Chapter 22

AN: Sorry for the delay! I hope the length makes up for it. Enjoy!

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

The boys fell knees first onto the ground. The cup landed a few feet from them. Cedric grabbed his wand and stood up, shaking the dirt off his clothes as he did. They were in a graveyard. Careful that Harry was not looking at him, he quickly drank the Draught. He trusted Mel. He had felt her check on him periodically throughout the night. However, he, very selfishly, wanted to go back to her.

"The cup was a portkey," he said, more to himself than to Harry. Harry stood up, looking extremely pale.

"You don't happen to think this was part of the task do you?" he asked.

Cedric shook his head. "Wands out, you reckon?"

Harry nodded, looking a little relieved. The graveyard they were in was very old and in ruin. He doubted anyone ever came to this part. The grass and weeds were tall, some almost a foot high. Some of the headstones were cracked and eroding away. He was starting to feel very nervous.

"Hey Harry," he called over his shoulder, "maybe we should go bag to the cup?"

"Sure," came Harry's voice. He was behind a rather tall headstone and Cedric could not see him, but he could hear the nervousness in Harry's voice. When he came into view, he was even paler than he had been before.

"What is it?" he asked, but Harry only shook his head. Cedric made to walk to the cup, but rustling behind him made him turn around. A hunched figure was coming toward them. Cedric tried to raise his wand higher, but his limbs were strangely heavy. He felt Mel reach into his mind as the potion took effect. At the same time, he could hear Harry groaning in pain and telling him to get back to the cup. But Cedric could not move, he felt his legs give out from under him, just as a green light came at him.

Cedric lay on the ground, unable to move. The curse had just missed him, but he knew he looked dead to those around him. Something was wrong though. He could feel Mel in his head, but it was not the same smooth entrance. It was like when she had first started entering people's minds: jerky, like she could not get through. It was like that for a few more minutes, during which Cedric was aware of Harry being tied to a tombstone and the man who had shot at muttering an incantation as he dumped things in a cauldron.

Then she was gone. Cedric tried to move, but could not. He remembered you were not supposed to be conscious after taking the Draught, so something was definitely wrong. What had gone wrong and how bad it was, Cedric was not sure. All he knew is that he would have to lay frozen in place and watch the horrors that had haunted Mel for the last year.

XXX

Mel fell out of her seat. They were there, in the graveyard with Voldemort about to come back, and she could not see anything.

"Mel! Are you all right?" Mrs. Diggory asked as Mel pushed herself up.

"Yes, I'm fine."

"You're nose is bleeding."

Mel touched her fingers to her face and felt the blood. Normally, she would only get a headache or a bit of dizziness after entering someone's mind and that was after hours of practicing. She had never had a nosebleed before. Mrs. Diggory handed her a handkerchief.

"Thank you," Mel said. "I'll be right back, going to go clean up."

She maneuvered her way through the crowd, dabbing her nose as she walked. She needed to find Dumbledore. Maybe he could do something to help them.

"Mel!" someone called after her. She paused and looked behind her to see Ryan following her down the stadium seats.

"Where are you going?" he asked when he caught up with her.

"The bathroom to clean up," she said, continuing down the stairs. She suppressed a grimace when he continued to follow her.

"Is something going on? You and Ced have been acting a bit odd today."

"No, everything's fine," she said, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Oh, then why have you ignored the last two women's bathrooms? Got a favorite one or something? And why is Cedric asking me to look out for you if something happens to you?" Ryan demanded.

Mel cursed under her breath. Damn Cedric for being so overprotective! "I forget," she said through gritted teeth, "how observant and smart you can be. You do spend an awful lot of time acting dumb."

"So something is going on?" he pushed.

"Yes," she admitted begrudgingly. "But I can't tell you what, and right now I really need to talk to Dumbledore."

Ryan frowned, muttered 'fine,' and continued walking with her. They half-jogged to the teachers' section, which was on the other side of the pitch. Mel was not sure what she thought Dumbledore could do; she was just hoping that he could do something.

XXX

There was a crowd around the newly reincarnated Dark Lord. Cedric could not really see their faces from where he was, but he could see Harry fighting his bonds. A few broke away from the group and walked over to him. When they were only a few feet away he saw they were Voldemort, Karkaroff, and Sean. Sean poked Cedric's side with his foot, but Cedric was more focused on the snake-like face and glowing red eyes of Voldemort to care.

"He's really dead," Sean muttered. "Well, maybe now she'll do her job and we can go back home. 'Can't say I'm sad to see this waste of flesh dead."

"After tonight, you should both return to wherever it is you come from," Voldemort hissed. "If, after all, her only purpose is to help Harry. When I kill him, she will have failed, and neither of you will have a purpose in this world."

"Sounds good to me," Sean said. "Shall we?"

They turned to Karkaroff, who was pale and shaking violently. Sean raised his wand, and then all three were illuminated by the green light of the killing curse. Cedric heard the thud Karkaroff's body made when it hit the ground. He cringed inwardly. He watched as Harry was dragged to the center of the Death Eaters. He watched as Voldemort forced Harry to duel. Cedric wished he could close his eyes. He really did not want to witness Mel's brother die. Then something odd happened. Spells from both their wands met and formed a bright circle around them, which emitted some kind of bird some. Cedric could see a bright ball of light between them. As it neared Voldemort, Cedric saw clouds of smoke emit from his wand and circle the two.

Suddenly, Harry broke the connection and the clouds surged toward Voldemort. Harry ran as fast as he could toward Harry, which was rather fast considering one of his legs was broken. As he reached Cedric, Harry summoned the cup to him; and they left the graveyard.

If Cedric had not been petrified, the wind would have been knocked out of him when he hit the ground. He heard Harry's ragged breathing beside him and feet running toward them.

"He's dead," Harry said. It sounded like he was crying.

"No, he's alive." It was Mel. He could feel her holding a hand over his mouth. She was checking to make sure he was still breathing, since his pulse would be undetectable because of the potion.

"W-what?" Harry asked.

"I don't have time to explain right now, Harry," she said, her voice was rushed. Cedric could feel vibrations as more people walked toward them. He even heard screams: People thought he was dead. "I promise I'll tell you everything later; just trust me when I say he's alive."

"They talked about you," Harry mumbled.

"What?" Mel asked surprised.

"They said you were to help me…"

Mel made a sound as if to say something, but the footsteps were getting closer. "Later, I promise."

"Professor, they're both alive. They need to go to the hospital wing," Mel said quickly.

"He's back! Voldemort's back!" Harry said as soon as he saw Dumbledore.

"Harry needs to stay with me for now. Melissa please escort Cedric to the Hospital Wing, his parents will be directed there," Dumbledore said calmly. A stretcher appeared before them and Cedric's body was levitated on to it. Mel did as she was told, only looking behind her once to give Harry a concerned look. She lost him in the crowd that was starting to press in on them.

She walked as quickly as she could to the Hospital Wing. She wanted to beat his parents there so she did not have to explain why he needed the antidote for the Draught of Living Death.

She was out of breath when she arrived.

"He needs—an antidote for—Living Death," she wheezed as Madam Pomfrey levitated his body to a bed.

"Are you sure? How do you know?" she asked, eyeing her suspiciously.

"I'm positive, and so is Dumbledore," she snapped.

"Professor," Pomfrey corrected sternly. Mel did not even pay attention. She just wanted Cedric to wake up now.

She sat on the edge of the bed next to him, and held his hand. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I don't know what happened. Maybe the Draught and my powers clashed somehow? I don't know. I saw everything though, every detail. I think I saw both yours and Harry's perspectives. I'm so sorry. I should have researched more…and found a way to keep you from seeing that…. You weren't supposed to see that."

Her words were rushed, and the last bit was almost too quiet for him to hear. He wished Pomfrey would hurry with the antidote. He wanted to tell her it was not her fault. He needed to warn her that Voldemort did know about her, but most importantly he wanted to hold her. Nothing felt real to him right now. He was still at that point where it could all have been a horrible dream. If he could hold her, he would know what was real. He needed to know what was real.

Madam Pomfrey finally returned with the antidote. Cedric was vaguely aware of the potion sliding down his throat. Slowly he felt the feeling return to his body. After about ten minutes he was able to move. He tried to push himself into a sitting position, but could only get about halfway up so he settled for leaning against the bed rails.

"Mel." His voice was hoarse and barely above a whisper, but, even though she was listening to the shouting in the hall, she heard him. She threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest. He hugged her back with one arm, using the other to support them.

"I'm sorry. I love you," she mumbled into his chest.

"You're sorry you love me?" he teased. His voice was still hoarse, but a little louder. She shook her head and released him, for which he was grateful because he could not support them any longer. He sunk back into the mattress as she wiped her eyes.

"You know what I meant."

"Yes. I love you too."

She smiled. The doors opened behind her. His parents, followed by Ryan, ran into the room. Mel stood up and walked to the end of his bed to make room for his parents. He appreciated the gesture, but he did not want her to be that far away from him. He could not explain it. The distance just made him nervous.

"Oh, thank Merlin!" his mother said, pulling him into a suffocating hug. His father stood behind his mother. He was as pale as the walls behind him and trying to gain control of his breathing. However, when his mother finally let go of him, he was then enveloped by his father.

"Are you all right? What happened?" his father asked.

"I'm…alive," Cedric said. "Um, Harry and I reached the cup at the same time. So, we decided to take it together, but it was a portkey. It took us to this graveyard. One of the things in the maze bit me when some petrifying potion, and it took affect then. But I, uh, watched You-Know-Who come back and duel Harry. And, somehow, Harry was able to escape and bring us back here."

He skipped a lot of details. He was not ready to go into them right now. What was important was keeping Mel's secret and backing up Harry's story about Voldemort's return.

"Cedric, are you…are you sure that's what you saw?" Amos asked, while his wife stared at their son in horror. Cedric looked beyond them. Ryan was paler and more scared than he had ever seen him. Mel's face was a grim look of acceptance.

"I'm sure," Cedric said firmly.

"Ced wouldn't joke about this kind of thing," Ryan said, backing up his friend without question. His parents nodded in agreement. They sat in silence for a minute, and then Ryan cleared his throat.

"Mel, Dumbledore asked that you meet McGonagall outside his office," Ryan said.

Mel nodded and folded her arms across her stomach, as if she was trying to keep herself together. "I'll be back."

Cedric wanted her stay. Surely whatever Dumbledore wanted to talk about could wait. Apparently, some of his distress showed in his face because Ryan said he would go with her, and his mother went to Madam Pomfrey for a calming potion. They had to force him to take it. He knew it would make him sleep, calming potions always did. He did not want to sleep. He just wanted to talk to her.

Mel and Ryan walked through the deserted corridors. Ryan had his arm wrapped around her because she was shaking violently, trying to hold it together. He refrained from asking her to explain anything. He could wait until things had calmed down. They had barely been outside the headmaster's office two minutes when McGonagall appeared, followed by a large black dog. She dismissed Ryan and led the two into Dumbledore's office. Once they were alone, Sirius transformed; and that's when Mel could not hold it together any more.

She sunk to the ground, sobbing. Her whole body shook. Sirius rushed to comfort her, but quickly realized he could not. He would just have to wait for her to calm herself down.

"It's all right," he said soothingly.

"No, it's not!" she yelled, tearing herself away from him. "None of it should have happened! I should have been allowed to see where Voldemort was, or how they would be transported to the graveyard, at least! Then we could have stopped him from returning, and stopped them from going through that!"

She stood facing away from him, trying to discreetly dry her face. Not that it really mattered, it was evident in her voice that she was still crying: Her nose was clogged and her voice kept breaking.

The door opened before Sirius could say anything else. Mel tried to dry her eyes as Dumbledore and Harry walked in. Sirius rushed forward and began fussing over Harry. Dumbledore sat behind his desk, and motioned for them all to take a seat. Harry and Sirius complied, but Mel only took a few steps forward.

"Melissa, please take a seat. Could I offer you some tea?" Dumbledore asked. Mel shook her head no, and stiffly sat down.

"Professor, why is she here?" Harry asked.

"Now is not the time to get into all of that," Dumbledore started. "But, in short, Melissa was summoned into existence by your parents, Sirius, and Remus Lupin. They believed the spell would help them find a way to destroy Voldemort. In a way, it has. Melissa can see the future, and is connected to you. I believe that between her connection to you and yours to Voldemort's, she will be able to find his weakness."

Dumbledore paused to let the information sink in. Harry cast her a curious glance before turning back to Dumbledore. It looked like he was about to ask several questions, but Dumbledore stopped him.

"You can ask us anything about Melissa later. Right now, I need you to tell everything that happened after you left the maze."

Harry nodded and spent the next thirty minutes telling them, in great detail, of everything that had happened in the graveyard. Having already seen it through Harry and Cedric's perspectives, Mel tried to tune it out. When he had finished, Dumbledore escorted them back to the Hospital Wing with Sirius in his dog form.

"Did you know what was going to happen tonight?" Harry asked her as they walked to Hospital.

"The end result, but not all the details," she answered, watching his reaction. He did not seem freaked out, only curious.

"Why not?"

"I was being punished," she said quietly. Both Sirius and Harry looked at her when she said it. If Dumbledore heard, he pretended not to. "I ignored Destiny and saved someone who was supposed to die."

"Was that Cedric?"

Mel nodded and waited for the judgment or anger. Surely he must be upset that she chose to save Cedric over stopping Voldemort. However, she doubted she could have stopped his return. She knew it was part of Destiny's plan for Harry.

"I can live that," Harry said after a moment. "I've always felt he was going to come back. At least, I didn't have to watch Cedric die."

Mel smiled and Harry did not say any more. They entered the Hospital Wing to see the Diggorys, some of the Weasleys, and Hermione Granger waiting for them. Cedric was still awake. His mother sat at his side, looking extremely tired and exasperated. Harry went to change into a pair of pajamas behind a curtain as Mel walked over to Cedric, whose bed was next to Harry's.

"How are you, both of you?" she asked, sitting on a chair next to Cedric. Cedric reached out and took one of her hands and squeezed it.

"Tired," Mrs. Diggory said. "My son is refusing to take any form of potion that might make him drowsy."

"Dad went to meet the minister and Professor Dumbledore. I think he went to help explain how You-Know-Who is back," Cedric said stubbornly. "I just want to see what's going to happen."

"Yes, and he wanted to be awake when you came, I think," his mother added, smiling slightly. Mel and Cedric both blushed. "But now that she is here, I think you can take the potion. Who knows how long your father will be."

Cedric muttered something and begrudgingly drank the dreamless sleep potion. He fell asleep quickly, for which Mel was glad. He needed to rest after everything he had been through. She glanced over at Harry, who was also sleeping peacefully. Sirius wagged his tail and nudged her leg with his head. She supposed it was a comforting gesture. She reached down and absently scratched his head for a minute.

"Melissa, I wanted to say thank you," Mrs. Diggory said quietly.

"For what?" Mel asked, sitting up straight. Mrs. Diggory gave her a knowing look before explaining.

"You're special," she said. "You're magic is different. It's a different kind of energy. I know it's something you shouldn't talk about, so I won't ask for details. I also know that it somehow allowed you to save my son tonight. So, thank you."

Mel could only nod, too shocked to speak. She finally asked, "How could you tell?"

"I work in a Hospital. I've seen, experienced, and felt all kinds of magic. But yours is different, almost purer," she shrugged. She stood up and said, "Watch over him for me. I think Molly needs someone to talk to."

XXX

Harry woke up to shouting. He sat up quietly and slipped on his glasses. Professor McGonagall, Fudge, and Amos Diggory stood in the middle of the Hospital Wing. They were shouting about Barty Couch Jr., who had apparently experienced the Dementor's Kiss. Madam Pomfrey and Mrs. Diggory stood off to the side, frowning. Harry glanced at the bed next to him. Sirius, still in dog form, was standing in front of Mel. His hackles were raised and he was growling. Mel was now sitting on Cedric's bed; Cedric had his arm wrapped around her waist. Harry realized they were restraining her from joining the argument. Dumbledore and Snape entered unnoticed by anyone.

"What are you saying, Minister? That my son's a liar or crazy?" Mr. Diggory shouted.

Fudge made to answer, but was stopped by Dumbledore. "Amos, please do not yell. We have several patients who need their rest, your son included. If you would all follow me, we can continue this conversation in my office."

"No, we will finish this here, Dumbledore," Fudge said, sounding like a child throwing a tantrum. "Now, what do you have to say about this report of You-Know-Who's return?"

"Minister, you have interrogated Barty Crouch Jr., who is under the influence of Veritaserum, and Mr. Diggory. What more do you need?" Dumbledore said calmly.

"He never spoke to Crouch, Headmaster," McGonagall said bitterly. "The dementor the Minister brought for his protection made that quite impossible."

"I had every right! That man was a raving lunatic! From your reports he was responsible for several murders."

"So, you'll believe he killed at least three people, but not that he helped Voldemort return?" McGonagall questioned.

"Because he can't be! He just can't be back…" Fudge said, almost pleadingly.

"Voldemort has returned. If we act quickly, we may be able to stop him before he reaches the level of power he had thirteen years ago," Dumbledore said.

Fudge shook his head in stubborn disbelief. He dropped the bag of ten thousand galleons on the table between Harry and Cedric's beds, and left. As soon as the door was closed, Dumbledore asked Sirius to transform into his human self. Cedric's parents and Mrs. Weasley all gasped in fear at his appearance. Dumbledore asked him to alert Lupin and other members of the Order. Sirius hugged Harry and Mel good-bye, transformed, and left. He was shortly followed by Snape.

"Now," Dumbledore said, turning to the rest of them. "Amos and Susan, I can make arrangements for you to stay in the castle while Cedric recovers. If you feel up to it however, I would appreciate your help in seeking out those who are willing to believe us."

"We would like to stay the night, but can leave in the morning," Mrs. Diggory answered.

"Thank you. Molly—"

"No need to ask, Arthur and I will help you," she said. "I'll return home this evening."

"Thank you," Dumbledore repeated. Harry noticed he sounded how exhausted he sounded. "I think Cedric and Harry need to rest now. Professor McGonagall, if you would be so kind as to escort Mr. and Mrs. Diggory to their quarters."

Harry watched as they hugged their son goodnight. Mrs. Weasley stood up and handed Harry the rest of his sleeping potion. Then she and Bill followed the Diggorys and McGonagall out of the room.

"Miss Granger, Miss Evans, and Mr. Weasley, I think it time for you to return to your dormitories. I ask that you not speak of what has been said this evening."

They all nodded and got up to leave. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cedric lightly kiss Melissa on the cheek as she hugged him good night. For some reason, it made him uncomfortable; so he looked away quickly.

"Don't forget to take your potions," Dumbledore said.

"So," Cedric said. "What do you want to do with the money? You can have it."

"I don't want it," Harry said, downing his potion. "Let's give it to Fred and George. Then they can open that joke shop."

Cedric choked on his potion as he laughed. "That's a great idea."

XXX

"Melissa!"

Mel groaned. She had been avoiding people for three days. At this point, she had hoped they would figure out she was not going to tell them anything beyond that Cedric was alive. She could not wait for that evening's feast to be over so that she could get away from everyone tomorrow. Well, she was not going home. Dumbledore had contacted Victoria. Mel was going to stay with her while Dumbledore figured out how much danger she was in from Sean and Voldemort. Mel thought it was a bad idea, but Dumbledore had promised Victoria and her family would be well protected by magical charms.

"What?!" Mel snapped. She turned around to see Harry running after her. "Sorry, I thought you were, well…"

"I know," he said, stopping in front of her. "'Been going through the same thing. I was wondering if I could talk to you."

"Um, sure. Mind taking a walk?"

"No," he said. Mel led the way down the lake's edge, where they could talk without being overheard.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Mel asked.

"Well, Sirius sent me a novel of a letter and Dumbledore has answered most of my questions. I just wanted to talk to you. From what they've said, you're the closest thing I have to a sibling. I would like to get to know you," he said a bit sheepishly.

"Yes, I suppose I am," she said, smiling slightly.

"So, where did you grow up?"

"Well, I lived in an orphanage until I was fourteen. Since then I've stayed with friends on holidays, mostly Cedric and his family."

"Sirius said that the other power-person hurt you, and that's why you left. He was there, that night, but I guess you know that."

"Yes," Mel said, a hint of bitterness in her voice. "He's Pain, an associate of Death."

"Oh," Harry said.

"I am sorry that I didn't tell you about my vision or me," Mel said.

"I probably wouldn't have believed you," Harry shrugged. "But I will now, so feel free to tell me of any visions."

"Promise," she smiled.

"I wish they had placed you with me at the Dursleys'," he said wistfully, nudging a few pebbles into the lake. "It would've been nice not to have grown up alone."

"I know. They had their reasons though."

"I've heard them. They don't make sense to me," Harry said, an edge to his voice. Mel did not know what to tell him. She had never understood why they had been kept apart. "Have you ever seen a picture of our mum?"

"No," she said, taken aback by his question. However, she was more surprised by his use of "our" instead of "my."

"I'll have to send you one. You look like her. It's not obvious at first, but I've always seen it. I was always trying to place you, but couldn't."

They stood in silence for a few minutes. Each one thinking as they stared over the lake. Mel wondered why he was accepting everything to readily. Maybe he had been through and lost so much that he just needed to be connected to someone.

"Do you know Cedric's in love with you?" Harry asked suddenly, laughing slightly.

"He's mentioned it a few times. Why?"

"Because he says it in his sleep. A lot."

Mel laughed. "Well, he should. I did save his life after all."

XXX

Mel sat snuggled up to Cedric on the train ride home. They sat with Ryan, Ron, Harry, and Hermione. Mel's other friends were not ready to hear or accept Voldemort was back; and Mel and Cedric were not ready to debate it with them. Dumbledore had told everyone what had happened in the maze and that Voldemort had returned. Needless to say, they were all glad to be escaping the scrutiny for a few months.

Ryan still did not know Mel's secret. Cedric was going to tell him once they got home.

"So Mel," Ryan said, looking up from his game of chess with Ron. "Despite Cedric claiming You-Know-Who has returned, his fan club remains as dedicated as ever. In fact, I think it grew."

"Mine," Mel said, wrapping her arms around Cedric. Cedric hugged her tighter with the arm that was already wrapped around her waist and kissed the top of her head. Harry shifted uncomfortably in his seat and looked out the window. Ryan pretended to gag and went back to his game.

"Come help me find Fred and George," Cedric said to her as he stood up.

"Why?" she asked, following him out of the compartment.

"Harry and I decided to give them the money," he explained once they were in the hall. "Neither of us want or need it."

"I'm almost afraid of what they'll do with it. You do realize we have one more year of school and us being prefects," she joked.

"We'll need the distraction," he smiled. He paused and turned to face her.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Promise me you won't do anything heroically dumb this summer," he said, all joking gone from his voice.

"Shouldn't I be saying that to you?" she asked, a hint of playfulness in her voice.

"Maybe before, but after what happened…. You're the most important thing to me. I would not be here without you. My job is to help you and take care of you, but I know you have to help Harry. All I ask is that you remember me before you decide to do something reckless," he said. He looked determined yet lost as he spoke. Mel wrapped her arms around his neck and he rested his forehead against hers.

"I always do," she whispered.