CW: mentions of body horror.

"Lucifer?! What are you doing here? It's too dangerous! If Cipher finds out-"

"That's why you need to leave. The others are ready for you. GO! GO NOW!"

Melissa awoke with a gasp. Consciousness following panic. Panic following consciousness as her body refused to move. "What's happening?! Where am I?! SOMEBODY HELP!"

"Miss Bennett, is that you?"

She whipped her head to the side. Dumbledore was watching her with cautious eyes. "I can't feel my body! I can't move!"

"I had to restrain you, my dear, for your own safety."

She tried to look down, straining as she could see no further than her chest. "Are my limbs where they're supposed to be?!"

"...I don't under-"

"ARE MY LIMBS- WHERE- THEY'RE SUPPOSED- TO BE!?"

Snape pushed forward to Dumbledore's side. Fighting clenched teeth and a deep scowl, he forced himself to speak with the tone of a Head of House as he answered. "Your body is whole. You are no longer in your mind. Cipher has not twisted you in the real world. You are awake. You are whole."

She searched his eyes for any hint of falsehood. "I'm awake?" He gave a brief nod. Her eyes turned upward, finding the familiar ceiling of the hospital wing. "I'm awake." She repeated. "I'm whole. Oh, thank fuck, I'm whole!"

He watched Melly burst into tears. Crying and wailing and without the ability to move. It freaked him out to watch it unfold, yet his exhausted mind clung the words 'I'm awake' like a blessing. "Melly?"

"HARRY?" Her voice cracked as she called out to him.

"I'm here." He pushed from the floor, ignoring the cringing adults as he raced to the bed.

"Harry?" Her eyes widened. "You're bleeding! Oh my god! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! He wasn't supposed to get out! I thought he was gone! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay, Melly. It's okay." He hushed. "I- I'm just- are you okay?"

"Who fucking cares! I-" She choked, coughing and gasping and weeping all at once. "He- it's all torn up! He tore me up and-" She turned to Dumbledore. "Who did he use?"

After a moment of reluctance he answered. "Samuel Runcorn, Manon Avery, and Duncan MacNair."

She winced, pinching her eyes closed as more tears streamed down. "They were- Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

Melly renewed a wail of anguish. Harry held her hand tightly, trying to sooth her as best he could. Somewhere beyond them, one of the women spoke. "We should allow her to rest. She's in no state to deal with this."

"No. This may be our only chance. Miss Bennett, do you know how to exorcise Bill Cipher from your mind?"

Melly continued to cry, gasping attempts to slow the panic enough to speak. "I- It's not- the exorcism didn't have a chance to work. They had to make him forget!"

"Forget what?"

"Bill!"

"I don't understand."

Her body shook, wanting to rock but unable to. "Argh! Bill went into his mind, then they erased his mind. Bill's a dream demon. When he's in your mind he's not 3D anymore and you can send him back!" She growled with frustration. "Look, it's been a very long time since I saw it, okay?! My brain is a fucking mess right now and I can hardly focus as it is!"

"So, by erasing all traces of memory from your mind, we can destroy him?"

"I mean, I'd rather you stick with memories of him, but, yes, that's how it works."

"Perhaps I can be of some assistance, Dumbledore?" Lockhart offered. "Among my vast knowledge of spells, I am quite handy at memory charms."

Snape scoffed. "One blast from you and the monster will turn this school into a bloodbath by nightfall."

"I can handle this, Gilderoy." Dumbledore assured him. "Though it would be best if you could describe him to me in detail."

"Sure- Right- Got any parchment?"

With that prompt, Pomfrey got parchment and ink from her desk. Harry offered to sketch as Melly described the demon.

"Start with an equilateral triangle."

"A triangle?"

"Don't ask inane questions, Potter!" Snape snapped. To Harry's surprise, the man actually shuddered. "The girl knows what she's talking about. Just draw it as described."

"Okay?"

"Now, draw a big circle inside, near the top. That's his eyeball, with a narrow, cat-like pupil."

"Like this?" He turned it over to her.

"Yeah, that's right."

On the other side of the bed, Dumbledore went rod-straight with shock. The rest of the room failed to notice, however, as the description continued.

"Now add a tall, thin top hat and a black bowtie under the eye. Yeah, yeah, ridiculous, I know. Add stick-like legs and feet, and have the arms sprout from the sides between the eye and bowtie. Mhmm! Now a line across to connect the arms, yeah, and two more lines evenly across between that and the bottom. Make it look like brick-work. The man's basically a one-eyed yellow pyramid in 2D."

"What about his mouth?"

"He doesn't have a mouth."

"Then how does he talk? Or breathe?"

"Beats me. I don't question the anatomy of eldritch beings from another dimension. Oh! But he does have eyelashes! Go for four on each lid. That's right. That's him."

Everyone awake in the room crowded around Harry to see the image. Rowle sneered at the sight. "You're saying that's what killed Sam, and not you?"

Melly frowned deeply. "I know. I'm sorry, I-"

"No you're not! You're lying! You're making excuses to hide the fact that you've gone completely bloody mad! But I know the truth! I know what you are! A murderous, evil little mudblood-!"

"That's enough, Rowle!" Snape snapped.

"But professor-!"

"I understand your frustrations. A student is dead and another is lost to us. Yet loathe as I am to admit it, I have seen that creature with my very eyes." Those not in the know gaped in shock. Snape, on the other hand, took a breath and continued. "After the events last year with Quirrell and the Dark Lord, I had to perform legilimency on Miss Bennett to confirm certain aspects of the situation. I had the uniquely unpleasant experience of battling the various demons lurking in her mind. That one, however, was far too twisted and powerful for any sane person to handle."

"Demons, plural?!" Mcgonagall gasped.

"Unfortunately so."

"That explains it." Harry muttered. Eyes turned to him, so he expanded. "My godfather hired a legilimens over the summer to help us learn occlumency. Melly was having trouble, so Mrs. Torrero-Ramirez got rid of them. Though Cipher told me he caught on to what was happening and left a decoy for her, instead."

"...And the other one?" Dumbledore asked.

"I need him." Melly answered. "We made an arrangement. He's agreed to let her get rid of him next summer once the rest of my mind is ready for it."

Snape narrowed his eyes. "Is something particular happening during the summer to require his presence?"

"I... don't know?" She narrowed her eyes back, though more out of confusion over his tone. "That's just what we arranged."

"No matter. We should focus on the more pressing matter at hand." Dumbledore pointed his wand at Melly's forehead. "I suggest the rest of you step back."

Melly blanched at Dumbledore. "Wait! Maybe Lockhart should be the one to do this?"

"It's alright, my dear. I promise you," Dumbledore glanced apologetically at Harry before continuing, "I will be careful to only remove all images of this Cipher from your mind. Now," Dumbledore moved his wand in an intricate pattern, uttering the spell from his lips.

-At the exact same time, Melly started screaming.-

"No! Wait! Not that wand! Please! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"

The spell connected.

"Expelliarmus!"

The wand launched into the air. Landing inside Harry's free hand.

"Mister Potter!"

"Potter! What are you doing?!"

Harry ignored the professors, keeping his wand pointed at Dumbledore. "What did she mean by that?!" He demanded.

Dumbleodre stared at the boy, completely baffled. "I assure you, my boy, I have no idea what-"

"ALL OF YOU STAND BACK!" Pomfrey shouted. The others jumped, yet looked with confusion as the Matron bolted to Melly's side. That was when they heard a strangled gurgling noise coming from the bed. Pomfrey released Melly from the binds, then turned her on the side, allowing for her to vomit onto the floor. She coughed as it finished, pushing out the last bits of sick, muttering curses under her breath. Pomfrey, meanwhile, cleaned up with mess and hushed the chatter about the room with a hard stare. "Clearly that was not the right solution for this mess."

Harry came back to the bed, kneeling down to be at eye level. "Melly, are you alright?"

Her head shuddered a moment. She opened her eyes, flying wide as she spotted the wand in Harry's left hand. With a shriek she jumped back, falling off from the other side of the bed. Dumbledore caught her before she could land; yet even then she kept moving. This time sideways as her legs scrambled for the floor and pushed off towards the group. Desperate hands reaching, she clung and climbed up Lockhart's robe with a crazed smile.

"You can do it, right? Obliviating? You wrote all those books. Clearly you're the best man for the job. Right? What do you say? Please? You're the best at it. Come on! Be a hero! Save me!"

It was disturbing to watch the ramble unfurl. Lockhart himself was equally alarmed when she climbed up his robes. Though alarmed changed the terror, then apprehensive, then -weirdly- inspired as she continued pleading.

"Well," he chuckled nervously, "you've come to the right wizard. Let's have a seat, little Miss, it will only take a moment."

"Bennett, this is a mistake." Snape warned. "He won't possibly get rid of that beast-"

"If you could all just FUCK OFF for a minute!" Melly snapped furiously. "He's literally the best man to do this, so shut up and let the man do his work! Accio parchment!"

The parchment sketch flew across the room into her open hand. Leaving much of the group stunned by the blatant display of wandless magic. Ignoring them, Melly turned the paper over to Lockhart. "Just him. Get every image of him out of my skull. Even drawings of him. Got it?"

"I'll have it done before you know it!" Lockhart grinned, flashing a dazzling smile at Melly in the process. With a dramatic wandpose, he aimed the spell at her forehead. "Obliviate."

The spell connected. There was no screaming this time. No pleading. No crying. Just light trailing from wand to skin. Lockhart squinted slightly in concentration, the beam brightening with the act. This went for nearly two minutes until Lockhart released the spell. When finished, Melly blinked a few times, trying to catch her bearings.

"Why am I- Did you just obliviate me?"

"I did, with your permission, of course." The Professor answered. "Though let's test it, shall we? What can you tell me about Bill Cipher?"

"...Who?"

"Perfect! The demon's gone!"

"Wait? What? Demon?"

"Let's be sure of this." Snape stepped forward. "Miss Bennett, last year you made five occlumency barriers. What are the names of each demon you had guarding them?"

"Whoa, wait, that's private! I'm not telling you about that!"

"Melly, It's better that you answer him. For your sake. Please."

The girl hesitated a moment, then haltingly answered. "They're… Jareth, Rumple, River Song, Loki, and… and…" She narrowed her eyes. "No, Luc isn't part of that level…"

"Another question, if I may." Dumbledore spoke. "Miss Bennett, if you were to imagine a line within a circle within a triangle, what does that image remind you of?"

She squinted for a moment as she considered the thought. "That's the Deathly Hallows."

A peculiar twinkle glinted in Dumbledore's eyes. "Ah, of course; and it reminds you of nothing else?"

The girl shook her head, confusion abounded on her features. Then she perked up in a moment of panic. "Wait a second! A few minutes ago you told me someone died! There was… I found out about a horcrux ritual, but something about that was my fault. Did- No!" She bounded off the bed towards the three bodies.

"Stay away from them!" Rowle shouted. Yet the demand went unheard as Melly looked over the bodies. Seeing the breathing, sleeping form of MacNair, she turned back to the standing group.

"Did any of you see what happened?" At this, Fred and Harry raised their hands. "Was this me?"

Harry answered her. "Not exactly-"

"Was it my soul, though?"

"Yes." Fred answered. "It was you."

"Fuck! Okay- Let's think- Was there a chant and a light after the soul went in? There's supposed to be a light after that."

Harry and Fred met eyes, each shaking their head. "No, there wasn't."

"Damn! Okay, that's fine. I just got to, got to…" She frantically started searching her pockets, muttering all the while.

"What are you doing?" Snape asked.

"The opposite of apathy is remorse!"

"Come again?"

She was practically spinning as she searched herself. "When a horcrux is made it can only return to the body if the caster feels remorse for their actions." She stopped searching for a moment, meeting his eyes. "But it's not made! It's not finished! It's not locked in yet. So I have to reverse the process the long way. I just- Come on! There's got to be one- AH HA!"

A hand pulled out an inner-robe pocket, a black stone gleaming in her hand. "Yes! Black calcite, you beauty, MUAH!" She kissed the stone in triumph. "Thank god I don't need a fire for this. Anyone got a knife? No? No worries!"

Everyone baulked as the girl bit down on her thumb, ripping the skin open to a well of blood. A few people moved to stop her, and she waved them off carelessly. "Relax, I know how to stop this. Trust me on this! I can see the book in my head. If you don't, if smoke doesn't come out of him and into me, you can blast me into oblivion. Now-!" With the bloodied thumb, she traced a six-pointed star within a circle onto MacNair's forehead, then placed the stone in the middle of it. "I need to focus on the emotion for this to work. Nobody interrupt me!"

Everyone looked to each other for guidance. Dumbledore, at the centre of it all, raised his hand in assurance. "Let us put faith in the child. I, too, would like to see if such a remedy does exist."

Defeated or resigned, those in attendance turned back to watch the spectacle.

Crossing one hand over the other, Melly hovered her layered palms overtop the black stone. She began to chant in Ancient Greek. It was a set of couplets, spoken once, then repeated. Tears fell from her eyes as she spoke. It was almost in rhythm with the chant. A faint light began to glow from MacNair's forehead as the ritual circle ignited with magic. The chanting continued. MacNair's body twitched under the effect, yet fortunately his head remained steady. Another couplet was spoken, and his lips parted slightly. A trail of gold smoke emerged from his nose and mouth. It rose and rose, condensing into a shimmering globe above her hands. When the final strands of the trail joined the sphere, she raised her hands slightly, in time with an inhalation. The smoke followed suit, entering her body within the deep breath. Eyes wide, her body stuttered as the effect took hold. Breathless, she strained with body jerking, as though readjusting to the shape. It felt as if an age passed before she straightened up again, gasping loudly.

Releasing his own breath, Harry cheered. "It worked!"

"Yeah…" She chuckled slightly. "Hoo! Yeah, wow, I can't believe that worked. Whoa, I feel a lot better now. Wow, I didn't even realize how much pain I was in before!"

The adults in the group let go a relieved sigh. Rowle, naturally, narrowed her eyes at the spectacle. "What about Duncan?"

"He should be fine. Good on him, though, he never had to deal with being awake with a mudblood living in his body!" Melly winked at the girl, barely phased as the witch growled at her.

"Bennett!"

"Relax, I'm only teasing. Though…" She raised a finger. "Hold on. Professor Lockhart, did you obliviate me to get Bill Cipher out of my head?"

An eerie silence fell on the room before Lockhart answered. "Yes, of course."

"Yeah… you might want to hit me with that again. My other half still remembers who he is."

"Oh! Well then, let's have another round of heroics, shall we?"