[A/N: I think you can all infer why I suddenly have enough time in my schedule to actually start writing fics again. Glad I could get into updating this one—nothing calms me down and provides a sense of normalcy quite like delving into the world of HP. Currently working on the next chapter! (Though of course, it's always fascinating blending my evolving worldview and writing skills with skeletons of chapters that were started years and years ago.)]

Melody miraculously made it back to Gryffindor Tower in the early hours of the morning without getting caught by Filch or Mrs. Norris. The Fat Lady was half awake when Melody gave her the password and slipped through the portrait hole. When she got to her room, Lily was just getting up.

"Melody," she said, relief apparent in her voice. "I was really worried, when I came back after the feast and you weren't here. I thought maybe you had to go to the Hospital Wing. I wanted to go and see if you were there, but by that time, it was after hours, and Filch was on our floor."

"Oh, I..." Melody fumbled for an excuse, and decided to tell the truth without elaborating. "I slept somewhere else last night."

"Oh. ...Oh!" Lily exclaimed, raising her eyebrows. "I see. Well, don't worry; I won't ask who. Just as long as you're all better from your allergic reaction."

"I... Right." Melody smiled weakly, figuring that it was easier to let Lily think she'd spent the night in some boy's room than to explain that she had transformed into her unregistered Animagus form, saw Remus as a werewolf and James and Sirius as a stag and a dog, and spent the night crying her eyes out in a secret, non-existent room behind a tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy and a bunch of trolls in tutus.

The morning of Hallow's Eve came, and brought with it an ominous feeling as Melody drifted through her day, mostly hiding in the library by herself. It was a Saturday, so most of the students bustled about, excited for the evening's spooky revelries—but Melody just sat in the back of the library, struggling to read the same lines of a book over and over again as she kept thinking about Remus's illness.

By lunchtime, Melody couldn't hold out any longer, and went to the Great Hall to get some food. She wondered if the boys would notice anything was amiss.

When they saw her, Sirius waved her over, and James smiled cheerily, patting the seat beside him. Sirius scooted over so she could sit in the middle.

"Come join us, little one!" James's tone was as light as ever; though he sported slight dark circles under his eyes.

Melody slid into the open spot, trying to match their cheerful energy. "Anything good? I missed breakfast."

"We slept right through it, ourselves," Sirius admitted, grinning. "What a long week it's been! My eyes are still crossing from all of the books I read last night."

"Sirius Black, reading on a Friday night?" Melody half-teased. She elbowed him in the ribs as lightly as possible. Sirius's instant wince, replaced quickly by a pained smile, was all the confirmation she needed.

"Try the grey stuff! It's delicious," James said, diverting her attention. Out of the corner of her eye, Melody saw Sirius clutch his ribs; leaning on the edge of the table for a second.

"Is Remus still in the Hospital Wing?" Melody asked, as casually as she could.

"He should be back with us tonight," Sirius said; reaching, a bit cautiously, for his plate.

Melody nodded, looking around the Great Hall. There was just so much noise. As a Quidditch player, background noise usually didn't bother her—but after a difficult night and an anxietous morning, Melody thought her head might just split if she spent one more second in the crowded dining area. "Actually, do you think we can eat in the common room? All this noise and the hustle and bustle about tonight's ball is giving me a bit of a headache."

"Capital idea." James surreptitiously loaded his pockets with anything that wouldn't make a mess on their way back to Gryffindor Tower.

As they walked, the three friends were unusually quiet. James said something cheerfully every now and then, but his usual loping gait was much more poised and almost stiff. Sirius had his arms folded comfortably around his stomach, walking slightly behind Melody and James; smiling every time Melody looked back at him, though she was certain his mouth settled into a grimace every time she looked away.

They made it to the Common Room without incident; which was empty, as everyone was either at lunch, enjoying the day's rare October sunshine, or helping with decorations for the evening's festivities. Melody hung back as the portrait hole closed behind them.

"A fireside meal is just what I've been needing," James said to no one in particular. Sirius helped him lay out the foodstuffs on coffee tables in front of the couch.

A sniffling sound startled them into glancing at Melody, whose eyes had welled up with tears that were beyond her control.

"Melody?" James asked uncertainly. "What is it?"

Sirius had a somber look on his face, and he sighed, watching her carefully. "You saw, didn't you? Last night?"

Melody's tears spilled over, running down her cheeks. She rubbed some of them away with the sleeve of her robe, and nodded, not meeting either of their eyes.

"Oh," James said in a small voice, looking crestfallen. "Oh."

"I thought that was you I smelled," Sirius said calmly. "But I was confused, because I didn't hear much of anything, and you didn't smell fully... well, human."

"I'm very light on my feet when I've transformed," Melody mumbled, fiddling with the edge of her sleeve.

"When you've..." James looked from Melody to Sirius. "All right; now I'm confused."

Sirius looked around, ensuring that they were indeed alone in the common room. It was quiet as could be; but still, he pulled his wand out and pointed it at the stairs to the dormitories.

"Muffliato," he whispered, repeating the spell in the direction of the portrait hole before speaking again. "Well, James... It looks like we're not the only unregistered Animagi around here."

James stared at Melody, who nodded, shrugging. "I can transform into a robin," she explained. "It's how I got past the Whomping Willow, and made it to the Shrieking Shack without either of you hearing me. I had a feeling it had something to do with... with Remus. I swear I wasn't trying to be nosy... I've just been so worried about him, ever since that first night he got sick."

Sirius pushed the tips of his fingers together; looking pensive. James ran a hand through his hair and looked up at the ceiling.

"Have you told anyone?" James asked finally, breathing out the words as though they came with difficulty.

"Of course not," said Melody, fresh tears leaking from her dark blue eyes. "It's not my secret to tell. I would never, ever let something like that slip."

Sirius bit his lip thoughtfully. "You know... The only people who know are in this room; plus Dumbledore and McGonagall. We found out in second year... Didn't want him to deal with it alone, so we learned how to become Animagi and did the potion and spell last summer."

"Most difficult spellwork and potion-brewing of our lives," James admitted, adjusting his glasses on his nose. "But it was worth it. We'd do anything for each other, you know."

"Why did you become one?" Sirius wanted to know. "And when? I looked up the list of registered Animagi for this century pretty recently, and you weren't on it—not that people under 17 are usually on it, anyway."

"Well," Melody began, drying some more of her tears. "My Potions and Transfiguration professors were very hard on me. Those were my worst subjects, and they said I'd never get more than an Acceptable on my O.W.L.s if I kept producing the kind of results I'd been getting. I knew I needed at least an E in each subject if I wanted becoming an Auror to remain on my list of possible careers. So, last year, I worked day and night to improve, and I ended up getting an E in Potions and an O in Transfiguration. When I found out I was going to be transferring away from Ilvermorny, I wanted to challenge myself even more; to prove that I had more potential than they had ever seen. So, I researched the most difficult and dangerous possible combination of Potion-making and Transfiguration, and I went through the entire process to become an Animagus. I wanted to shove it in their faces, but it's illegal to become an Animagus without informing MACUSA—or, for you, the Ministry of Magic. Also, like you said, it's not usually underage students who do it, either. So, I kept it a secret."

The room was quiet for a few minutes, except for the soft crackling of the fireplace.

"So," James said slowly, "What you're saying is that you basically became an Animagus to spite your old Potions professor?"

Melody nodded. "That was the main reason, yeah."

Sirius shook his head, grinning. "You really are one of us."

"So... What now?" Melody asked uncertainly.

"I'm sure Moony would want to talk to you about this himself," James told her. "But maybe the two of us should talk to him first."

"Yeah, why don't you go enjoy the Ball tonight?" Sirius said, squeezing Melody's shoulder. "It'll take your mind off things."

"The BALL?" Melody exclaimed. "How could I think of dancing at a time like this?"

"No, Sirius is right," James said gently. "Evans'll be there, I'm sure your other friends will be around too. Go have a good time. Moony'll be back by the end of the night, and you can talk to him then."

"You're not going then?" Melody asked quietly.

"We've got some other shenanigans to get up to," Sirius chuckled, wincing almost immediately. "First order of business? A trip to see Madam Pomfrey."

Melody cracked a smile. "Sorry for elbowing you earlier."

"That's all right, little one." Sirius ruffled her hair, and the three of them sat down to start digging in to their nicked lunch foods.

Melody spent the rest of the day feeling conflicted about enjoying a night of revelries; but by the time the other girls in her dorm started getting ready, she allowed herself to be a little excited, too. The students had been encouraged to wear dress robes that fit the Hallow's Eve theme, so long as nothing was so over-the-top that it might take an eye out or knock someone over.

Lily's dress was a vivid aqua green, with scale-like details on the bodice reminiscent of a mermaid's tail. She was standing by the door, watching as one of the other girls worked on shrinking her ornamental fairy wings to a wearable size.

"Do you want to head to the Great Hall?" she asked Melody. "They might be a while."

Melody realized she had been tapping her legs restlessly the whole time. "Yes! Let's go." She sprang up from her bed, careful not to trip on the hem of her silver gown.

Lily led her down the stairs and out of the portrait hole. Melody glanced back towards the stairs to the boys' room, but there was no sign of anyone around.

"I never would have thought to dress like a Patronus. That's creative of you," Lily said matter-of-factly. "I guarantee you most girls at this thing will be sporting a pair of fairy wings, and most of the guys will be wearing capes. I do hope someone's charmed their teeth to look like fangs and doesn't know the counter-charm—Madam Pomfrey will have a field day telling them off."

Melody looked down at her robes, fingering the satiny silver fabric. She did feel very pretty—but she couldn't help still feeling a bit guilty. She had to keep reminding herself that she'd get to see Remus after the Ball—and then what? Apologize for spying on him and discovering his deepest secret, one that only a few people in existence even knew about?

When they got to the Great Hall, Lily was swept away in a whirlwind of friends, and Melody found herself surveying the Great Hall. It had been decked out in a manner that was both spooky and classy; black roses and silver ivy artfully threading around jack-o'-lanterns and silk-like draperies of magical spiderwebs. There was a table laden with seasonal goodies, and an assortment of musicians playing classical music pieces with a hint of the macabre in the arrangements of the notes and the usage of well-placed minor chords and dissonant tones.

The dance floor was, as Lily had predicted, full of fairies and vampires twirling around together; though there were some less common outfit themes among them—Melody thought she saw a hippogriff or two; in addition to plenty of students who had opted for the simplicity of wearing festive colors.

On her way to the refreshments, Melody was stopped by a familiarly unpleasant presence. Bertram Aubrey sneered down at her; arms folded across his chest.

"I notice none of your boyfriends bothered to show up," he said testily.

"Neither did any of your girlfriends, apparently," Melody replied coolly. "Seriously, what is your deal? I thought I made it clear that I'm not interested. You can't be so attracted to me that you're willing to risk getting hexed again."

"I don't see Potter or Black around to protect you," Bertram scoffed; though he did tense up slightly at the mention of a hex.

"I'm perfectly capable of hexing you myself," Melody assured him. "What do you want from me? A duel? A date? 'Cause you're certainly not getting the latter."

"What I want is for you to realize you're not as great as everyone seems to think you are," Bertram said haughtily. "I swear; everyone's always talking about the American transfer student; the new Gryffindor Seeker; the Wright girl; this and that. It's maddening."

Melody was mildly surprised to hear this, but she squared her shoulders. "Are you saying I've got a big head? Because last I checked, you were the one who had to have his head shrunk by Madam Pomfrey after you couldn't even figure out how to fix it yourself."

Bertram's nostrils flared, and he was about to go on when someone tapped on Melody's shoulder.

"Would you like to dance?" Regulus asked as he stepped in between them.

"Yes," Melody exhaled with relief. She stepped into his arms, and they waltzed around the dance floor; Regulus leading her with ease. He twirled her around him gracefully, and lifted her easily by the waist.

Melody found herself watching him thoughtfully as they danced. Regulus's attention was on guiding her around other couples, but when he saw her gaze, he smiled slightly.

"What?"

"You're a very good dance partner," Melody said, shrugging. "I guess I wasn't sure what to expect."

"Well, you're a very good dancer. But I expected nothing less after your fancy maneuvers during our match," Regulus told her.

Melody glanced over Regulus's shoulder to where Bertram was now pulling a fifth year Hufflepuff girl unceremoniously around the dance floor. "I hope you don't think I couldn't take care of myself. But I appreciate the rescue."

"It would be wrong of me to presume such a thing, Wright." The song ended, and Regulus bowed as Melody curtsied.

After a few more dances with other students, several snacks, and a pleasant conversation with Professor Slughorn, Melody found herself edging closer and closer to the doors of the Great Hall.

"Got someone waiting for you?" Lily asked knowingly, startling Melody. "I couldn't help but notice who isn't here."

"...Oh. Yes. Remus wasn't feeling well enough to come, and James and Sirius are taking care of him."

"That's so sweet." Lily fingered a scale on her bodice absentmindedly. "You know, as pigheaded as that Potter boy is, I do take note of how much he cares for his friends. I think it's rather admirable. If he weren't so self-centered... well, it's not like he's difficult to look at. I might actually consider going out with him."

Melody giggled at the thought.

"Oh, god, don't tell him I said that, though," Lily exclaimed. "If he thinks he has a chance, I'll never hear the end of it."

"Do you really hate him that much?" Melody inquired.

Lily's eyebrows drew together slightly. "Hate is such a strong word. I don't even dislike him all that much, to be honest. He's a good person, beneath all the airs he puts on. I just want proof that he's capable of showing maturity. I suppose he's already come a long way from jinxing Severus at every turn for fun."

Melody's gaze traveled to the far edge of the room, where Severus was leaning against a wall by himself. She was mildly surprised that he had even come to the ball—he didn't seem one for festivities; especially those with a particularly lurid holiday theme.

"Anyway, don't let me keep you from your rendezvous. I'm sure Sirius is quite looking forward to seeing you in that gown." Lily smiled and waved; gliding away before Melody had a chance to correct her.

With nothing else to really keep her there, Melody took a last look at the impressive Halloween décor, and headed back to Gryffindor Tower; butterflies swirling in her stomach as she tried to prepare herself for the conversation with Remus.

Melody climbed gingerly through the portrait-hole; doing her best to avoid making noise in her sparkling heels. She didn't expect many students to be hanging around in the common room—those who hadn't gone to the ball were likely asleep by now. When she emerged from the small corridor, Sirius and James were the only ones around; sitting on the plush red couch in front of the fire.

Sirius was unusually quiet as he regarded Melody in her dress robes. His eyes lingered on the tapered waistline, fitted to Melody's curves like a second skin, and the plummeting neckline that was criss-crossed shut with silver ribbons, but offered a peek at her caramel-toned skin between each X. "He's upstairs," he said after what felt like a lifetime.

"We were just thinking about a trip to the kitchens—leftovers from the ball must be wicked," James said softly. "We'll be back in a bit." He stood, followed by Sirius, who didn't look back as he left the room.

Left in silence, Melody took a deep breath before climbing the stairs to the boys' dormitory. She knocked softly, poking first her head in, then stepping into the doorway.

Remus was sitting up in his bed, holding a book that he didn't seem to be paying much attention to. He set it down and watched her as she hovered by the entrance to the boys' room. "You look..."

"Oh. This was just... for the Ball. You know." Melody looked down at herself distractedly, then back at Remus.

"Are you frightened?" Remus asked quietly.

Melody's brows drew together in confusion. "Frightened? Of what?"

"Of me." Remus's gaze darkened, and his jaw tightened. "I'm a monster."

Melody felt a pang of sadness tinged with the slightest bit of anger—anger not towards Remus, but towards the fact that he had to suffer through something so terrible. "Remus, you're not a monster," she said firmly, walking over to his bed and standing beside it. "You're one of the kindest people I know."

"I'm dangerous," Remus said, closing his eyes as he leaned back against the pillows. "I'm a burden and an abomination. It would be better if... If you just stayed away."

Tears sprang to Melody's eyes, but she shook her head. "Sorry, but you're stuck with me, Moony."

Remus blinked, glancing at her pensively.

"I care about you, Remus. You're my friend, and I'm here for you. I'm going to be your friend no matter what."

We're going to be here for you no matter what, you tosspot. Memories of a similar speech made by a scrawny young Sirius and a wide-eyed little James drifted into Remus's thoughts.

He sighed in defeat. "Stubborn, stout-hearted, loyal... a true Gryffindor."

Melody smiled. "And, well... I'm sorry I found out by spying on you."

"That's all right. I'm sorry you had to see me like that." Remus was quiet for a moment. "Would you show me your Animagus form? Sirius told me what it is, but I'm curious to see for myself."

"It's the least I can do." Melody twisted in on herself and changed into her little robin form, flitting towards Remus and landing lightly on his outstretched hand.

"Remarkable." Remus smiled tiredly at her. From this close of a distance, the scratches on his face seemed even more harrowing. But his eyes were brighter than ever. "You really are the prettiest little bird."

Melody could feel her little robin's heart beat a little faster. Just then, a noise at the bottom of the stairs startled her into ruffling her feathers; before she remembered that the only people who might be coming up were Sirius and James. It took her a second to register the fact that, in her moment of fright, Remus had drawn her protectively towards his chest; close enough that she could feel the gentle thumping of his heart. It was beating just a little more quickly than what might be normal for him.

"Sorry. I just... always want you to feel safe." Remus touched a finger to her little crown of feathers. He lifted his hand, and Melody fluttered into the air; transforming and landing on the edge of his bed, her hand resting on his outstretched one.

They looked at each other, and Melody felt as if everything in the world—including her ability to breathe—had come to a pause. Remus closed his thumb around her fingers; brushing against her knuckle with the softest of touches. Melody felt the fabric of her dress robes rustle as she leaned slightly into his touch. Then Remus exhaled, and drew his hand away rather quickly.

"I don't want to keep you up any longer. It's already very late," Remus said, clearing his throat.

"Right. Of course," Melody agreed, trying to find a normal rhythm in her breathing. She stood and made her way towards the stairs.

"Melody?"

She paused, turning back to Remus. "Yes?"

"Don't worry about me. Please." Remus smiled wanly, but there was a firmness behind his words.

"I'll try not to. Goodnight." Melody wound her way down to the Common Room, half expecting to see James and Sirius. They weren't back yet. Still flushed from such an intimate moment with Remus, Melody found her way up to the girls' dormitory and flopped onto her bed. She wasn't sure if that conversation had gone the way she'd hoped—or if she even knew how she'd wanted it to go—or if it had actually gone better than she'd expected. But for now, at least it seemed like things with Remus were going to be okay. And that was what mattered.