[A/N: This may be my second-to-last or last chapter for a while. I might post some drabbles or one-shots for other fandoms, but Melody's tale will take a pause for a while. Thanks for reading!
To my first guest reviewer: Thanks for your review! I would have replied personally, but as it was a guest review, I'll have to include it in this A/N.
I'm sorry that this isn't the type of story you prefer to read, but I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts.
As I already stated in my very first A/N in the very first chapter, I know that there are many stories like this out there already, and I know that Peter was an integral part of the Marauders, and that his friendship was very important to all of them. However, I chose to write an OC instead of tackling Peter's character because that's simply what I felt like doing.
I think whether or not a fanfic author decides to include or exclude characters from the literary world in question should be up to the author, not a random reviewer who appears to think that they are better qualified to make suggestions about these things. And, in response to your opinion of Melody, even a lot of canon characters have Mary-Sue elements to them-it's almost impossible to write a female without someone pointing out the Sue-like characteristics she exhibits.
Hopefully, there's a story out there that will suit your tastes-I'm not writing this with the hopes of becoming the next J. K. Rowling, or with the intention of making some well-lauded, impeccably canonically accurate, novel-length, prize-winning quality Marauders tale that every fan will talk about for years to come. It's simply a story that's been in my head that I'm putting to paper and decided to share. Everyone has different preferences, and even though this particular fic doesn't appeal to you, hopefully there's someone out there who enjoys reading it as much as I enjoy writing it :)
Melody put the tip of her quill in her mouth absentmindedly as she tried to think of a subject for the next paragraph for her Transfiguration essay on human transformations. In the comfy armchair across from her, Remus was reading a chapter of Advanced Potion-Making, and James and Sirius were on the couch by the fire, having a friendly debate about why it was impossible to conjure food out of thin air.
Having finally come up with a topic, Melody mentally smacked herself, smiling as she started scribbling away. Obviously she could write about Animagi—it was the most complicated form of human Transfiguration, and she did know rather a lot about it—not that she was going to write her biggest secret in her essay, for Professor McGonagall and everyone else to know.
"Um, excuse me?"
Melody lost her train of thought, looking up to see a red-faced second year boy standing nervously at the edge of her armchair.
"I'm to give you this," he said quickly, thrusting a piece of parchment tied with violet ribbon at her.
"Thank you," Melody said, accepting what must have been an invitation from Slughorn with a kind smile. The boy blushed even harder and hurried away, tripping slightly on the edge of his robes as he went.
Melody noticed Sirius chuckling as she noted the date and time for the first Slug Club dinner of the year. "What?"
He imitated the younger boy, stammering as he gazed at Melody, open-mouthed, holding out a piece of scrap parchment rolled into a tube.
Melody scowled, chucking her invitation at his head. Sirius ducked out of the way, and James caught the parchment easily, setting it down on the couch. "Be nice," she chided. "He was probably shy, or something."
"Or something," James repeated, grinning. "He's not the only one who can't help staring, you know."
Melody laughed aloud. "What are you talking about?"
Sirius stroked his chin, pretending to be deep in thought. "Well, let's see," he began in a pompous tone of voice. "You're a very pretty girl who's not only new to Hogwarts, but comes all the way from America; one of the most interesting places a person can come from. You've got an adorable accent, you hang around the most handsome and popular gents in the school—" he gestured to himself, James, and Remus, who was still looking at his book, but sitting very still, no longer scanning the pages he was staring at—"And you've just made the Gryffindor Quidditch team after a splendid tryout; not to mention that you've already been picked for Slughorn's special society. So, it's no wonder that half the lads in this school can't take their eyes off you every time you float down the halls. I'm surprised you haven't had a different date every night since you arrived here."
"I don't float when I walk," Melody grumbled, turning slightly pink. She had noticed some of the staring, but had assumed it was because she was a new student—not because so many boys thought she was pretty.
"You are very graceful, though," Remus said without looking up from his book, so quietly that Melody didn't think James or Sirius heard them from where they were sitting; already joking about something else. She found herself quite unable to speak, and put her head down, busying herself with her essay.
In Defense Against the Dark Arts, they were working on nonverbal defensive and offensive spells. So far, no one had been able to Stun their partner without muttering "Stupefy" under their breath, and no one had been able to successfully shield themselves from a Stunning spell without saying "Protego" aloud—Sirius had gotten so excited once that he actually yelled the incantation, successfully diverting Melody's whispered Stunner, which had whizzed over the top of Professor Dragoon's head. He'd just shaken his head with a sigh, and took up a spot behind another group of students, where he was quite out of Sirius's line of fire.
Remus finally cast a successful silent Stunner at James, who landed on the cushions that had been spread around the room for the safety of the students. Melody clapped for him along with some of her peers, and Professor Dragoon scurried over to revive James, awarding five points to Remus for being the first to achieve the spellwork correctly.
Melody felt someone standing very close to her, and she looked over her shoulder to see Bertram Aubrey's looming figure. "He did all right at Stunning Potter, but I'm better at the Shield charm," he said loftily, as though trying to be casually impressive. "I've already done it nonverbally, but Professor Dragoon wasn't looking."
"Good for you," said Melody with a noncommittal shrug.
"I hear you made the Gryffindor team," Bertram went on. "I look forward to facing you in Gryffindor and Ravenclaw's first match."
"Well, that won't be for another few months," Melody replied. Across from her, Sirius was scowling at Bertram, waiting for him to leave so that they could resume practicing.
"That's true. At least we get to see a lot of each other in classes," Bertram said with a winning smile.
"Uh-huh." Melody shifted into a dueling stance, hoping that Bertram would take it as a cue to leave. He didn't.
"I'll be watching your match against Slytherin, that's for certain," he informed her.
"So will the rest of the school," Melody said breezily. Sirius was looking rather annoyed, and he raised his wand surreptitiously.
"It'll be hard for me to focus on the game, though, with you up there—" he didn't finish, ducking angrily as a jet of red light shot past his shoulder.
"Sorry! I was aiming for Melody," Sirius said with a rogueish grin. Bertram skulked away, frowning, and Melody grinned, pointing her wand at Sirius to try and Stun him without whispering aloud.
Melody arrived at Slughorn's little dinner party in his office; wearing a set of soft pink dress robes with lace sleeves that belled out like delicate flower petals from her elbows to her wrists. She hesitated at the door, but Slughorn caught sight of her and waved her in jovially.
"You're right on time, my dear! Come on in!"
Melody entered the room and sat at the oval-shaped table next to Lily, who smiled brightly at her. She was surprised to see Severus sitting, hunched slightly, at the end—he hadn't been at the first gathering of the Slug Club on the train. Then again, he had been doing so well in Potions class, outperforming everyone except for Lily—who sometimes did as well as him, or slightly better—that it really wasn't too much of a surprise that Slughorn had invited him.
During the meal, Slughorn made inquiries about the students' relations and informed them about the well-being of his connections at the Ministry and whatnot. He asked a fourth year Ravenclaw boy about his father, who was the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and praised the most recent performances of another student's famous relative, a Welsh singer named Celestina Warbeck. Melody listened politely, and they had reached a palate-cleansing dessert of lemon ice before he got to her.
"And you, Miss Melody; I see that you have made the Gryffindor team, as I had expected! Congratulations," Slughorn told her with a smile. "Oh, but of course you'll be facing my boy Regulus! I do hope you'll understand I'll be rooting for Slytherin; House loyalty, and all that."
"Of course, Professor. And I do hope you'll understand I'll be celebrating with Gryffindor when we win. House loyalty, and all that," said Melody, smiling innocently. Beside her, Lily laughed in surprise, and there was a ripple of laughter among the other students as well. Severus remained staring resolutely at his plate, not even cracking a smile.
Slughorn chuckled heartily. "Cheeky, this one!" he exclaimed, turning to Regulus and elbowing him with a raised eyebrow. "It's no surprise that you get on well with dear Lily here. She was just telling me the other day how you helped her with some tricky Transfiguration work."
The two girls smiled at each other. Melody had been spending a little bit more time with her bunkmate whenever James and Sirius were off somewhere, up to no good, and Remus was shut up in his room, studying feverishly even though he was undisputedly near the top of all of his classes. Lily was a very nice girl, with a quick wit and a kind heart, and Melody felt that she had lucked out with all of her closest friends at Hogwarts. She was, of course, friendly with other students as well; but if she had a choice to hang out with anyone in the school, it would certainly be Remus, Sirius, James, and sometimes Lily.
"And Severus," Slughorn went on, addressing the sallow-faced boy who seemed like he was trying to blend in with his seat. "You've been shining quite well in Potions; even better than you have in the past! I'm quite impressed with your work, my boy. Tell me, have you already given that Lucky potion a go? Or, are you saving it for a rainy day?"
"You could say that," Severus said in a voice that held a tinge of bitterness. His dark eyes darted almost imperceptibly in Melody and Lily's direction; as they had been present when Sirius's mean-spirited jinx had resulted in Severus losing the prize he'd won just minutes after he'd acquired—although, neither of the girls had taken part in the duel, and Lily had been the one to halt the disagreement.
After they were finished eating and the table had been cleared away, the Slug Club members milled about, talking in a friendly manner. Slughorn was showing some of them a collection of photographs from previous years of Slug Club meetings, and Lily was laughing with some Ravenclaws, including a slightly scrawny girl whose wide eyes were magnified even moreso behind large horn-rimmed glasses.
Severus and Regulus were standing together, but not talking to each other. Steeling herself, Melody walked over to them, smiling in a friendly manner.
"Hello," she said brightly. "Good to see you again, Regulus."
He smiled slightly and inclined his head.
"Hi, Severus," Melody added tentatively. Severus's lip curled slightly, but he did not otherwise acknowledge her greeting.
"Ready for Saturday?" Regulus asked her. "I caught a glimpse of your team's training sessions. Everyone looks like they're in good shape."
"I'll feel ready until the second I mount my broom, at which point I'll probably feel like fainting or throwing up, but once I'm in the air I'll be fine," Melody said candidly. "Are you ready?"
"Ready as ever. You'll have to be on your toes if you want to beat me," said Regulus, raising his eyebrows. "I caught the Snitch in every game I played last year."
"So did I. Good luck," Melody said, offering her hand to Regulus. He hesitated for only a moment before grasping it, shaking her hand with a smile. To the side, Severus had edged away slightly, so that he wasn't so close to Melody. If his hatred of James and Sirius could not be helped, Melody hoped that she would at least be able to find herself on speaking terms with Severus. He seemed to be a rather lonely person, and Melody felt that everyone deserved the chance to feel like they belonged.
Melody left before Lily did, and arrived back at Gryffindor Tower on her own. When she climbed through the portrait hole, Sirius and James were playing Exploding Snap by the fire, and Remus was sitting near them, practicing the Lumos charm without saying the incantation aloud.
As they watched her walk in, however, Sirius gave a low wolf-whistle, and James grinned at her, his eyebrows raised high above his round glasses. Remus, distracted from his wandwork, allowed the light at the end of his wand to fade as he regarded her in her delicate pink dress robes. The boys had not yet seen her wearing them, because she had changed out of her school robes when they had already left for dinner, and she had then gone straight to Slughorn's office without running into any of the three.
Melody was quite sure that her face had become the same pink as her robes.
"You look like a princess," Remus said quietly, and Melody flushed even harder, surprised that he had been the one to give her such a compliment; rather than the always outspoken Sirius, or even quick-tongued James.
"Oh, th-they're just robes," Melody stammered, continuing past them so that she could change again.
Sirius started chuckling, but then his deck of cards exploded, setting fire to one of the sleeves of his robes. While they were distracted, Melody hurried away to her dormitory, very nearly tripping up the stairs in her haste.
With only one more day until the match, Melody found herself working extremely hard to get all of her homework done, so that she would not have anything to worry about over the weekend. James and Sirius had gone off together, innocently insisting that they were just going for an evening walk around the grounds. Melody was sitting in the common room with Remus, feverishly squeezing a final paragraph onto the last page of her Care of Magical Creatures essay.
"I can't recall," Remus said, frowning and rubbing his eyes with a yawn. "Is it Greek mythology that the name for the Abraxan breed comes from?"
"Roman," Melody reminded him, scanning through her book to be sure. "And the Granian Winged horse is named from Norse legend. Both are possible forms of corporeal Patronuses."
"Mmh."
Melody looked up, surprised by Remus's minimal response, and saw that he was nodding off; his chin against his chest. The flames from the common room's fireplace illuminated the shadows under his eyes; making him look even more pale and ill.
Tentatively, Melody pulled a Gryffindor throw blanket off of the couch and draped it over Remus, who was shivering slightly. She took his textbook from his limp hands, setting it on the table before it could fall to the ground, and settled back in her chair, determined to finish up her homework.
She could not stop herself, however, from looking up every few minutes to catch a glance at Remus's sleeping form. He did not seem well at all—was he working himself too hard in his classes? He had skipped more than a couple of meals to study; although, each time this had occurred, James had stubbornly stuffed an entire day's worth of food from the Gryffindor table into his Invisibility Cloak, lugged it all the way up to Gryffindor Tower, and confiscated Remus's books until he'd at least had a few bites to eat. Sometimes, Sirius had to threaten to physically shove handfuls of food down his throat before Remus would tear himself away from his work.
Although he was pale, sweaty, and shivering, Remus looked fairly peaceful in his sleep. It was only a few minutes later, when he began to wince and groan, that Melody began to worry.
"Remus?" Melody asked hesitantly, reaching out towards him. He shuddered, his eyes flying open; and he did not seem to recognize her for a moment.
"I... nghh." Remus threw the blanket off him and stood rather unsteadily. "It's a day sooner than I... I mean... I had better go to the Hospital Wing, I think."
"I think so, too," Melody said worriedly. "But you're mad if you think you're going alone."
Remus looked as though he wanted to protest, but he didn't have the strength for it. Breathing hard, he leaned heavily against the armchair.
"Come on." Melody set aside her nerves about being so near to him, and draped Remus's arm around her shoulders, so that he could use her for support as they walked. They had nearly reached Madam Pomfrey's office when James and Sirius came running towards the pair of them; concern apparent on their faces.
"It—We were studying, and he just started feeling ill, out of nowhere," Melody told them as they took Remus's weight from her, each with one of his arms around their shoulders. Remus was sagging heavily against them; his eyes unfocused and skin clammy.
"What time is it?" James asked anxiously.
"Nearly sunset," Melody told him, glancing from one to the other as the boys exchanged a meaningful look. "Why?"
"Just checking," said Sirius briskly.
"We'll take him the rest of the way," James said firmly. "Thank you, Melody."
"You were in the common room, weren't you? Why don't you go and make sure no one accidentally throws his homework away?" Sirius suggested in a tone that made Melody feel like he was giving her a command, rather than a suggestion.
"But, I... Is he going to be all right?" Melody's voice quivered as she watched Remus, who would have been doubling over in pain if the other two boys were not holding him upright.
James's expression softened slightly. "Yes, he'll be all right. We'll see you later."
Sirius, who was focused entirely on Remus, did not say goodbye to Melody as he and James helped Remus to the end of the corridor. Melody stood rooted to the spot, filled with fear and worry, and not knowing what to think.
"...a day early," she heard Sirius say in an anxious tone before they entered the Hospital Wing and were gone. Feeling as though her feet were made of lead, Melody walked slowly back to Gryffindor Tower, her heart beating so loudly against her ribcage that she felt it might break free.
She did not sleep that night; her concern for Remus adding a layer on top of the nerves she already felt about playing her first game for Gryffindor team. Melody lay awake all night, staring up at the ceiling as silent tears streamed down her cheeks.