August 14th, 1992

In a change from their usual schedule, this Friday morning Melissa and Harry found themselves at the studio with Melissa's dad, Victoria Jones and the Weird Sisters. Like before, there was a half hour of mingling reunions (and introductions, in Harry's case) before they got to work. Melissa and her father showed Harry around the controls, directing him as they got through the first two songs of the day. For Melissa it was particularly fun going through these songs. For half a year she and Merton had exchanged letters with Myron and Kirley over lyrics, instrumentation and arrangements. To hear their ideas played live as a whole felt like a magic coming to life in its own right.

The third song didn't possess quite that magic for Melissa. This one was a love song that, unlike the others, was actually written by Heathcote and Herman (a fact which came as a hilarious surprise to Melissa). Still, it had nice lyrics and a hypnotic arrangement, so Melissa was content to enjoy the first run of the song as it approached the bridge.

You may not know me yet

But my heart's an open book

You haven't seen me, baby,

But to you I'll always look...

Melissa sat up with a start, eyes wide and skin pale.

The action was not lost on Harry. "Melly? Are you alright?"

"I… I'm not sure." She muttered, eyes staying on Myron as he moved onto the chorus. The words were novel and unfamiliar, but the bridge… A shudder rippled up her body. Its reason, entirely unknown.

When they took a break for lunch, Melissa found herself with a weird need to steel her courage when talking to Heathcote. In contrast to her nerves, Heathcote continued his lounging position on the couch with only a curious blink to show his surprise.

"Wait, you remember that?"

"...Remember what?"

Heathcote closed his eyes and released a long, exaggerated sigh. "We went to visit you in the hospital wing after everything that happened with You-Know-Who. You were…"

"Not well." Herman supplied.

"Off-the-wall insane." Heathcote corrected. "Had it in your mind to add a new song for the album and started singing this…" his hands moved in circles at a loss, "creepy monstrosity of a song."

"-But the open book line was actually pretty nice." Herman cut in. "so we ended up writing that into our own song."

Overhearing the conversation, Kirley mused at the thought. "Was it really creepy, though?" He teased. "I seem to recall last summer you thinking the same thing before we heard Eurydice Waltz."

"That's because Eurydice Waltz is a sad love story." Heathcote retorted. "What Giggles sang, though, was some twisted nonsense about a peeping tom!"

"Wait, what!" Melissa squeaked, her head shaking in disbelief. "I'm sorry, I did what? There's no way!"

"Oh yes there is." Heathcote insisted. "What was it… The tom peeping at your window, the tom peeping at your door. Give me your heart, baby, cuz it's you that I adore. And the verses were even worse!" He shuddered at the thought. "I'm not even going to repeat them. It was disturbing and creepy!"

Mutually, Melissa couldn't help but feel distrubed at the thought. "...Why would I sing something like that?"

Between the four of them, Herman looked apologetic at the whole thing. "Giggles, you had just been hexed and kidnapped by Quirrell. No one's saying you made it up on purpose."

"SHE WAS WHAT?!"

The room went silent. Everyone had forgotten that Victoria was sitting here with them.

Though her mind at once went blank, Melissa searched herself for words. "Erm… I kind of… One of our teachers went a little crazy a few months ago."

"And kidnapped you and -I'm sorry- hexed?"

"Drugged up." Donaghan covered. "You said it was in her system for a few days, right?"

"Yeah." Herman mumbled in answer.

"Why?!" Victoria asked, outraged. "And why am I only just hearing about it now?!"

Four voices piped in at once. Words like "trap" "dying" "working for" and "worry" overlapping one another. Realizing how confusing the words sounded together, they all clamped shut, save for Melissa, who now had to pick up the pieces.

"I didn't want you to worry." She began, keeping things simple at the start so her mind could process the other voices. "But, from what I was told… one of our teachers was dying of something, and… someone promised to give him some kind of ...experimental treatment or something. So he figured he would ransom a student for the money to afford it."

Victoria seemed disbelieving at the story. Her eyes ventured to the other people in the room, some of whom flinched in response. "You're being serious?" Melissa, Heathcote, and Harry all nodded. "Yet the rest of you knew?"

"We were there when it happened." Harry supplied. "Barbary and I went after him while a friend of mine went to find the headmaster. Though Barbary was able to stop him before he could kill us."

Kirley leaned in and noogied Heathcote's head. "Our 'Heroic Heartthrob' saving the day!"

"Ugh! Quit it!" The man complained, though most everyone else gave a hearty chuckle at the exchange.

Victoria was one of the few exceptions. Her focus was more on her young friend. "You're alright, after all that?" Melissa gave a cheerful nod, though her smile didn't appease Victoria to her satisfaction. "What happened to your teacher, though? I never heard any of this in the news."

Melissa's smile faded. "He died not long afterwards. As for why..." She huffed a bitter sigh. "The guy offering him a cure is still out there. Which is stupid. After everything that happened, you would think they'd raise some kind of alarm or something-"

"They don't want people to panic, Giggles." Donaghan added quickly. "You know what kind of reputation he has." He turned to Victoria's questioning glance. "He has ties to the IRA from a few years back." He turned back to Melissa. "If any of his old contacts find out he's alive and, worse, find a way to reach him…"

"I know." The witch muttered. Though, really, it was Donaghan who didn't realize the truth. She remembered what happened in the books. How Fudge tried to sweep everything under the rug and pretend that it was all a ploy for power by Dumbledore. As much as the others thought things were being hushed to help the aurors with their investigation, Melissa couldn't help but feel the truth was one far less heroic. "Doesn't mean I have to be happy about it."

Victoria walked up to her and gave Melissa a reassuring hug. "You have every right to not be happy with what happened to you." Pulling away from the hug, Victoria seemed pensive as she considered her next thought. "Are you seeing anyone about what happened? My dad can recommend a few counsellors that work with the hospital?"

A warm smile couldn't help but blossom on Melissa's face. "Don't worry about it, your grace. I see someone on Friday nights. We can talk about it tonight."

Victoria gave her a relieved smile. "That's good."

Outside the circle of their moment, Donaghan tilted his head curiously at the two of them. "Your grace?"

Moment broken, Victoria bit down on her lips, as though willing the mood to not be spoiled. Melissa's actions were similar, but only to try -and fail- to hold back a snicker.

"Well she IS the queen." Melissa asserted, flashing the older girl a cheeky smile.

Though confused by the inside joke, Donaghan gave a slight chuckle. "Sure, why not. She's our Queen of the Keys!"

"Hey, wait!" Melissa pouted. "If she's the queen of the keys, what does that make me?"

Over at the couch, Heathcote's voice shouted out. "THE COURT FOOL!"

Piece by piece, the floor vanished. The walls had long since gone, along with its furnishings, and now the foundation was no more. What was once unconscious space now connected to the consciousness of her charge's mental being. Luisa has done it, at last!

The second level is no more.

Now she could journey to the third level, the halfway-mark of their arduous task. Passing the remnant of what was once a doorway, the legilimens came upon the dank, skeleton-riddled corridor of what her charge referred to as "the chamber of secrets". An apt name for the place, and further intriguing upon learning that the place exists at Hogwarts.

"It's pretty spooky, isn't it?"

Luisa turned to the young teenager. The girl's eyes glinted with humour. "Unsettling." She re-translated for herself. "I find that word better fits how it is you and I can possess a tangible form in your mind."

The girl shrugged, as though uncaring. "Maybe I'm just that skilled?"

Luisa scoffed at the thought. "Skill is not something to be cleaned up." She dismissed the uselessness of the chatter and began her work. Concepts of atmosphere -grime and skeletons- were the easiest to remove. The statues, however, were taking extra work as she dismantled them one at a time. On dismantling the sixth statue, the inner voice called out to her.

"Wait! We can't take down this room, yet!"

Luisa turned to the girl with a raised brow. "We must to stay on schedule."

The girl hopped off the foot of one of the statues and raced near the entrance. "I know, but there's something I need to check on, first!"

Curious, Luisa watched as the girl inspected one of the statues. Arm outstretched, she touched the legs of the statue, and it rippled, as though made of cloth.

"Dios mio!" She exclaimed. "Don't tell me you have a sixth level!"

The girl shrugged. Her hand tilted side to side. "Eh, more like level 3.5. I need to make sure everything's alright in there."

Luisa muttered curses under her breath, knowing she would have to investigate this immediately. "Very well. We will both inspect it." She raised her wand in a defensive position and followed the girl as she passed the concealed curtain.

Luisa took in her surroundings at once. Indeed, this level is no expanse of dormitories or a home. Instead, by the decayed and splintered wood that served as walls, she would sooner call this place a shack. To the left came lights illuminating a mirrored vanity. Makeup and brushes littered the space, though a high-backed chair obscured her view to parts of the table. On the back wall the warrior witch was only just able to identify a collection of mounted horns, for soon her attention fell entirely to the Guardian of the room. Long, obscene fingernails grazed across the covers of an open book. A large tome of Aesop fables that obscured the man's face. What it did not hide was the red of his skin and the horns protruding from his skull.

"I know you."

It was not Luisa who spoke. She wrenched her gaze from the threat to look over Bennett. The girl seemed undisturbed by the man's appearance. In fact, she merely looked at him with an innocent curiosity and the smallest of smiles on her face.

"I should hope so."

Luisa's face returned to the demon behind the book. With a flick, the book was shut. If she must confess, his appearance was not one she expected. The man's face was painted, as if he were a mime or a clown. It contrasted painfully against his jutting chin and severe face. In full account, it clashed deeply with her comprehension of the Prince of Darkness.

"You seem rather young to hear a story." The Devil commented casually at the young witch.

"How old should I be?" She asked, completely undisturbed by the strange remark.

"Fifteen, and no older."

"I'm fourteen." She offered him.

The Devil gave an amused smirk. "Fifteen, and no younger."

The exchange disturbed and annoyed Luisa entirely. "What is your purpose, Guardian?"

His gaze turned to Luisa, as if noticing her for the first time. Though soon he turned back to Bennett. "Are you here under duress, child?"

Fortunately, the witch shook her head. "No. Señora Torrero-Ramirez is fixing my occlumency. The way I arranged everything is affecting my ability to remember the past."

The Devil nodded solemnly. "For what you are protecting, I'm not surprised. It's why we agreed to wait, after all."

Luisa's eyes steeled at the remark. "Agreed to wait?"

"That is the arrangement." The man replied with a gentlemanly air. He turned his attention back to Bennett. "Is that why River has been silent this past month?"

Bennett appeared regretful at the question. "River's gone. We had to remove the other Guardians before moving on to the layers themselves."

By the strangest of sights, the Devil seemed melancholic at the news. For a moment he did not speak, allowing the news to sink in. "I see… we never spoke, of course, but it was… pleasant, hearing her beyond the veil."

"Has it been lonely- staying in here?"

Luisa blinked at the absurdity of the question. Lonely? A figment of the girl's imagination?

"It has its moments; but I have stories, here, to keep me entertained." He waved his hand to the other side of the shack, wherein laid a bookcase near full with tomes and tales.

"Oh. I can bring you some more, if you'd like?"

"Out of the question!" Luisa interrupted loudly. The two now had their full attention on her. "Señorita Bennett, my goal is to remove these layers. Not encourage this…" (she loathed to call it) "behaviour!"

"But-!"

"With all due respect, Señora," The Devil rose from his seat, his composure haughty and bold, "you are allowing your emotions to misplace your priorities."

Luisa raised her wand against the man. "I beg your pardon?!"

Bennett, disturbingly, motioned to place herself between them; yet the Devil placed his hand on the girl's shoulder to stop her. He, of course, had his sights only for Luisa. "What I mean is that a woman with scars such as yours does not normally express fear at an apparition, does she?" Luisa glared at him, moreso as his face fixed with a smug smile. "I suppose it can't be helped, when the masses are forced to revere the Pious Gangster Above and quiver at the mere thought of my existence." He shuddered dramatically, mocking her as if her wand held no threat.

"How about a compromise?" He suggested, barrelling on without care. "If I surmise the correct time, summer is near its end, yes? Yet four layers remain. Which means our remedy is simple." He offered an open hand to Luisa. "Continue on with the other layers, and return to mine next summer. By then she will be of the designated age and, once my purpose is complete, you can purge and plunder to your blessed heart's content!"

Both she and Bennett narrowed their eyes at the suggestion, Though Bennett for more compassionate reasons. "You would really be okay with that? That means you'll die, won't it?"

The Devil chuckled in a way that seemed oddly good natured. "Death is hardly something I need to worry about, my dear. I am but a memory, and the memory of a good deed lives." The Devil winked, causing the girl to giggle.

"I suppose you're right." Bennett grinned cheerfully. "Come on, Señora Torrero-Ramirez, we'll wait until next summer."

There was no stopping things, now. While Luisa can surely remove the demonic apparition from the girl's mind, trying to fight Bennett's subconscious decision on the matter would slow down their progress to exponential levels. The creature will be expelled, but later. The thought pained her, but she was willing to admit that it is indeed a compromise. "Very well. Until next summer, Diablo."

He bowed his head in a gesture of good faith. "Until then, Señora. To you, my dear," he offered a lower bow in the girl's direction "a word of advice. I would aim to reach your NEWTs for arithmancy and runes. It will help you in what's to come."

Though she seemed at a loss, the girl offered a nod. "I'll keep that in mind."

Luisa gestured for Bennett to follow her through the curtain, trying to ignore as the girl called back with a cheerful cry "Thanks for the advice, Lucifer! Goodbye!"

"Goodbye, -" The curtain closed as the Devil said his goodbyes. Trying as she had to ignore the exchange, her mind twinged only vaguely at the notice that the name he uttered sounded nothing like the name "Melissa".

Author's Commentary

January - 2020
Me: Eurydice Waltz was amazing. We need a new song for the CoS year. What you got?
Lust Brain: I had inspiration to make Ginny out as Rose Red, and took the beat from Ghost Quartet's Four Friends.
Me: Great! So what do we got?
Lust Brain: a smutty bar-ballad about fairy tale femmes.
Me: …You're fired.

February - 2020
Me: CoS is darker, but this is still a fluff-ish story, so we need to make a balance on this, okay?
Twisted Brain: Sure thing, boss. That's why I wrote a song where Riddle's like an obsessed stalker forcing his way inside her life.
Me: …Fired. Fired! Your ass is FIRED! What's with you, people?! The world isn't some dark, evil place!

March - 2020, Life: Yeah, about that.

(I still have copies of both songs if people want to see them.)