That night as Melanie lay sleeping, curled up in her new dorm bed with her new kitten Quinn, she had several horrific nightmares. In the first, a man was yelling to a woman-presumably his wife- to make sure the babies were okay, he would hold him off. There was a great sense of danger and fear overtook Melanie. Then there was a flash of green light that nearly blinded her and a thump as the good man fell to the ground. There was cruel laughter and a blood-curdling voice that said, "Step aside, Lily. Just give me the boy!" The woman refused and because of that, her life too ended in a bright flash of green light and a scream that would stay with Melanie always. She had had that dream before many times, but it never stopped scaring her.
In the next, that Harry Potter boy was sitting across from her and she was staring at him with great scrutiny. Then there was that scream. Again and again, it resounded through her head. Harry looked at Melanie for a moment, panic searing through his eyes. And then, it was all gone.
By morning, Melanie didn't remember those nightmares. She only remembered the one bad dream about how she couldn't find her first class and was late for everything.
After breakfast, she and Hermione set off to their first class. Not once all day did Melanie get lost.
"Do you wanna come to the library with me?" Hermione asked Melanie that afternoon after their last class.
Melanie grinned. She loved libraries and reading. "Of course."
They settled down with several books in arm chairs that were too big for either girl. Melanie was happy she had found a friend in Hermione. Hermione was a know-it-all and was rather predictable, and that annoyed Melanie, but it was better than her other roommates, Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil who only liked giggling over famous witches and wizards, discussing beauty products, and fawning over boys.
Melanie had always liked losing herself in books. She could read for hours and hours and it pleasured her more than anything. The only thing she liked better was swimming in the stream behind her house, but her parents had banned her from doing that when a little Muggle girl down the street drowned (Mel still secretly did it anyways).
"Oh my!" Hermione exclaimed. Melanie looked up from the book she was reading- it was detailing all the special properties of unicorns and had really cool illustrations. "It's almost curfew! We don't want to be caught out of bed after dark; we might be expelled."
Melanie didn't quite understand why they had to get back to the tower, being as it was forty-five minutes to curfew and it only took about five minutes to get from the library to Gryffindor tower, but she trudged along behind Hermione back to their common room.
Hermione was telling Melanie something about the moving staircases that she had read about in Hogwarts, A History when Mel bumped into a brown-haired boy.
"Oh, sorry," she apologized as the boy turned around.
"No problem," the boy-whom she could now see was her friend, Terry Boot- smiled. "How was your first day?"
"Not bad. Didn't get lost or expelled," she smiled back. "What about you?"
"It was pretty good. I really like it here. It's pretty cool, huh?"
"Most definitely," Mel agreed. Then realizing Hermione was still standing next to her awkwardly she said," Terry, this is Hermione Granger, Hermione, this is Terry Boot. Did you guys meet yet?"
"No, we hadn't. Thanks for introducing us," Terry said.
"Pleasure to meet you, Terry," Hermione said, faking a smile over her anxiety. "Melanie, we really should get back to the tower."
"Right, of course. Well, I'll see you around, Terry."
"See ya, Mel," he grinned, waving as he walked around.
"Geez, Hermione, we have plenty of time to get back. No need to be so anxious," Melanie told her friend, exasperated.
"I know, I know. But I don't want to get in trouble. Especially on our first night. That would be the worst."
"Yeah, I guess," Melanie shrugged. "Caput Draconis," she told the fat lady when they got to the tower. The portrait swung open and Hermione and Melanie climbed through.
Melanie needed to write to her parents. Her day had been pretty crazy and she had nearly forgotten about all the questions she had. But now she had some time on her hands to write them and Leah. Hermione skipped off to study in the corner and Melanie got some parchment and a quill and began to pen her letters.
Dear Mummy and Daddy,
Hogwarts is really cool. After only one day, I've learned a lot! I got sorted into Gryffindor, which was a very happy surprise. But the Sorting Hat said some strange things. He said that I had inherited my mother's kindness, quick-wit, and talent, but also my father's arrogance and bravery. What does that mean? I've never know Daddy to be arrogant and well, Mum, you're not talented as a witch, no offense or anything. What did he mean? It was like he was suggesting I was someone else, or my parents were someone else. And I'm almost positive that you've never tried on the Sorting Hat, right?
Well, anyways, I'm missing you guys lots. Love, Love, Love, Melly
Melanie wrote a letter to Leah, voicing the same concerns. She added in about her new friends and her nightmares. Leah was always much more accepting than her parents and more understanding. Maybe it was because Leah wasn't nearly as old as her parents. Leah couldn't have be any older than 32 while her parents were in their late forties, her father pushing fifty.
She fell asleep easy that night, hoping to send the letters off in the morning and have her answers soon.
Author's note: So I hope everyone is enjoying this :) This story has been welled up within my brain since I was seven and I'll be fifteen in a few days! I had some trouble coming up with a name for this chapter, so if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to tell me. And remember, reviews(good reviews, bad reviews, funny reviews, any reviews) = eternal gratefulness and me being a better writer. So if you have something to say, say it! ~Skye