Chapter 2

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns Harry Potter. I created Melissa.

The orphanage was extremely and eerily quiet that summer. There were only a few of them left. Two of the teenagers had turned eighteen while she had been at school, and were now out on their own. The orphanage did not force them out, but they had been ready to leave for a while. They had had jobs and living plans set up for months. In addition, a month before she had come home, two of the six year olds were adopted. Now it was only Mel, Sean, Becky, Lucas, and Marc. Needless to say, she and Sean had spent a lot of time together that summer—both alone and helping with the remaining children.

Sean constantly surprised Melissa. He was not at all what she had thought him to be, which was one of those kids that were just angry and broody all the time. Instead, he was almost the opposite (he did sometimes get quite broody. When he did, Melissa would avoid him until he was done.). He was actually very smart and kind. He spent a lot of time thinking and reading. He said this was because there was not much else to do in a house full of small children, but Melissa could tell that he loved learning and trying to think of new ways to do or view things. She appreciated this last trait the most. Of all the other orphans she had grown up with, only he shared her passion for learning. It was as if the others thought that being educated would not help them out of their situation. Melissa thought that was ridiculous. No, learning would not solve all their problems, but it did have the potential to help them get jobs, even if they were not the best in the world.

She had heard from her friends periodically. Most of her letters were from Angela or Cedric. Neither had been or would be able to visit her, but both had invited her to spend the holidays with them this year. She was currently thinking about if she wanted to go or not. She knew she would feel guilty leaving Sean and the others at Christmas. They were such a small number as it was, and what if more left between now and then? What if someone was left behind? Would it be selfish of her not to come home? She gave a frustrated sigh and decided to think about it later, like at Christmas. Right now she really needed to focus on finding her belongings.

Since April had been adopted, she did not have to share a room. So, because she did not have to worry about anyone else's space, her stuff had been thrown about the room throughout the course of the summer. At the moment, she was looking for her new Defense Against the Dark Arts book, which she had delivered to along with her other books as it was too far to drive (also, Victoria had not wanted her to be walking the streets of London alone). Finally, she found it wedged between her bed and the wall. She must have fallen asleep reading it one night and had dropped it. She yanked it out and threw it into her trunk. She searched the room and house once more before closing her trunk, her uniform already laid for her.

"You all packed?" Sean asked as she flopped down on the couch.

"Yep, all ready to go. I can't wait!" she exclaimed, excitement starting to build within her.

"So sorry we're not good enough for you," Sean sulked. Normally, she would have thought he was just teasing, but this time his voice was void of any playful tone. He was actually upset that she was going.

"It's not that! I love you guys. You're my family, remember?" she said apologetically. "I just really like school and want to see my friends. Besides, you're going away too."

Sean grimaced at the reminder. In the spring he had taken a test to be placed into higher classes. Apparently he had scored very well, and a bordering school had offered him a place there on a scholarship. Basically, he would have everything paid for him and be getting a great education. Melissa could not understand why he was not excited. He would finally be challenged and not bored in and out of the classroom.

"Why don't you want to go? You hate the school and the people here."

"Yeah, but there I have to deal with kids that come from money. They base everything on how rich your parents are!" he complained. She rolled her eyes at him. For as smart as he was, he could be rather dumb.

"I go through the same thing at my school, but ya know what? The people that are really worth knowing will care more about you than your pocketbook. Success is subjective. It depends on what you value. Where and how you want to succeed probably differs from theirs, or could be similar. Remember, it's all in how you look at things and what you make of them," she lectured.

He rolled his eyes and muttered, "Whatever."

She shook her head and sighed at him. They were never going to see eye to eye. He thought wealth meant power and success. And while she could not argue that those with more money did often have more power, she did not think having a lot of money was a sign of success. She thought success was based on what kind of person you were and the relationships you had with people you cared about. She got up to go to bed, knowing she had to be up early tomorrow.

"Have fun at school," he said begrudgingly.

"You too!" she called over her shoulder, flashing him a teasing smirk. He glared at her, but said nothing. She had to force herself not to laugh, lest she hurt his feelings. He could be annoyingly sensitive at times. Just to be safe, she looked around her room once more for anything she may have forgotten. After finding nothing, she crawled into bed, but she was too excited to fall asleep. Instead she looked out her window at the stars and made her pictures with them. She was not sure when she finally dozed off, but she felt like she had not slept at all when Victoria shook her awake at six the next morning.

"Come on, get up!" she commanded. "We can't afford to leave late."

Melissa forced herself out of her bed, only half awake. She struggled to put on her clothes in her zombie-like state, and Victoria ended up having to help her. After which, she admonished Melissa for staying up late and not getting enough sleep. They did end up leaving on time, but only because Melissa ate her breakfast in the car. Victoria was a little frazzled for the first half of their drive, but was back to her normal cheery self by the time the reached London. As usual, they said their good-byes at the car, and Melissa walked to the platform by herself. It was much less intimidating this time, now that she knew what she was doing.

"Mel!"

She turned and saw Cedric running toward her, beaming. She paused, waiting for him to reach her. He was out of breath when he did, but managed to pull her into a tight hug anyways. She laughed at his antics, glad to see him after the long summer.

"Cedric, you need to be careful! You almost ran into ten people!" a woman scolded. Mel saw a man and a woman—Cedric's parents—walking toward them. His father looked amused by his son's behavior, while his mother was a cross between annoyance and amusement. "You must be Melissa. Cedric's told us all about you," Mrs. Diggory said, holding out her hand. Melissa blushed and mumbled a "hello."

"Why don't I take her trunk and you go get them on the train," Mr. Diggory said to his wife. She nodded in agreement.

"Thank you, but I can take of it. You needn't trouble yourself," Melissa protested.

"Nonsense," he said, waving off her concerns. "It's my pleasure. Good luck at school, both of you!" he called back as he walked away with her trunk.

Mrs. Diggory rushed them onto the train, fretting over Cedric as she did. Only when his father reappeared and pulled his wife back were they able to go find a compartment. As the train pulled out of the station, they waved good-bye to his parents from their compartment.

"Where are the others?" Melissa asked.

"I don't know, they'll find us though. How was your summer?"

"Fine, very quiet. There's only five us left. Now with me and Sean off to school, there's only three left."

"Who's Sean?"

"He's one of the kids at the orphanage. He's two years older than us. He's been helping me with the little ones since April left. I wrote about him, didn't I?"

"No," he said, his voice funny.

Her second year passed in much the same fashion as her first year. Both she and Cedric continued to be the top in their class. Cedric also made the quidditch team; he was their new seeker. It was not until their third year, when Harry Potter came to Hogwarts, that things started to change. Mel started having very vivid, but vague dreams. She was able to ignore them until they started happening during the day. Once Cedric noticed, he forced her to go to see Madame Pomfrey. However Madame Pomfrey did not treat her after she heard what was wrong, all she did was sit Mel on one of the beds and asked to wait. Mel was very surprised when the Headmaster entered the Hospital Wing and sat on the bed next to hers.

"I understand that you've been experiencing some visions?" he asked, his light blue eyes twinkling behind his glasses. Though his eyes were kind, his penetrating stare unnerved her.

"Yes, sir," she said nervously.

"Do you remember what you've seen?"

"Yes."

"Would you mind telling me?"

"There's one where there's a room of fire. There are two people standing in the middle of the room and a mirror. One looks like a child and the other's an adult. The adult has two faces. Then it blurs and all I hear is screaming," she explained, her voice shakey.

"And the others?"

"They-they don't make a lot of sense. It could be the same one actually. I'm not sure," she said, her face screwed up in concentration as she tried to recall the vision. "There's a bright turquoise light and a confused feeling in one. In the other there's a violent green light, and a baby crying. That's all I can remember. Do you know what they mean, Professor? Or why I keep seeing these things?"

"I can only answer the second question, but I'm not sure if I should." He paused, deciding what he should divulge to the thirteen year old before him. "I'm afraid that at this time, it would be better for me to only answer part of that second question, and save the whole explanation for a later time."

"Ok," she said, happy to be getting any information.

"You are a Seer," he said. "It depends on the individual how one sees. In your case, it appears that you can see both past and future events. I believe you are taking Divination?"

"Yes, sir."

"I know Professor Trelawney does not appear to be a real Seer, but she is. I suggest that you continue your studies in that subject; it may help to hone your skills. I also suggest that you don't tell anyone about your gift. People often shun Seers because they fear the unknown. This fear leads to the belief that seeing into the future is unnatural."

She nodded her head in agreement. He dismissed her immediately, happy to see that the information had eased her mind. He knew she thought she had been going crazy. He sighed sadly, dreading the day he had to tell her the whole truth. There were two students at Hogwarts that did not know everything about their lives. But how do you tell two children that they will never be able to have a normal life?

"Is everything ok?" Cedric asked at dinner that night.

"Yeah, just a migraine. Madame Pomfrey gave me a potion," she lied. "She said that if it gets bad like that again I'm to come back to take more."

Cedric nodded his head, willing to accept whatever she told him. She felt guilty lying to him, even more so than Angela and Lindsey. What made it worse was that she wanted to tell him. She was sure she could trust him, but she was also afraid he would think she was a freak. It was first year all over again.

The rest of the year past by though it was far from uneventful. A troll broke into the castle at Halloween; Harry Potter and two other Gryffindor first years defeated it. Potter also made the Gryffindor quidditch team—the youngest player to do so in a century. At the end of the year, he defeated Voldemort, who had been sharing a body with Professor Quirrell. That was also the time when the dream with the fire stopped. Melissa now understood what she had been seeing. She ordered several books on Divination before going home for the summer, deciding she really needed to work on her Seeing skills.

"Hey Mel, do you want to come visit over the summer?" Cedric asked on the train ride back home.

"Sure."

"Cool. I'll send you a letter telling you when we'll come get you. Don't want you to get bored this summer!" he said, trying to cheer her up. He knew she was still a little sad. The three little kids had been adopted, leaving her and Sean the only two at the orphanage. She was happy that the kids had families now, but she also felt as if she had lost a part hers.

"Thanks Cedric," she said, smiling warmly.

XXX

It had been three weeks since school had ended. Melissa had just gotten a note from Cedric. It told her that he and his mother would be coming to pick her up in three days, and that she would be spending rest of the holiday with him and his parents. She was so excited that she was already completely packed.

"Mel!" Victoria called up the stairs at her. Mel walked out to the landing and began walking down the stairs.

"Yes, Victoria?"

"Would you mind staring dinner? I need to go out and kept some things."

"Ok."

She walked into the kitchen and began the prep work, humming to herself as she did.

"What are you so happy about?"

She turned her head and saw Sean standing in the kitchen doorway. She was surprised to see him. He had only been at home in the evenings this summer, spending his days with some boys from the village. She had hardly seen him, for which she was grateful. He had been different since he had come from school. He kept to himself even more, was rude and had a dark sense of humor. And the way he had started looking at her made her extremely uncomfortable.

"Nothing, just going to visit a friend in a few days," she said nonchalantly and returning to slicing the carrots for their salad.

"Too boring around here for you?" he asked, walking to stand behind her. She could feel his breath on her neck, causing her stomach to churn nervously.

"No, just thought it would be nice to go visit."

Suddenly, one arm was around her waist pulling her to him, while he worked the other one under her shirt and nuzzled her neck. She struggled to escape his grasp, but found it difficult.

"What are you doing? Let me go!"

"Don't you wanna have some fun before you go?" he whispered in her ear.

"No!"

He spun her around to face him, gripping her shoulders tightly so that she could not move. The crazy look in his eyes caused her tremble in fear. "You're so pretty," he whispered dangerously before crashing his lips to hers. She tried to push him away, but he grabbed her wrists and held them firmly in one of his. His other hand was knotted in her hair, making it impossible for her to turn away from him. He had her trapped, but apparently that was not enough. He wanted more than control over her, he wanted her to respond to him. She had not been kissing him back, just standing with her lips pressed together and hoping he would stop. Now he was trying to coax her lips apart. When he could not get her to do what she wanted, he bit her lip, hard.

She yelped in pain and pulled away from him. She felt something dripping down her chin and had a metallic taste in her mouth. She looked down and saw blood drops on the floor. He had made her bleed! What was wrong with him? Her anger fueled her courage. When he moved to try and kiss her again, she slapped him across the face. A red handprint immediately appeared on the side of his face, his eyes blazing with fury. He grabbed her before she could do anything else and shook her roughly. Fear and anger bubbled inside, she tried to think of something she could do: She had dropped the knife and her wand was upstairs. She had nothing she could use; there was nothing she could do.

"OUCH!" he howled in pain, suddenly letting go of her. Surprised to find herself free, she lost her balance and fell to the floor. She looked at Sean to see why he had yelled and let her go, her eyes widening in shock as she did. He was holding his hands out in front of him. Staring at them in disbelief and horror as they turned red and grew blisters. It looked like his hands were burning. He did not even bother to look at her before running from the room.

Melissa did not know what to think, what to do. She was scared and angry. She just wanted to get away from him, from this house. Forgetting about dinner, she ran upstairs to her room, slamming and locking the door behind her. She scribbled a quick note to Cedric asking him to come sooner, telling him she no longer felt safe here. She hastily tied the note to his owl's leg, which had been resting by the windowsill, and opened the window for him.

She then sat on her bed, curling up in the corner and tightly hugging a pillow to her. Then she cried. She cried until she could not cry any more. How could he do this to her? He was her friend, she trusted him! What did she do to deserve this?

"Melissa? Where are you?" a gentle voice called. Victoria was back. Melissa wanted to run to her and tell her what Sean had done. But she could not move from her spot on the bed. Too afraid of what would happen to them both. So, she stayed silent on her bed. She heard the stairs creak as Victoria walked up them. She paused outside her door and rapped on it while jiggling the handle as she called out to Melissa, "Mel, are you in here?"

Melissa did not answer. She heard the door on the lock click and her eyes shot to the door. Victoria opened the door and entered the room. She froze in mid-step when she saw Melissa, who's arms and bottom lip were bruised and her eyes bloodshot from crying.

"What happened?" Victoria asked, her voice faint.

"I don't know," she said, her own voice trembling with fear. "He just attacked me."

"What did he do to you?"

"He grabbed me, shook me and…and he bit me."

"Did he do anything else?"

"N-no," Mel said, bursting into tears again. Victoria rushed to her side and pulled the girl into a comforting hug and tried to soothe her. "Don't worry," she whispered. "We'll take care of it, I promise. Do want to stay with me at my house tonight?"

Melissa was about to answer when there was a sharp rapping on the front door. Victoria hesitated before going to answer it, glancing over shoulder at Mel several times

"Can I help you?" Melissa heard her ask.

"Where's Mel? She said she was in trouble!" The stranger at the door asked panicked. His voice was familiar, but she could not place it.

"She's upstairs. Who are you?" Victoria asked. But she did not get an answer. Melissa heard Victoria give a cry of surprise, which was followed by thundering footsteps on the stairs. Suddenly, she saw Cedric Diggory standing in her doorway, his face white with fear. His fear quickly turned to anger as he took in her appearance. He rushed over to her and pulled her into a hug, trying not to hurt her.

"Who did this to you?" he said between gritted teeth, his voice trembling with anger.

"S-Sean," she sobbed into his chest. He cradled her to him, rocking them back and forth as she cried.

"You can come home with me, ok? I'll make sure you're safe," he whispered to her. Melissa's only response was to cling to him tighter. She had finally calmed down and did not want to become a sobbing mess again.

"Ah-mm," a male coughed from the doorway. Both teens turned toward the sound, and saw Mr. Diggory looking very serious. "Mrs. Taylor has agreed to let Melissa come home with us. If this is what you want, dear?"

Melissa nodded her head, "Y-yes sir."

"Good," he said, waving his wand and making her trunk disappear. "Now, it seems the boy has left the house. Would like to involve the authorities? He attacked you and you have every right to seek legal action."

"He needs help," was all she could say.

"Perhaps, we will leave that for another day," he said, more to himself than her. "I think we can apparate from here. Cedric, help her up."

Cedric did as his father instructed, and led her over to him. He held out his hands to them, which they both took. "Were all your things in that trunk?"

"Yes."

"Good. This will be a bit uncomfortable, but you'll be perfectly safe."

Melissa had scarcely nodded her head in understanding before she was being sucked into a vacuum cleaner. At least, that was what it felt like. The feeling was so uncomfortable that it was almost painful. As soon as it had begun, it was over. Melissa felt the ground beneath her feet and dropped to her knees, letting go of Mr. Diggory's hand. She vomited violently, and was vaguely aware of Cedric at her side, pulling back her hair. When she stopped, Cedric helped her to her feet and led her inside the house. He steered her to a chair in the kitchen, where his mother started healing her bruises.

"Drink this," she said, handing Melissa a glass of black purple-black liquid. "It will help you to sleep. Right now you just need to rest, ok?"

Melissa nodded and drank the liquid. It tasted bittersweet, but soothed her throat as it went down. Cedric, who had been hovering protectively behind her, then led her to upstairs to the guest bedroom. "My room's across the hall and the bathroom's next door. If you need anything—I don't care what time of day it is—you can come ask me, ok?"

She nodded her head, and he opened the door to the guest bedroom. It had wood floors like the rest of the house. The furniture was a matching light brown wood and the linens were warm and flowery. She felt a wave of exhaustion hit her as she heard Cedric closing the door.

"Cedric," she said. He paused and looked her, concern in his eyes. She walked over to him and threw her arms around him.

"Thank you," she whispered. He hugged her tightly before releasing her.

"I'm always here for you. Please get some rest, now."

She nodded her head for the hundredth time, and he closed the door. She collapsed on the queen-size bed, falling asleep before she could even crawl under the covers.