Chapter 15

AN: And here you go! Tell me what you think (Pretty, pretty please!).

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

Mel struggled through the next few days. She forced herself to not avoid her friends. She answered their questions patiently, and acted as if nothing was wrong. What had happened Saturday was just a really bad headache. There was nothing to worry about. Either she was becoming a really good liar or her friends just wanted everything to be fine because they all believed her in less than ten minutes. And if she wanted them to believe it, all she had to do was smile and act normal.

She did this fairly well, all things considered. Mel was doing an exceptionally good job at hiding her true feelings; even Cedric was having difficulties discerning how she really felt. The act was good for her. It gave her something else to think of than her brother and boyfriend's impending deaths. Dumbledore said it was her state of panic and fear that kept her from being able to see anything. She found the whole thing ridiculous. She was Sight. She should be able to see anything whenever she wanted. It was frustrating, how limited she was. Nevertheless, she had been doing calming exercises in the hope that they would clear her mind.

Though what might help more is to be free of Cedric's new, inane, and extremely chatty fan club, she thought bitterly as she walked through the corridors between Divination and Charms. She loved and trusted him more than anyone else, but she really wished he would try to discourage them more. She knew he did not want to be cruel, but the girls were getting a little extreme in their worship. Lost in her thoughts, she bumped into someone and dropped her books.

"Oh, sorry," she said, kneeling down to pick up her books.

"What? Surprised to see me?"

Mel froze. The voice was deeper, but she recognized it nonetheless. She took a deep breath and stood up to face him. His sandy-blond hair was shorter and he was taller and more built than he had been two years ago. But his cold, dead hazel eyes were the same. It was Sean.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, trying not to show how scared she was.

"I'm here for the tournament," he said. He was acting as if they were old friends, as if he had never attacked her. "Didn't you know? That school I "tested" into was one for wizards."

"No. Victoria must have forgotten to mention it when I was rushed away from the orphanage, and away from you," she added coldly. He was unabashed. He did not care what he had done. His nonchalance only served to anger her.

"Don't you think that's funny? That they never told us we were alike?"

"We are not alike," she hissed.

"Mel, what are you doing? You're going to be late for class. Oh, hello," Cedric said. He was confused. He noticed how tense Mel was, but could not understand why.

"Cedric Diggory, the Hogwarts Champion," Sean drawled, offering his hand. Cedric took it, eyeing him skeptically. "Or one of them."

"And you are?" Cedric asked.

"Sean Petrov. I go to Durmstrang, but Mel and I are old friends," he smirked. "We grew up together."

Mel felt Cedric tense beside her as he understood Sean. She grabbed Cedric's wrist, hoping to warn him against saying or doing something. Several passersby were looking at them curiously.

"We should be going, or we'll be late for class," Mel said, her voice void of feeling. She pulled Cedric around Sean, who smiled and sauntered off. They walked to Charms; Cedric's jaw clenched the whole time.

"Cedric," she said as they slid into a desk in the back of Charms class. He ignored her, his fists were clenched and he stared straight ahead. "Cedric, just breath. I'm fine."

"Yeah, for how long?" he whispered, his tone hard. "He's attacked you once before. Who's to say that he won't do that again?"

"He won't get a chance to," she whispered back. She was pretending to take notes so as not to draw attention to them. "I am able to protect myself. Especially now that using magic is fair."

Cedric sighed and unclenched his fists, but said nothing. He began taking notes and remained focused on the lesson for the duration of class. Toward the end of class, Ernie Macmillan entered and walked toward Professor Flitwick, waving at Cedric as he walked.

"Mr. Diggory, you're needed for tournament duties. Please go with Mr. Macmillan," Flitwick said. Cedric nodded and gathered his things. Mel tried to catch his eye as he left with Ernie, but he was making a point to ignore her.

XXX

"What do you mean, he's here? How is that even possible?" Angela whispered worriedly as they walked down to dinner.

"Apparently he's a wizard. I was going to write to Victoria after dinner, to see if she knew. But surely she would have said something if she knew we were both wizards?" Mel whispered back.

"Unless she didn't know," Angela offered as they sat down. "Does Cedric know?"

"'Course he does," Mel muttered. They sat down at the end of the Hufflepuff table, away from those waiting to swarm Cedric. Mel glanced over at the Slytherin table. She saw Sean laughing with some largely built boys from Durmstrang. She looked away quickly, not wanting him to catch her looking. "This is surreal," she muttered.

"You should talk to Professor Sprout," Angela said. "He shouldn't be here. What if he tries to hurt you again? Or someone else?"

"I know, but…Karkaroff will want proof, as will others. And I don't have any," Mel said, letting out a frustrated sigh.

"But you do! The Diggoy's all saw you after. And Mrs. Diggory had that woman from the hospital come talk to you. Plus, Victoria!" Angela said.

"What if he's different now?" Mel asked, growing more confused by the second. "Would it really help to bring all that up again?"

"I can't make you do anything, but I doubt that he's changed," Angela said gently. Mel sighed as she pushed the chicken around her plate. Cedric joined them halfway through dinner.

"What did they want?" Mel asked as Cedric filled a bowl with some kind of vegetable stew.

"Checked our wands. Rita Skeeter was there to get photos and quotes for a story," he said nonchalant.

"That would be so exciting if that horrid Skeeter woman wasn't involved," Angela said, scrunching her face.

"She mostly focused on Potter, so I'm safe."

Mel glanced over at the Gryffindor table and saw Harry sitting at the end of it, eating by himself. She suddenly felt very guilty. She had been so worried about Sean and acting normal that she had forgotten about Harry. He looked miserable. Everyone believed he had entered himself in the tournament. The Slytherins were being worse than ever. She had taken to confiscating the badges they had made, but it was beginning to seem futile. To make it worse, it looked like Harry's friends had abandoned him as well. She watched as he left the hall alone.

"You ok, Mel?" Angela asked.

"Yeah, I just remembered I have to finish that Potions essay," she said, getting up and grabbing her bag. "See you later."

She left the hall and made her way to the library. Could things get any weirder? she thought.

The library was fairly empty as most people were still at dinner. She walked toward her favorite table, which was far from the entrance and near all the Divination books. Very few people ever went to that part of the library, so she did not have to worry about anyone bothering her. As she rounded a corner, she saw Harry sitting at a table by himself. She paused for a minute, debating if she should say something or not.

"Hi," she said, approaching his table. He looked up and was clearly surprised to see her.

"Hi," he said uncertainly.

"How are you doing with everything?" she asked, not sure what she was doing.

"Fine," she said, his eyebrows furrowed. "Aren't you Cedric's friend?"

"Yeah," she said, realizing his confusion. "I just wanted to say that I don't believe you put your name in the Goblet, and good luck with the tournament."

"Er, thanks."

"Well, I'll see you around," she said, feeling very awkward. She continued on her to her table, and was relieved there was no one else around. She sat down and pulled out her newest Divination books. She had been reading for about fifteen minutes when Cedric sat down beside her.

"How is it possible that you always find me," she mumbled, setting her book down and turning her seat to face him.

"Because I'm good at it," he said, giving a crooked half smile. "Sorry about earlier. It just so happens that prick is only person I've ever truly hated. I had this sudden urge to kill him. If he hurts you again, I might."

"Well, he's not going to. I told you, I can take care of myself," she reassured.

"A part of me knows that," he said, taking her hands in his. "But the rest of me really doesn't want him here or anywhere near here."

"You told a professor, didn't you?" she asked. He shook his head and gave a cold laugh.

"I will if he tries anything," he promised.

"You're being very overprotective, you know."

"I do. I don't care," he shrugged. She sighed and pulled her hands back. She laid her head on her arm, which was resting on the back of her chair. Cedric ran his hand through his hair in an agitated manner, causing Mel to smile slightly. She loved when his hair was a mess.

"I just…don't know what to do anymore," she finally said. "Not about the vision or the bloody tournament, not about Sean…I mean, the only thing I do know is that my vision took place at night, in a graveyard, and in the spring. So, we've got some time there, but I would love to figure something else out before that."

"Sorry, what was that?" Cedric asked nervously.

"I hadn't told you that, had I?" she mumbled.

"No, but good job on distracting me from Petrov for a minute. So, I have a few months?" he asked, tapping his fingers nervously.

"Sorry," she said, smiling apologetically. He grunted. She got up and sat in his lap, placing her forehead against his. "You have more than a few months; a few decades hopefully. I'm going to figure this out, promise."

"You sound like me," he sighed.

"Annoying, isn't it?" she teased. He glared at her, causing her to laugh. She ruffled his hair and hopped out of his lap. "Can I borrow Aurora?"

Aurora was Cedric's owl. He had let his mother name her as he had not been able to come up with a name for her himself. Mel thought the name was appropriate: The owl reminded her of the dawn. Her feathers faded from white to yellow to tan.

"Sure. Do you want company?" he asked, grabbing his bag as he stood up.

"I think I can handle going to the Owlery by myself," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Sorry for trying to be chivalrous," he muttered.

"Oh yeah, that's what you were trying to be," she said sarcastically. "I will need your help tomorrow night for rounds, though," she added with a mischievous smile.

"Oh, you will…what?" he said, looking confused. Mel giggled, pecked him on the cheek and made her way up to the Owlery. It took her a while to find Aurora: she was sitting on one the higher perches between two other barn owls. She flew down to Mel after a few calls.

"Hey pretty girl," Mel cooed as she tied the letter to Victoria onto Aurora's leg. "She should be near where I used to live. You'll find her."

Mel walked to the window. "Please find her," she added in a whisper. Aurora hooted in what one could call a reassuring manner and took off. Mel sighed and turned to leave. She was startled as giant white wings flew in front of her and landed beside her. The bird settled on a beam beside her. Mel saw that it was a snowy owl—Harry's snowy owl.

"Well, aren't you impressive?" she muttered, regaining her footing after slipping on the straw and dropping-strewn floor. "Watch out for him."

The owl gave her a look and hooted as if to say "of course."