Chapter 3

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

Cedric was furious. How could someone hurt her like that? She had never even been mean to someone, let alone hurt anyone. How could this have happened to her?

"Cedric, please try to eat something. I know you're angry, but that's not going to help her," his mother said gently. It worried her to see her son this angry. He rarely got angry, even as a child. But now he sat across from her with his jaw clenched and his hands balled up into fists, the knuckles white.

"I know," he said, his voice hard.

"Cedric," his father said warningly.

"Sorry, Mum. I just don't understand why this happened to her," he said, hanging his head so they could not see the tears. He was almost fifteen years old and he was crying. His mother reached and laid her hand on his.

"We can't answer that, sweetie. No one can but that boy. All we can do is try to help her through this. She wouldn't be able to handle you being angry. She'll blame herself, and that's the last thing we want her to do."

Cedric nodded his head. He knew his mother was right. She saw cases like this all time at St. Mungo's. Actually, what she saw was much worse.

"I think I'm just going to go to bed. I'm not really hungry," he said, getting up from the table. His parents nodded in understanding. He paused in the entryway and turned back to his parents. "Thanks for helping today, Dad."

"Of course, son," he said, giving him a reassuring smile. Cedric bid them goodnight and went up to his room. He had difficulty falling asleep. Mel's tear-stained face and bruised body kept flashing before his eyes. She had been so helpless. He had never seen her like that before. It was unnerving. He was not sure how he was going to help her, but he knew he was going to try. She was one of the most important people in his life. He had to do anything and everything he could to help her.

The next few weeks were difficult. Melissa was very withdrawn and jumpy. Cedric's mother traded shifts with someone from the hospital so that they could come talk to her. The Healer, who was an older woman, came to Melissa talked to her for a few hours everyday. After a few weeks, Cedric noticed that Melissa was relaxing and acting like her old self, though she was more timid than she had been before. One day he overheard the Healer talking to his mother after one of Melissa's sessions. She had that while the experience had been traumatic, the attack and its affects were not too severe and how quickly she had received helped were aiding in her quick recovery. She had said that the biggest issue was rebuilding her sense of security and trust. That those were the two things that had been violated the most during her attack. Two more weeks went by and then the Healer stopped coming. Cedric only hoped that Melissa would continue to do ok.

"Hey Ced," she said, plopping down on the grass next to him. He closed the book his had been reading and looked at happy. He happily noted that she was smiling and that her overall mood seemed light and carefree. "What are you reading?"

"One of our new books for Defense. Mom had a copy. This Lockhart guy seems like a real wanker. I can't imagine why Dumbledore hired him," he said disapprovingly.

"That bad, huh?" she asked, taking the book and flipping it in her hands. He nodded his head in answer and watched as she skimmed the inside cover, her light green eyes blurring slightly has she did. Her long brown-red, which was looking even redder in the sunlight, fell about her in waves and framed her heart-shaped face perfectly.

In Cedric's opinion, she was the best girl in their year, maybe the whole school. She was smart, kind, funny, and pretty. Cedric had been drawn to her since that day on the train in their first year. There was just something that drew him to her, something he could not explain. He still could not, not completely. He knew he liked her and cared about her, but there was something else. Something he did not understand.

"Where do they find these people?" Mel said in disbelief, her voice startling Cedric out of his reverie.

"No-no idea," he choked out, blushing slightly. However, she was still skimming the book and did not notice. She handed the book back to him, her fingertips grazing his and sending a tingling sensation through them.

"You ready to go back to school in a few weeks?" he asked, trying to ignore the butterflies in his stomach.

"I think so," she said, tucking her arms under her knees and pulling to her chest. Over the past few weeks he had noticed that she did this whenever she was nervous or did not want to talk about something. He knew he had to be careful with what he said and how he said it or else she would clam up and refuse to talk about it.

"We're going to Diagon Alley on the thirty-first to get supplies and staying the night at the Leaky Cauldron. Angela's doing the same. She wants to see you. She's worried about you," Cedric said, his voice level as he attentively watched her reaction to his words. She looked a little uncomfortable, but was otherwise fine. "I haven't told her anything. But that and not allowing her to visit and you not writing to her have only made her very concerned about you."

"I know," she mumbled. "But I'm afraid of what she'll say and think. I'm not even sure that I want to tell her."

"You don't have to tell her anything," Cedric said gently. "However, she's your friend and cares about you. I doubt she'll think anything negative about you."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

An uncomfortable silence fell between them. Each was unsure of what to say and avoided looking at the other, though Cedric snuck a few looks at Melissa out of the corner of his eye. The silence was broken by Cedric's mother calling them in for dinner. Cedric hopped up and extended his hand to Melissa, who accepted it. He then turned and began walking toward the house.

"Cedric," she called. He stopped and turned to look at her, still standing several feet behind him. Slowly, she walked over to him until there were only a few feet between them. He looked at her questioningly, unable to read her body language. Her arms were folded across her chest though not in a defensive way and she was having a hard time looking at him. Finally she took a deep breath and met his gaze. "Thank you for coming to get me and for helping me through all of this. I'm not sure what would have happened to me if it wasn't for you and your family," she said genuinely grateful.

"I told you. I'm always here for you," he said, smiling warmly and holding out his hand to her again. She returned his smile, took his hand, and they walked inside.

XXX

"Oh my god, Melissa! Are you ok?" Angela exclaimed.

It was the night before Melissa and her friends returned to Hogwarts, and, as planned, they were spending the night in the Leaky Cauldron. Melissa was on Angela's bed, lying on her back and staring at the ceiling as she told her friend why she had not returned any of her letters. Angela was sitting erect at the head of the bed, visibly upset by what she had just learned.

"I am now, but I was….kinda out of it for awhile," she said. She had found it easy to tell Angela what had happened, but did not want her to freak out any more. However, she could not think of what she could say to soothe her. She decided that keeping her composure was the best way to convince Angela that she was all right.

"How could Cedric not tell me? I care about you too!"

"I asked him not to. I wasn't ready for anyone else to know. I-I was embarrassed by what had happened and how I reacted," she said, her voice catching slightly.

"Oh Mel," Angela sighed softly, "I'm so sorry this happened to you."

"It's over now. I'm fine, really," she said, determination in her voice.

"I just wish I had been there for you."

"You were out of the country. Besides, Cedric and his family were wonderful. I'm not sure if I would have gotten better so quickly if it wasn't for them."

"What's going on between you two anyways?"

"What do you mean?" Mel asked, propping herself up on her elbows to give her friend a questioning look.

"Well, you guys are really close. He's the first you go to about things, and, well, it's pretty obvious he likes you," Angela said, smirking slightly.

"Friends do tend to like each other. You're not usually friends with people you don't like," Mel said, oblivious to her friend's true meaning.

"Not like in the friend way," Angela sighed exasperatedly and rolled her eyes. "I mean like in a romantic way."

"What?" Mel exclaimed. "You're insane. He—it—No! It's not like that."

"Whatever you say," Angela said in a singsong voice. Mel ignored her friend and went over to her own bed. She untucked the sheets and crawled under them, glad her friend could not see the embarrassed blush on her cheeks. She reached over and turned off the lamp, but apparently Angela still had more to say. "I bet five galleons that you two are together by the end of this year."

"Whatever," Mel muttered slightly disgruntled, unable to think of a clever retort to her friend. Angela laughed heartily as she lay down to sleep, which pushed Mel past being disgruntled to being annoyed with her friend. She rolled over so that she was facing away from Angela, letting out an angry huff as she did. She was sure Angela was crazy. Cedric did not think of her in that way. But why did the suggestion bother her so much?

XXX

She did not know where she was, but somehow she knew she was in a very big room underground. It was dark. She checked her pockets, but could not find her wand. Fear building inside her, she spun around looking for a light. Finally, she found one. It was so faraway that it was basically a pinprick. She made her way over to it, carefully placing each step on the floor, which was both wet and uneven. As she moved closer, she heard hissing and saw two figures. One had a human form, but she knew it was not human—or it was not anymore. It was deformed and kept changing; changing both in form and voice. One minute it sounded like a young girl who was afraid. The next it was a young man with a domineering presence. The other figure was massive and was doing most of the hissing. From what she could make out it looked like a giant snake. She paused mid-step, unsure if it was safe to go any further. The giant snake's head snapped and looked in her direction. It started hissing furiously to the human-like figure. It said something back to the snake, and, before she could move, hundreds of normal-sized snakes surrounded her. They were slithering around her feet, up her legs, and falling on her head. She began screaming and trying to shake them off, but it did not do any good. More and more snakes kept appearing. She screamed louder, causing the human-like thing to laugh in amusement. The laugh sent chills down her spine. She felt a sharp pain in her arm and knew she had been bitten. Instantly, her vision started to blur and she felt weak. She fell to the ground, the spine-chilling laughter ringing in her hears. She was going to die here…..

"Mel, wake up! MEL!"

Someone shaking her and calling her name pulled Mel out of the horrible vision. She was momentarily confused to find herself in the library, but quickly remembered that she had been studying before both sleep and the vision had overtaken her. She turned her head to see Cedric standing next to her, his hand still on her shoulder and his expression one of concern. Her stomach churned with nervousness. Had she been screaming in her sleep? How long had he been there anyways?

"Hey," she said, choosing to pretend that had not just been having a fit. "Did quidditch practice go well?"

"Yeah, fine," he said, setting his things on the table while continuing to give her a worried look. "You ok? You looked like you were in pain."

"I'm fine, just a bad dream," she said, avoiding his questioning gaze by opening her history book and setting up to write an essay.

"You've been having them a lot, haven't you? Angela says you wake up at all hours of the night, sometimes screaming. She's says your not sleeping much," he half-asked, half-accused. She sighed and set her quill down, realizing she needed all of her attention to tiptoe around his question. He was too well informed; she had to be careful not too let something slip.

"They're just nightmares. I don't why they affect me so. I can't remember any of them."

"Is it the attacks? Could they be causing it?"

"Maybe, I don't know. It's probably just stress from classes and the attacks," she said, giving him the best fake reassuring smile she could muster. His doubtful expression told her it was not enough, so she added reassuringly, "I'm fine, really."

"Fine," he sighed, still not believing her but not wanting to start a fight. "Maybe Madame Pomfrey could give you something to help you sleep? You should ask tomorrow."

"Yeah, sure," she said, returning to her work. She had been to Madame Pomfrey. And Dumbledore. The former had given her a pitying look and told her no potion could stop her visions, and the latter had reiterated Pomfrey's statement and told Mel to continue her efforts in Divination. She had, thinking she could find a way to make them stop, but all that happened was that the visions got worse. She had begun to wonder if that was what Dumbledore wanted. She had told him everything she could about the vision—for it was the same one that she saw every night—and both were convinced that it was connected to the attacks (the snakes were a big and obvious hint there). She thought that he may be hoping that she could find out who was behind the attacks or maybe where the Chamber was. However, all she had been able to figure out so far was that it was underground, probably near the lake, but not the entrance to the Chamber. Nor, due to its changing shape, could she make an educated guess as to who was doing it. All she knew was that it was not Harry Potter. The male figure was too old to be him. That, and he was friends with a muggleborn. He was not prejudiced that much was obvious. People were just panicking because he was a Parselmouth.

"Who do you think it could be?" Cedric wondered, his question breaking through her thoughts.

"Pardon?" she asked, not sure she had heard him right.

"Behind the attacks. Who do you think—"

"I don't know," she said, cutting him off as she had heard this question many times before. "Some sick, pureblood maniac, I'm sure. I can't imagine a child would be able to do it either, so it must be one of the older students. And no, it is not Potter. He's a half-blood and friends with muggleborns. He and that Malfoy boy are always fighting about blood status worth. Potter's always defending muggleborns and half-bloods against Malfoy's pureblood mantra. It's not him."

"Why do you know so much about a second year?" Cedric asked, his tone odd.

"Because it's not any second year. It's Harry Potter. Everybody knows too much about him. Besides, he and his friends are always running in and out of here," she said, rolling her eyes. Poor boy, everybody's always judging him and deciding how he should be, she thought.

"But he's a Parselmouth. That's supposed to be the mark of a dark wizard."

Melissa froze, her quill hovering above her parchment. Slowly and with care she began gathering her things. Anger and hurt boiling within her. "I can't believe," she said, practically hissing from angry, "that you would judge someone just because they do something that's not common. An ability does not make someone evil. It's what they do with it that makes them evil. I thought you were better than that."

She grabbed her things and stormed out of the library, ignoring the glaring Madame Pince as she did. She left behind a very stunned and confused Cedric, who was unable to move for several minutes after her outburst. Finally, he gathered his things and returned to the dormitory, still wearing a bemused expression.

XXX

"What did you do?" asked Ryan the next morning at breakfast. Melissa was sitting several feet down from them, separated from rest of the table by Angela and Lindsey. Normally, they all sat together, but, apparently, Melissa was still angry from the night before and was not speaking to him yet.

"I don't know," Cedric said giving a frustrated sigh and viciously poking his sausage. "And I can't even ask to find out, or just apologize because she's not talking to me."

Ryan barked out a laugh, causing most of the table to look at them curiously. Cedric felt his face redden from the unwanted attention and shot his friend a reproving look, which only made him laugh harder.

"What is your problem?" he snapped, growing annoyed.

"You're not even with her and you're already whipped," Ryan gasped out between breaths, trying to regain some manner of composure.

"Shut up," Cedric muttered angrily. He hated that it was so obvious how he felt to the other guys. They had been teasing him about for years. It was not until this year that they started encouraging him to ask her out. They said that if he did not do it soon, then someone else would. Unfortunately, she had matured over their last summer vacation and other boys were noticing the beautiful Hufflepuff. It made Cedric's stomach turn in anger and jealousy when he thought about it. But he still could not find the courage to ask her out. He knew why. He was afraid that if he tried to change their relationship that she would freak out. They had grown closer that summer, and he knew she trusted him. But after all she had been through, he was not sure that she would see his advances as anything different than Sean's. Though they were. He did not want to hurt her, but he could not deny that he wanted to be physically close to her as well as emotionally. And that was what he was not sure she could accept. Not yet at least.

"Just give her some time. Let her cool off," Ryan advised, his face still showing the signs of his laughing fit. Cedric nodded his head as he set his fork down and pushed his plate away, deciding he was not really hungry.

"Let's go," he said to Ryan, picking up his school bag and getting up from the table. "We're going to be late."

XXX

"Enter."

Mel pushed open the door to the headmaster's office. She had had a breakthrough in her visions. She still did not who was behind the attacks or where the entrance to the Chamber was, but she had a pretty good idea who the intended target was. It made her sick. Who would intentionally want to hurt a child? Well, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did. But he was gone, or at least everyone thought he was. However, after last year's events and the attacks, Mel was not so sure he was. Which is why, after having the vision in Divination, she had run to Dumbledore's office, hoping he could provide answers or help in some way.

"Ah, Miss Evans, please have a seat," he said gesturing to the hair across from him. She took it, avoiding his piercing blue eyes as she sat. "What brings you to see me?"

She took a deep breath and exhaled, trying to calm herself before telling him. "I had another vision. I know who the attacker is after…. Harry Potter is the intended victim."

Dumbledore was silent for several minutes, his expression unreadable. Mel was beginning to think that he did not believe her. She was thinking of what she could say to defend herself when he spoke.

"Do you have any idea of who could be behind the attacks?"

"Yes, no, well not exactly," she rambled. "I've never seen the person, but I think…I think it could be You-Know-Who."

She looked at him fearfully, certain he was not going to believe her. She was sure he was going to tell her that she was mistaken, that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was gone and could not be him. Needless to say that she was surprised by what he said next.

"I think you are correct in your assumption. I have been contemplating the possibility for quite some time now."

"But sir, how can it be possible? He couldn't be strong enough to share another's body again, could he?" she asked.

"I'm not sure how he's doing it. And no, I don't think he is strong enough to share a body with someone. Not yet at least," he added, more to himself than to her.

"Sir?" she asked, drawing him out of his reverie. He looked at her to show she had his full attention. "Why do most of my visions involve Potter? Why did they start when he came to school?"

Dumbledore placed his fingers together and stared at her over them. Again, he was deep in thought, and it was several minutes before he responded.

"How old are you, Melissa?"

"Fourteen, I'll be fifteen in April though. That's only two months away," she answered, though confused by the question. What did her age matter?

"So young and in such a hurry to grow up," he sighed, staring sadly at her now. She shifted nervously in her seat.

"I am afraid that what I am about to tell you will not be easy to hear, and even harder to understand. However, you are not truly a child any more and I cannot justify keeping this from you any longer. All I ask, is that you let me explain everything before you ask any questions," he said, his tone grave. Despite her tense body and nervous pulse telling her to leave, Melissa nodded her head in agreement and stayed in her chair.

"As you know there are many kinds of magic," he began. "Some of which are so ancient that little is known about them, and so, many believe them to be most unpredictable kinds of magic. As they often are, most people do not go further than researching them out of fear for possible devastating consequences. However, desperate times call for desperate measures."

He paused for a moment, letting what he had said sink in while he thought about how to proceed. "These desperate times, of course, were the first war with Voldemort. During this war, I formed a group called the Order of the Phoenix. The members of this group not only fought Voldemort and his Death Eaters, but also researched ancient magics in hopes of finding a way to defeat the Dark Lord. Voldemort has gone further into dark and ancient magics than any wizard in recorded history, we were convinced it would take equally strong, but good, ancient magic to defeat him."

"We had many talented and intelligent members in the Order. As a group, they were able to search through our limited resources and find some promising prospects, one more so than others. A small group of them found it. It's description made it seem harmless. So, the few of them that found it cast the spell."

He was silent for several minutes. His staring at her, but did not seem to really see her. It was like he was seeing trough her, like she was not even there. His explanation had been vague so far. She did not understand what it had to do with her.

"Sir?" she prompted after ten minutes of silence. He blinked, his focus coming back to the present.

"Forgive me," he said smiling. "I am an old man and often through my train of thought. So, back to my tale. From what we understood, the spell would not only show us the future, but it would show us the past as well. We thought it would allow us to see Voldemort's past. We hoped to find his weakness there. However, we quickly discovered that we had misunderstood the spell's meaning. The translation said that sight would guide us to the answers we sought. As I said before, we thought that meant we would be temporarily given the gift of seeing or something similar to that. When the incantation said "Sight" it was not referring just to the gift, but the personification of the gift. In other words, "Sight" would take human form and would then help us to the answer. In short, we conjured a person into being. This person possesses many traits of those who conjured her, but is also her own person. She has the potential to be the most powerful seer the world has ever known."

"Sir, I don't understand. What does that have to do with me? With my connection to Potter?" she asked, completely lost. His explanation sounded like something out of a storybook.

"Lilly Evans Potter, James Potter, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were the ones that conjured this spell. They were among the most talented wizards to have ever attended this school. Together they were able to perform the incantation safely and correctly. Within twenty-four hours a child appeared at the Potter's house. It was Sight herself personified as a baby girl. Obviously, we were all very surprised and thought they had failed. Lilly and James, however, felt a strong connection to the child and decided they would raise her. As they were the two main conjurers this connection was understandable. For all intents and purposes, they were the baby's parents. All was fine until the night Voldemort attacked the Potters. Lilly and James were killed, leaving behind two children. Both were separated and sent to places that we all believed they would be safe. Today they both attend Hogwarts. Obviously Harry is one of them, and you are the other. James and Lilly were your parents in a sense; part of them, their magic, is in you as it is in Harry, which is why you have a connection to him. You see when he is in danger and you have the ability to save or help him. However, Harry also has a connection to Voldemort. I believe as your power grows, you may be able to use their shared connection and see into both Voldemort's past and future."

She could follow what he was saying. Most of it was clear and straightforward, logical even. She could understand it, but she could not accept it. It was impossible to conjure a person. They had just learned that in Transfiguration. What Dumbledore was saying was insane. But from the look on his face she knew he was not lying. What was she supposed to do?

"Professor," she started hesitantly, "how is that even possible? You can't conjure a person. It's not possible."

"Not with everyday magic, no. But this was not common magic. It was one of the oldest and purest kinds of magic. And my dear, you are living proof that it is possible," he added gently.

She opened her mouth to say something, but could not form the words. She quickly closed it again; aware she looked like a gaping fish. She closed her eyes and tried to think of a way to prove that Dumbledore was wrong. Instead, she saw the turquoise light behind her lids. Her eyes shot open instantly and shot back to Dumbledore.

"That light, the one I told you about last year, that was when it happened. When they conjured me, wasn't it?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly.

"Yes."

"Am I even human?"

"Of course you are. You may not have entered this world in the traditional sense or for though the traditional reason—though there are many unexpected and unplanned children in the world—but you are entirely human," he said firmly, wanting to make sure she understood this point. She nodded her head to show that she did, not that it made her feel any better.

"What happens when I've done whatever it is I'm supposed to do? Do I just disappear, cease to exist?" she asked, growing slightly panicked at the thought.

"I do not know, but I doubt that. While helping to permanently defeat Lord Voldemort will be a big part of your life, I do not think it is the only thing you were sent here to do. That will be something you discover throughout your life."

Melissa's pulse returned to normal, feeling slightly reassured by his words. It was a daunting prospect, defeating the Dark Lord. She was only fourteen after all. But that was probably years away. No one even knew where he was, and her seeing abilities were not that advanced yet.

"Sirius Black," she mused, recognizing the name. "He was accused of killing thirteen people, of being a Death Eater, wasn't he?"

"Yes, he currently resides in Azkaban."

"I don't think he did it," she said, surprising both herself and Dumbledore.

"Why do you say that? There is ample proof against him."

"Just a feeling," she said shrugging. "Harry doesn't know about any of this, I'm guessing?"

"Beside you, those that conjured you, and myself no one knows about an of this. And for your safety, and Harry's, I ask that you keep that way, for now at least. There will come a time when Harry will know the truth, but now is not that time," he said, managing to be firm but kind at the same time. "I must also ask that you keep an eye on Harry. I think you can do that more covertly than others."

"Of course, he's my brother, isn't he?" she said, surprised by her sudden nonchalance. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. To her at least. It would never make sense to anyone else like Cedric or Angela. They would think she was crazy. They still did not know that she was a seer. Actually, she was the personification of Seeing. That sounded a bit crazy even in her head. Her friends would send her to the nut house if she ever told him. She felt a heavy weight in her stomach as she thought this. She hated lying to them; it felt like a betrayal. It was a betrayal. But she did not have a choice, did she? She had a job to do. She had to help protect Harry and get rid of Voldemort.

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at her sudden change in attitude, but did not comment on it. Instead, he asked, "Do you have any more questions?"

"No, not now anyways."

"Then I suggest you head to your dormitory. You've missed the remainder of your classes for the day. I will send a note to your professors excusing you. Make sure to eat a decent dinner tonight."

"Yes, sir," she said. She stood up, grabbed her bag, and left. Her mind was still on their conversation as she walked through the hall. So much so that she did not see the person walking from her right and collided with them.

"Sorry," she said, picking up a book the person had dropped.

"Where have you been?" a familiar, deep voice asked. Her head shot up and she saw Cedric standing before her. "You missed the rest of our classes. Is everything ok?"

He was worried about her. Even though she had exploded at him without explanation and was being unreasonable and not talking to him, he still cared. He still wanted to make sure she was all right. She felt so grateful he was her friend, but she also felt guilty. Guilty because she kept so much from him. Guilty because he was always there for her and always accepting and understanding; meanwhile she blows up at him over nothing. She really did not deserve to have him in her life. He deserved a much better friend. But how could she be a better friend when she could not tell him the truth about her?

"I think so," she said. "I'm sorry about yelling at you last night, by the way. I may have overreacted."

"Yeah maybe," he said, smiling cheekily.

"It's just…there's something you don't know about me. Something I'm not allowed to tell you, anyone really. It's what set me off. It was wrong of me to snap at you, especially since you don't know why I would be upset. I just freaked out for a minute. I thought that you would be saying the same about me if you knew my secret," she explained, unable to look him in the eye.

"There's nothing you could do or say that would make me stop caring about you. You're one of my best friends. And you did have a right to be mad at me. I shouldn't judge someone just because of an ability," he said reassuringly. She shot him a quick smile, which caused his heart to skip a few beats. He was glad she was talking to him again. And glad that she was trying to explain her somewhat secretive manner. Though he wished she could tell him more. But maybe one day she would. All he cared about was that she was ok and speaking to him again. "Wanna head down to dinner? By the time we get to the common room, we'll just have to turn around."

She nodded her head and fell in step beside him, feeling slightly better that she had told him something. She could tell he wanted to know more, but was grateful he did not ask. Maybe one day she could tell him. She hoped so. If she had a shot of anyone understanding and accepting her, it was with Cedric.

XXX

Melissa worked on her Seeing skills for rest of the year. Before the Basilisk took Ginny Weasley, she was able to discern that Voldemort was working through a student and that it was a Basilisk. The problem was that Dumbledore was gone by the time she worked out this information and had no one to tell it too. She was ridden with guilt when Ginny disappeared, sure she could have stopped it if she had said something. It got worse when Mel found out that Ginny and Harry had almost died down in the Chamber. She broke down in tears shortly after the pajama feast and had to be taken to the Hospital Wing, where she was given several calming potions. Dumbledore stopped by to tell her that none of it was her fault and that he was impressed by her progress. He also told her that she could go to Professors McGonagall or Snape with a message if he was ever unreachable again.

When the school year ended, she went home with Angela. The orphanage had been temporarily closed due to lack of funds. Melissa was sad that she did not get to see Victoria, who had been the closest thing to a mother she had ever known, but was happy not to go back. The thought of the orphanage still brought back memories from the previous summer.

"We're going to vacation in the south of France this year!" Angela squealed as they walked into her large bedroom. "Aren't you excited?"

"Yes, very," Mel said, smiling enthusiastically. "Thanks for inviting me to spend the summer with you."

"I told Cedric that it was my turn. He got you last summer and at Christmas," she said defensively. "He was very upset, by the way. I think he's going to miss you," she said sighing. "I can't believe he didn't ask you out this year!"

"Speaking of that, you owe me five galleons," Mel said smirking.

Angela threw a pillow at Mel's head. Mel dodged it and threw it back, hitting Angela in the face. The girls fell into a fit of giggles. It was several minutes before they could stop laughing. When they finally did, they were clutching their sides in pain.

"How's this," Angela said, "I'll double the bet. He'll ask you out this coming school year or I owe you 10 galleons."

"Sounds like easy money. Deal," Mel said.

"I can't wait to prove you wrong," she heard Angela mutter under her breath. Mel rolled her eyes and picked herself up off the floor. Her friend could be so stubborn at times. At least this time it was harmless, and she was going to make ten galleons by the end of next year. Sounded like a win to her.