ron brought his chess set outside (he had gotten a new portable one for his last birthday) and he and Melanie played while Hermione looked on disapprovingly. Ron, of course, won every match, even after Melanie asked him to go easy on her. She was about to take a break from losing when the Gryffindor Quidditch team entered the courtyard on their way to the pitch. Harry waved at them as he passed, but his happiness evaporated when they saw the Slytherin team enter the courtyard too.
"Uh, oh. I smell trouble," Ron said.
Hermione closed her book and Ron quickly packed away the chess set before they made their way over to the group, which were clearly not pleased with each other.
When they finally reached the group, Melanie heard Oliver Wood reading from a note that the Slytherin team's Captain, Marcus Flint, had given him.
"'I, Professor Severus Snape, do hereby give the Slytherin team permission to practice today, owing to the need to train their new seeker.' You've got a new Seeker? Who?" Wood asked.
Someone began pushing through from the back of the Slytherin crowd and Melanie was shocked when Malfoy stepped forward, a smirk on his face.
"Malfoy?" Harry asked in amazement.
"That's right," Malfoy said. "And that's not all that's new this year..."
The Slytherin team each held up seven brand-new brooms, gleaming black. The Gryffindor team looked at them stunned.
"Those are Nimbus Two Thousand Ones!" Ron exclaimed; he too was clearly astounded.
"A generous gift from Draco'sfather," Marcus Flint told them.
"That's right, Weasley," Malfoy said, his smirk growing wider. "You see,unlike some, my father can affordto buy the best."
It was then that Hermione spoke up. "At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to buy their way in. They got in on pure talent."
Malfoy glared at her, and a look of repulsion appearing on his face. "No one asked your opinion, you filthy little Mudblood."
Everyone, save Melanie and apparently Harry, gasped as if Malfoy had just swore. Little did they know at the time that it was much worse. Fred and George Weasley made a move towards Malfoy, but regretfully Oliver held them back.
"Save it for the match," he told them.
Ron, however, had different ideas and whipped out his wand, which was taped around the middle.
"You'll pay for that one, Malfoy!" he said. Pointing his wand directly at Malfoy he shouted, "Eat slugs!"
Unfortunately for Ron, his broken wand backfired and instead of hitting Malfoy, the spell hit him. He fell back onto the grass, holding onto his stomach and looking sickly green. While Hermione and Harry ran to Ron's side, Melanie glared at Malfoy, who was laughing with sick enjoyment.
"Ron! Say something!" she heard Hermione say.
Ron opened his mouth and burped, however a slug fell out of his mouth. Melanie supposed when he said, 'Eat slugs,' he meant it literally.
While a fascinated, Colin Creevey ran up with his camera, Melanie turned on Malfoy.
"Ron's wand might be broken, but mine's not," Melanie said. Drawing her wand she pointed it at him and shouted, "Wartolulis!"
A purple blast erupted from her wand and Malfoy fell back into the crowd of Slytherins, who caught him before he hit the ground. At first it seemed that her spell had failed, but then tiny, angry warts began sprouting up all over him. He cried in shock and was carried away by the Slytherin team.
Fred and George Weasley patted her on the back and told her she did a job well done.
"What was that spell again?" Fred asked, appearing as though he were taking notes.
Before she could answer, Gilderoy Lockhart appeared in front of her. Though he didn't look angry at all, she knew that she was in trouble.
"As clever as that was, I have a duty as a teacher to uphold. You'll spend detention with Harry in my office."
Melanie supposed she should have felt some kind of remorse for what she had done, but she was actually proud of herself. Maybe Malfoy had learned to stay away from them now. She highly doubted it.
When she caught up to the others, who had gone to Hagrid's hut in hopes he could do something about Ron, she found that Ron was still being sick. Hagrid found him a bucket and they sat down while they prepared to wait it out. Melanie chose to stand, she was still a little worked up after the whole Malfoy incident.
"Better out than in," Hagrid said as he settled down in a chair. "Who was he tryin' ter curse anyway?"
"Malfoy," Harry answered. "He called Hermione… well, I don't know exactly what it means..."
Hermione looked down at her hands and she quietly said, "He called me a Mudblood."
Hagrid gasped the same way the rest of them had when Malfoy first said the word, but Melanie still didn't understand what it meant. "He didn'!" Hagrid said.
Harry, who was just as confused as Melanie was, looked at Hermione curiously and though it looked like she didn't want to, she took a deep breath and explained.
"It means dirty blood," Hermione told them. "Mudblood's a really foul name for someone who was Muggle-born. Someone with non-magic parents. Someone... like me. It's not a term one usually hears in civilized conversation."
Melanie was disgusted and suddenly wished she had done worse to Malfoy for what he said.
"Yeh see, Harry, Melanie. There are some wizards, like Malfoy's family, who think they're better than everyone else 'cause they're what people call pureblood."
"That's horrible," Harry commented.
Ron belched up another slug. "It's disgusting!" he said.
"An' it's codswallop ter boot," Hagrid said. "Dirty blood. There's 'ardly a wizard today that's not half-blood or less. If we 'adn't married Muggles we'd've died out long ago. Besides, they haven't invented a spell our Hermione can't do..."
Hermione smiled and Hagrid beckoned her closer. He took her shoulder encouragingly and said, "Don' you think on it, Hermione. Don' you think on it fer a minute."
"Besides, I doubt Malfoy will want to call you that again after what I did to him," Melanie said with a grin on her face. Then she turned to Harry. "Oh, that reminds me Harry. I have detention with you tonight."
Harry just smiled and Hermione thanked her.
Melanie was pleased that Malfoy disappeared for the rest of the day, and in a sick way she wished that he'd choose to never be seen again. She knew that the spell was only temporary and that the warts would eventually vanish completely, but she still hoped. However her delight ended quickly when she had to leave with Harry to go to their detention. Ron had detention too, but he was going to the trophy room to polish the awards for Filch and so he left when they reached a separate corridor.
When Harry and Melanie drew near Professor Lockhart's office, he suddenly turned to her.
"That was great what you did for Ron and Hermione," he said to her.
Melanie just shrugged modestly. "Malfoy deserved it," she said. "Besides you would have done the same."
Harry just smiled and they entered Lockhart's office, where he was waiting with an excited smile on his face.
Four hours later, Melanie was still putting autographed pictures of Lockhart into envelopes, and she was beginning to fall asleep. Strangely, she had wished that she could have swapped detentions with Ron. She would have preferred Filch looming over her shoulder while she scrubbed at plaques instead of having to look at Gilderoy Lockhart's picture a million times over while listening to him drone on and on.
"Harry, Harry, Harry...," Lockhart said. "Can you possibly imagine a better way to serve detention than by helping me answer my fan mail?"
Harry forced a smile.
"And you, Miss Danielson, do you have any idea how lucky you are? A hundred girls would love to be in your position."
Melanie didn't even attempt a smile.
Lockhart turned back to Harry, who he clearly preferred talking too. "Fame's a fickle friend, Harry. Celebrity is as celebrity does. Remember that," he said.
Harry just nodded and passed Melanie another addressed envelope. Groaning, Melanie took it from him and picked up another photograph when a chilling voice filled the room.
'Come…come to me…'
"What?"
Melanie looked up to see Harry looking at Lockhart curiously.
"I was saying," Lockhart continued casually, "six solid months at the top of the bestseller list! Broke all records!"
"No... not you, that... voice," Harry said.
Lockhart looked at him strangely. "Voice?"
"That... voice. Didn't you hear it?" Harry asked.
"What are you talking about, Harry? I think we're getting a bit drowsy. Great Scott and no wonder! Look at the time! We've been here nearly four hours! Dinner's nearly done! If you two hurry you might make pudding. Spooky how the time flies when one's having fun!"
"Spooky."
Harry heard the voice too? And Lockhart didn't? What did that mean?
Melanie for some reason chose to keep the fact that she heard the voice too to herself. They were walking down the corridor in silence and Melanie was thinking about the voice when she heard it again.
'Blood…I smell blood…'
Harry stopped in front of her and was looking around. He had heard it again! Where was the voice coming from? What was it talking about?
'Let me rip you…let me kill you…'
She thought the voice was coming from inside the walls, and Harry thought the same thing because soon he stepped up to it, his fingers running along the stone. He began to walk away and Melanie followed, her eyes scanning the wall as she did. The voice…it sounded like hissing… and it was moving farther away. Soon enough she and Harry had broken into a run.
They rounded the corner and ran right into Hermione and Ron, who looked relieved to see them.
"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Did you hear it?" Harry asked suddenly.
"Hear what?" Ron asked.
"That…voice."
"Voice?" Hermione asked nervously. "What voice?"
"I heard it first in Lockhart's office and then again…" Harry said. He turned around to Melanie, as if just realizing she was there. "Didn't you hear it?" he asked.
Melanie didn't know what to say. "I…"
'Kill…time to kill…'
"It's moving," Harry said, forgetting Melanie's answer. "I think it's going to... kill."
Harry ran off and Hermione and Ron followed not knowing where they were going, and so did Melanie though she had a better idea. They ran along the corridors with Harry leading them and they just rounded a corner when suddenly (for Melanie) the hissing stopped. She stepped into a puddle of water and looked down, realizing that the entire hallway had been flooded.
"Harry, what are you doing?" Ron asked, panting.
Harry, who had arrived in the corridor before them, pointed at a wall. Melanie looked. Shimmering like red paint, there were words written along the wall.
THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED
ENEMIES OF THE HEIR... BEWARE.
Hermione was the first to speak. "The Chamber of Secrets has been opened...?"
"What's that?" Ron asked. "Hanging underneath?"
Melanie slowly walked closer to the message and gasped when she saw what exactly was hanging underneath.
"That's Filch's cat. Mrs. Norris," Harry answered.
Hanging stiffly by her tail from a torch bracket, Mrs. Norris' eyes were open and blank. Melanie was terrified. Who would do such a thing?
"Look at that," Hermione said, drawing Melanie's attention away from the poor cat. Looking in the direction that Hermione was indicating, Melanie saw a formation of small black spiders, all crawling in a single file line out the window.
"Have you ever seen spiders act like that? Ron...?"
Ron was backing away from the window with a look of fear on his face. "I don't like... spiders," he stuttered.
Melanie might have laughed at the irrational fear, if she didn't hear voices of students drawing closer. Dinner must have been over and students were returning to their Common Rooms. But they would see the message and Mrs. Norris first. And they would see Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Melanie in the middle of it all. Sure enough, students rounded the corners in both directions and stopped at the sight before them. A drowning silence falls on the corridor. To her right, Melanie saw Malfoy push forward, read the message, and grin nastily.
"Enemies of the heir, beware! You'll be next, Mudbloods!" he exclaimed as his eyes found Hermione. Melanie glared at him when his eyes fell on her, his grin turning into a spiteful scowl.
Before anything happened, the situation got even worse when Filch suddenly appeared, ordering the students to keep moving.
"What's going on here?" he shouted as he pushed through the crowd. "Go on now! Make way..."
He stopped dead at the sight of his beloved pet, his face drained of colour and terror welling up in his eyes.
"Mrs. Norris!" he cried, before rounding on Harry. "You! You've murdered my cat! I'll kill you!"
"Harry didn't touch her!" Melanie said, defending Harry, who was too shocked to move.
Filch then turned to her. "So you did then! You killed her! I'll kill you! I'll…"
"Argus!"
Dumbledore appeared in the crowd followed by a fleet of teachers, who upon seeing the wall earned looks of horror and shock on their faces. Dumbledore's face darkened.
"Everyone will proceed to their dormitories immediately," he ordered. Even though his voice was calm, Melanie could tell there was a certain fear behind it.
He then pointed to Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Melanie. "Everyone except you four," he said.
The corridor slowly emptied as students did what they were told, but no one left without casting a glance at them or whispering to their neighbor. When the hallway was finally empty, Dumbledore approached Mrs. Norris and gently took her from the wall, examining her closely.
"It was definitely a curse that killed her," Lockhart said, "probably the Transmogrifian Torture. Encountered it myself once, in Ouagadougou. The full story's in my autobiography..."
"She's not dead, Argus," Dumbledore stated, completely disregarding Lockhart's theory. "She's been Petrified."
"Precisely! So unlucky I wasn't there. I know the very counter-curse that could have spared her...," Lockhart rambled. From the looks on their faces, Melanie could tell that not even the other teachers believed a word he was saying.
Dumbledore sighed. "But how she's been Petrified... Icannot say," he said.
Obviously completely convinced, Filch pointed at Harry. "Ask him! It's him that's done it. You saw what he wrote on the wall!"
"If I might, Headmaster...," Snape began. Melanie sighed. This couldn't possibly be good.
"Perhaps Potter and his friends were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time..."
Melanie gaped. Was Snape defending them? It wasn't possible! Out of all the students he must have hated them the most. Now he was defending them?
"However, the circumstances are suspicious," he said.
Melanie knew it was too good to be true.
"I, for one, don't recall seeing Potter at dinner."
"I'm afraid that's my doing, Severus," Lockhart said. "You see, both Harry and Miss Danielson were helping me answer my fan mail..."
Snape's lip curled in obvious disgust.
Hermione turned to him. "That's why Ron and I went looking for them, Professor. We'd just found them when Harry said..."
Snape raised an eyebrow when Hermione suddenly stopped. "Yes, Miss Granger?" he pushed.
"When I said I wasn't hungry," Harry answered for her. "We were heading back to the Common Room when we found Mrs. Norris."
Snape looked at Harry coldly, as if he knew he was lying. Melanie hoped he wouldn't express his suspicions. They looked at Dumbledore for his decision.
He studied Harry carefully before he said, "Innocent until proven guilty."
"My cat has been Petrified!" Filch growled. "I want to see some punishment!"
"We will be able to cure her, Argus," Dumbledore assured him. "As I understand it, Madam Sprout has a very healthy growth of Mandrakes. When they have matured, a potion will be made which will revive Mrs. Norris.
"In the meantime," he looked pointedly at Melanie and the others. "I advise caution. To all."
Melanie followed the others towards the Common Room, not listening to the conversation in the least bit. The Chamber of Secrets…what was it? And who petrified Mrs. Norris? These questions ran through her head a few times before the final and most important entered her head. Why did she hear the voice?
"Harry."
Hermione's voice interrupted her thoughts and Melanie finally realized that they were on the moving staircases. "This voice," Hermione continued. "You said you heard it first in Lockhart's office?"
"Yes," Harry answered shortly.
"And did he hear it?"
Harry thought for a minute. "He said he didn't."
"Maybe he was lying," Ron suggested.
Hermione huffed at him. "I hardly think someone with Gilderoy Lockhart's credentials would lie to one of his students, Ronald," she said, causing Melanie to roll her eyes. "Besides, if you recall, we didn't hear anything either."
"You do believe me, don't you?" Harry asked, interrupting the likely argument to come.
"Course we do," Hermione answered. "It's just... it's a bit weird, isn't it? You hear this voice and then... Mrs. Norris turns up Petrified."
"D'you think I should've told them…Dumbledore and the others, I mean."
"Are you mad!" Ron exclaimed.
"No, Harry," Hermione said more civilly. "Even in the wizarding world, hearing voices isn't a good sign."
Harry remained quiet for the rest of the night and even the next morning. Melanie did the same. She hadn't told anyone that she heard the voice too; she didn't want to be anymore involved in this than she already was. Meanwhile, the school was buzzing with rumors, mostly about how Harry had killed Mrs. Norris. Melanie and the others did their best to ignore these, but Melanie couldn't help listening to the talk about the Chamber of Secrets. But it seemed that no one knew for sure what it was, just illogical guesses.
It was during Transfiguration that they finally got their answer. Melanie was sitting next to Hermione, who was having a hard time concentrating, something that had never been seen before. At the front of the class, McGonagall was standing next to a table where a bird was perched. A different animal was on each student's desk, but Melanie held no interest on the pigeon on hers.
"Today, we will be turning animals into water goblets," Professor McGonagall instructed. She turned to the bird beside her and tapped it three times with her wand. Silently, the bird transformed into a shimmering crystal water goblet.
"Now," she continued. "Who would like to go first...Mr. Weasley?"
To her left, sitting next to Harry, Ron nodded nervously. He took his wand and tapped Scabbers three times. The rat turned into a furry goblet with a tail.
"You must replace that wand, Mr. Weasley," Professor McGonagall told him.
Ron looked at his broken wand and nodded sheepishly.
Melanie watched Hermione raise her hand, without having touched the frog on her desk.
Professor McGonagall saw Hermione's raised hand and asked, "Yes, Miss Granger?"
Hermione cleared her throat and bravely asked what every student had wanted to ask. "Professor, I was wondering if you could tell us about the Chamber of Secrets?"
A hush fell over the class as everyone waited for the answer anxiously.
McGonagall avoided the issue. "My subject is Transfiguration, Miss Granger," she said.
"Yes, Professor," Hermione said. "But there seems to be very little written about the Chamber of Secrets. For those of us with a personal interest in the subject, that is...disturbing."
Professor McGonagall considered Hermione's question for a long moment, and then, to the gratitude of the class, nodded.
"Very well. You all know, of course, that Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago by the four greatest witches and wizards of the age," she began. "Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. Three of the founders co-existed quite harmoniously. One did not."
"Three glasses who?" Ron muttered.
"Salazar Slytherin wished to be more selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts," McGonagall continued. "He believed that magical learning should be kept within all-magic families. In other words, purebloods."
Melanie looked across the class to where Malfoy could be seen smirking at his two goons, Crabbe and Goyle.
"Unable to sway the others, he decided to leave the school. According to legend, Slytherin had built a hidden chamber in this castle, known as the Chamber of Secrets. Shortly before departing, he sealed it until that time when his own true heir returned to the school. The heir alone would be able to open the Chamber of Secrets and unleash the horror within, and by so doing, purge the school of all those who, in Slytherin's view, were unworthy to study magic."
"Muggleborns," Hermione added.
Professor McGonagall nodded. "Yes. Naturally, the school has been searched many times for such a chamber. It has never been found," she told them.
"Professor, what exactly does legend tell us lies within the Chamber?" Hermione asked.
McGonagall shuddered slightly. "The Chamber is said to be home to something which the heir of Slytherin alone can control. It is said to be home... to a monster."
They were making their way through the packed corridor after class when Ron asked, "Do you think it's true? Do you think there really is a Chamber of Secrets?"
"Yes," Hermione answered surely. "Couldn't you tell? McGonagall's worried. All the teachers are."
"But if there really is a Chamber of Secrets," Harry said, "and it's really been opened, that means…"
"The Heir of Slytherin had returned to Hogwarts," Melanie finished for him. "The question is, who is it?"
"Let's think," Ron said, sarcasm lacing his tone. "Who do we know who thinks Muggleborns are scum?"
Hermione, who was eyeing Malfoy's figure ahead of them, spitefully said, "If you're talking about Malfoy…"
"Of course! You heard him! 'You'll be next, Mudbloods!'," Ron said.
"I heard him," Hermione said. "But Malfoy? The Heir of Slytherin?"
"Maybe Ron's right, Hermione," Harry said. "I mean, look at his family. The whole lot of them have been in Slytherin for centuries!"
"Crabbe and Goyle must know," Ron said. "Maybe we could trick them into telling…"
"No," said Hermione, "even they aren't that thick. But there might be another way. Mind you, it would be difficult. Not to mention we'd be breaking about fifty school rules. And it would be dangerous. Very dangerous."
"Are you talking about what I think you're talking about?" Melanie asked.
Hermione just nodded.
Ron beamed. "When do we start?"
