A/C: This is low-key one of my favourite chapters. :D
Contrary to its name, Easter Break had been exhausting for Melissa. The mental toll of having someone -someone other than Harry, at least- know the truth about her old knowledge had resulted in long, restless nights and just a touch of paranoia. Then there were the rather long visits where Mister Salvatore would grill her endlessly over the horcruxes and their locations. He even asked after the locket and diadem's original retrievals despite them already being broken. When his questions were finally satisfied, he had 'gifted' her a book on occlumency. As tiring as the holiday was becoming, that book ended up being her one true respite. A chance to hide her mind, her memories, was a good opportunity to not waste. It was fortunate for her that Mister Salvatore isn't a legilimens, so he wouldn't be able to catch her (completely) in half-truths. That said, in two months time there will be a legilimens around to test her and Harry, so the more time she could spend on guarding her mind, the better prepared she will be at keeping her secrets safe.
Ironically, working on occlumency managed to calm some of her worries once she returned to school. That, and the surprising lack of activity and gossip around the school. In the passing weeks it became obvious that the Greek Group had given the third floor obstacles another go. That said, they were tight-lipped about the result of bringing Ron in on their adventure. It didn't make much difference, though. Quirrell still taught classes in his garlic-infested room and his turban stayed on tightly as ever. That, and Hagrid appeared to not have a fire-breathing baby dragon at his hut, so that was another thing off her list of concerns. With all of that considered, Melissa deemed the stone still safe in the Mirror; and with that reassuring thought, Melissa let the matter slide deeper into the constructs of her mind.
One the second weekend of May, Hufflepuff and Slytherin faced off in their annual quidditch match. Harry cheered loudly for his House's team as they raced passed and scored goals. There weren't many goals, to his disappointment, but Harry cheered all the same. He even magically dyed his and his yearmate's hair yellow and black for the match. Their enthusiasm didn't make much difference, though. The Hufflepuff keeper had been clipped in the shoulder early into the game by one of the Slytherin beaters. That, coupled with more dirty tricks from the snake team, kept their chasers unable to play a strong game. In the end, Cedric Diggory had managed to get the snitch, but at 260 to 210 the Slytherin team had won by a landslide.
When the snitch was caught, the Slytherins cheered loudly, and most other houses could only groan at the loss. With the cheer, many green-clad students broke out into song as they sang the words to We Are The Champions. The tune had amused Harry back when the Slytherins beat Ravenclaw in February, now it just made him feel a bit bitter. Rather than listen to the song, he and his yearmates headed towards the exits.
"Diggory should have waited before getting the snitch." Wayne insisted as they walked down the stairs.
Megan scoffed at the remark. "And let Slytherin win by 300 points? Not a chance!"
"We could have caught up." Wayne insisted.
"No, she's right, mate." Oliver countered. "The way the game was going, there's no way we would have caught up to their score."
"You never know…" Wayne muttered. His disappointment was palpable, but it was clear that they were right about the outcome.
From up ahead, Kevin looked back at the quartet with a sardonic smile. "I know it wasn't the best match, but next year we're sure to take the lea-oh WHOA!." He cried out, suddenly tripping forward and falling a few steps until he landed on the grass.
"Kevin!" They cried out as they raced towards the boy. As they ran down to help him, a sweep of laughter echoed from where he had been on the stairs.
"Would you look at that," a young female voice mocked from above, "the Puff's got mud on his face, the big disgrace." They all turned to the side to find Pansy Parkinson smirking at the group. Her upturned nose raised high in superior fashion.
Standing at her side, Millicent Bulstrode looked dispassionately at the group, while Theodore Nott smirked at the remark. "If you ask me, he's right where he belongs. At the bottom with the rest of the Puffs."
"Ought to be lower than that, if you ask me." She countered with disdain. "He should stay in the mud like the proper mudblood he is."
The Hufflepuff students bristled at the slur. Wayne and Megan went on the offensive, brandishing wands and pointing them at the pureblood trio. "Apologize!" Megan ordered.
Parkinson sniffed at that. "Or what? You're going to cry to the professors? It's not like you can fight us."
"Wanna bet?" Harry threatened. His own wand was drawn once Kevin got on his feet.
Nott glared at him. "As if we'd be scared of you, Harry Puffer. Come on, girls. We don't have time for losers. We have a victory to celebrate."
The girls took that remark as a cue and began to move warily away from the wand-bearing group. At the sound of laughter from the mud-stained Puff, however, they turned back with confusion. "Just what do you think is so funny?" Parkinson asked in a threatening tone.
"It's just ridiculous, is all." Kevin answered. "Here you are chanting about mudbloods and all that, when you're taking all of your cues from muggle songs."
Many in the circle went wide-eyed at that remark. "What?" Nott asked threateningly.
Somehow, despite the actual mud on his face, Kevin smirked at them with a rare and smouldering level of superiority. "We Will Rock You, We Are The Champions, those are muggle songs. Sung by one of the greatest muggle bands of all time. You lot using it to justify acting like prats is about as funny as it is sad."
"Liar!" Parkinson shouted.
"FLIPENDO!" Nott cried out angrily, his wand revealed and swished down at Kevin. Kevin got knocked onto his back as a result. The group retaliated, firing out spells. Other students gave them a wide berth as they dodged and launched spells at each other. Oliver got a burn on his face, while Megan got Nott with a curse of the bogies. Harry was able to hit Parkinson with a leg-locker curse when Snape suddenly emerged into the circle.
"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!" He shouted angrily. The waves of spellfire froze. Every Hufflepuff stood shock-still as he emerged. Parkinson, though, suddenly developed a case of crocodile tears.
"They attacked us, sir! Potter hit me with a curse!"
"You started it!" Harry shouted.
"That's enough!" Snape shouted. "Fifty points from Hufflepuff for attacking your fellow students. Now leave!"
Shocked as they were, the Hufflepuffs jerkily fled the pitch at the dour professor's warning. "This isn't fair!" Oliver complained, the burn on his face still stinging with spellfire. "They're the ones that started it! They called Kevin a mudblood!"
"It doesn't matter what happened." Wayne muttered angrily. "Professor Snape always sides with Slytherin. He always lets them get away with everything."
"Well they shouldn't be able to." Megan muttered. "Couldn't we use the Prank Pledge to get back at them? Snape didn't do anything when we used it to get back at Nott for hexing Justin."
Harry shook his head at the possibility. "That's because Nott was being sneaky and the hex looked like a bad prank. This time it was an attack, no question about it."
"So what?" Wayne scoffed. "Let's just prank them anyway. As long as we keep to the rules we should be fine. Make it big enough that they know not to mess with us again."
His fellow yearmates mused over the suggestion. It was Kevin, though, who answered. "I'm up for a revenge prank."
"I'm with you." Oliver added. "Not sure how long Madam Pomfrey will keep me, but I'll do what it takes."
"Alright, so how do we go about pranking those three?" Harry asked.
"You don't." A pair of voices answered from behind them. The group turned suddenly to find a pair of Weasleys grinning mischievously.
Harry quirked his head in puzzlement. "Fred. George." He greeted them. "...Can't imagine you would talk us out of a prank. ...Unless you have something else in mind?"
Their grins widened. Their eyes grew almost dark with mischief. "It just so happens that we do." One responded. "Come with us," the other gestured, "and be prepared to take part in the prank of the century!"
"Diggory's got the snitch! Ouch, that still leaves them at only 210. Slytherin wins with 260." Lee groaned as he made the announcement. In fact, over half the school lamented the result. In Slytherin, though, Melissa's voice cheered loudly with her fellow housemates. Then, to top it off, they began to sing Queen's popular victory ballad. There were hugs and grins all around as they sang in harmony.
"A charming little memory." A male voice crooned with a mild dip in sarcasm. Melissa turned from the crystal ball and looked up at the man at her side. His mismatched eyes gazed into the crystal, his eyes mesmerizing enough that they could distract you from the rest of his features. Layers of blond hair, unusual brows, and unique style of dress. Yet his eyes turned to hers and such thoughts were lost. "Though it is rather useless. I suppose that will be staying up here, then?"
Melissa couldn't help but smirk at the disgruntled figment. "Is that all you think this place is, Your Majesty? A mind palace of useless memories?"
The figure scoffed. He looked about her crystal-filled dorm room with raised arms. "I'd hardly call this a palace. You lack the full castle for me to rule, and even the conjuring of your home is nothing more than a few rooms."
Melissa arched a brow at his complaint. "There's more to my mind than that."
"And yet you provide me no access." The Goblin King disdained.
Melissa crossed her arms and looked at him like a disapproving parent. "Giving you access to my mind would defeated the purpose of-"
"Melissa?"
"-Hold on, what?" She looked away from the Goblin King, catching a noise from outside of the room.
"Melissa?"
Melissa walked across the room and stepped through the door. Her eyes broke open in twitches. "Huh- what?"
Amy looked down at her, ironically, like a disapproving parent. A few paces behind her, Jacqueline giggled at the two of them.
"We're heading down to dinner." Amy informed her. "So unless you want to keep napping and miss another meal, you should come down."
"I wasn't napping." Melissa whined. "I was meditating."
"Sure you were." Amy smirked.
"I have definitely heard you snoring on occasion during your… meditations." Jacqueline added with humorous notation.
"I'm just getting used to it, is all." Melissa argued. Regardless, she pushed herself off of the bed and stretched out her strained muscles.
"Well, while you have fun hiding alone up here, the rest of us are going to enjoy our victory over the Puffs." Amy singsonged as she made for the door.
"Hold on, I'm coming, I'm coming." Melissa grumbled as she hopped the pain out of her legs while rushing for the door.
Much like the end of the match, dinner was animated with laughs and chatter at their table. Melissa chimed in on jokes and jeers about the game, and occasionally took to song to celebrate. Among their group, Adrian received high praise for his goals. Being a third year chaser is a big deal no matter which team you're on. Being a strong one on the winning team is about the highest honour you could get (there was an exception for that, once upon a timeline, but that recollection was locked somewhere deep in her mind).
The third years and the rest of the table continued with their celebrations well into the meal. That is, of course, until the room was silenced by a shout and a loud SPLASH!
Everyone turned to the high table, where the sound had originated. People craned their heads to see what caused the ruckus. At first, there appeared to be nothing amiss. Then, the students were shocked to find Professor Snape rise to his feet at the foot of the steps to the high table, dripping wet from head to toe. The action caused Melissa and others to jump to their feet. At once she was given a vantage point of the potions professor standing completely in a pool of conjured water. No one said a word at first. Then, suddenly, a pair of loud voices sang out from the rafters.
"There was a rich man from Nottingham,
who tried to cross the river.
What a dope, he tripped on a rope.
Now look at him shiver!"
Everyone turned at once to the pair. Perched high up on statues, Fred and George Weasley grinned proudly at the mess below them.
"Beg for mercy, rich man!" They shouted at Snape with glee.
Oh, my god, they didn't! Melissa thought in a moment of awe and horror. Whispers, gasps, and giggles suddenly broke out around the room. Those boys are absolutely dead.
"WEASLEYS!" Snape shouted in indignation. His shoe squelched as he stepped closer to the boys. "I'LL CUT YOUR HEART OUT WITH A SPOON!"
The hall went silent once more. Most looked to the professor in shock at such a threat. Then, surprisingly, Snape suddenly held the same level of confusion. He then looked down to his hand in surprise, lifting his arm every so slightly. In his hand, where he had pulled out his wand, there was instead a very large serving spoon.
As far as Melissa felt, time had slowed, nearly stopped. The world was focused on the professor in the puddle, on the threat from his lips, on the spoon in his grasp. It was a tableau of shock. Every piece of this scene was utterly, unequivocally... perfection!
"Ha! Try as you might, Nottingham, you can't win against George of Locksley-" "-and Fred Scarlett." They declared. "Merry Men! For King Richard!"
"FOR KING RICHARD!"
The shout came from everywhere. At the tables. On the statues. A dozen masked voices rallied to the call. In an instant, they ran about the room. They fired arrows of fireworks from their wands, swung from the statues, flew on brooms, threw golden and jewel-coloured treats to the unwitting students around them. Soon, even some of the unwitting students decided to join the fray. The room grew to chaos as shouts and spell light exploded around them.
At the Slytherin table, most either stayed seated or backed away from the mess growing around them. There was even a moment when Melissa turned and met Amy's eyes. They shared a moment of surprise, followed by shakes and nods. It was an unspoken agreement of 'I'm not getting involved in any of this'. Which meant that what happened next came as an additional surprise.
"Halt, Locksley!" Domonkos shouted, launching himself onto the table with a brandished wand. "I, Guy of Gisborne, am here to stop your anarchy!"
One beat after the declaration, Adrian, too, got up on the table. "And so am I!" He turned at once to the rest of the quidditch team with a playful grin. "Who's with us?"
Admittedly, some of the quidditch members returned the question with far more menacing grins. Regardless of their intent, most of them stood forward and brought out their own wands. A bizarre battle of prank products and spells began firing between the two groups. Melissa didn't end up watching most of the chaos at that point. By the time Slytherin joined the fray, the young teen had jumped away from the table to dodge spellfire. Whether it was friendly fire or straight up chaos, it was hard to tell. Either way, She and her dorm-mates made quick work of dodging spells to the best of their ability.
At one point, Domonkos got clipped on the leg and nearly fell off of the table. With a groan, he leaped from his one good leg towards her. "I can't stand! Mortianna, you need to help me!"
It took half a moment for Melissa to catch on, then another half to frown at the boy. "Hey, wait a minute, why do I have to be Morti-"
BANG!
The world slowly appeared. Melissa was half-sure she was dreaming, though maybe she was just waking up. She blinked up, finding an oddly familiar ceiling. "What?" She squinted down to her body beneath the covers of an infirmary bed. "What happened this time?"
"Hey, Bennett, you awake?" A familiar voice mumbled out. It sounded like one of the twins.
She turned her head towards the sound. "Yeah?" She was still feeling pretty groggy. Actually, there wasn't much desire to move her body at all. There was just enough vantage point to see Fred or George bandaged up in the bed beside her.
"Oh, Melly's awake? That's good, I was getting worried." Harry's voice commented from another part of the room.
There came a shuffle from one of the beds. Then soft steps on stone made their way over to her. Harry slowly came into her line of sight. The poor boy was bandaged as well. His arm was in a sling and a poultice cover was over his shoulder. Had it not been for his gentle smile and Melissa's dead-minded confusion, she would have sat up at once in worry. Instead she simply muttered. "What happened to you?"
"Someone hit my broom and I hit the wall." He answered.
"Huh." Melissa blinked. For a moment, she couldn't help but wonder why, exactly, would Harry be on a broom. First years don't have brooms, after all. Then, slowly, thoughts began to filter through her consciousness. Spellfire, shouting, a very loud splash because Snape… "...Weasley, I'll cut your heart out with a spoon." She muttered, disbelieving. She struggled a moment under the covers, turning slowly towards the Weasley at her side. "How the bloody hell did you manage to pull that off?"
Despite her weak-voiced questioning, the Weasley boy grinned in a far more animated manner. That went twice over, as the other twin popped up from his brother's side. "That's our secret." They answered.
"'Course it is..." The memories continued to go through her mind. Though it mostly stayed at the initial prank as she blinked away the other thoughts. "Okay… I can't exactly move right now, but, wow… I would legitimately bow at your feet if I could. That was glorious." She offered a weak smile at the two of them. "Though… didn't he see you? I mean, you weren't hiding. How are you still alive?"
"Well, I doubt Snape could actually kill us." One answered. "Lots of witnesses, you see."
"He might poison us later." The other one considered.
"True. But we can always cut class for the rest of the year."
"I suppose we could. Though there is detention to consider."
Melissa snicked lightly. "You two are soooooo dead."
"It's not so bad." Harry commented. "Technically, Professor McGonagall is the one who gave all of us detention. I doubt Professor Snape would even want to be near us after what happened."
"Heh. Count your lucky stars, then." Melissa replied. A wave of tiredness took over her and her eyes blinked lazily at the coming sleep. "I think… I'm going back to sleep... Harry… don't let those two... near me…"
"Sure thing, Melly." She heard him reply as her eyelids turned to darkness.
"Mmm. Thanksszzz…"