Many hours later, it was Wednesday morning. Six hours later, it was Wednesday morning again.
She felt Harry's approach down the stairs, on his way to double potions. She stepped outside of her hidden alcove to walk in-step with the boy. Harry greeted her automatically, though his friends had done a double-take at her sudden approach.
"Morning, Melly."
"Good morning, Harry," she chirped. "Might I have a word with you?"
"Sure?" He broke off from his friends and followed her to another potions lab. "What's up?"
"Easter weekend's coming up," she said. "We can finally have a proper Friendiversary together, so I want to know if there's anything you'd like to do for fun?"
"Anything we can-" His body drooped and let out a pained breath. "I don't know, Melly. I've got so much homework to do. That, and we have lots of quidditch practice to do until our final match. I'm sorry, I just don't have time to really do anything this weekend."
"No time, eh?" She smiled, yet the expression appeared to unnerve him. "My dear, sweet Houdini…" she purred, "I think you'll find that you and I have all the time in the world."
"...What are you talking about, Melody?"
She took a step closer, her smile stretching wider. "In honour of your great moniker, I must ask you, Houdini: Would you like to learn a magic trick?"
24 hours later - Wednesday
"-up! Melody, wake up!"
Melissa rolled away from the summoned bed. "Erg! What is it?"
"We slept past supper!" Harry exclaimed. "People are going to wonder where we are!"
"Houdini, Houdini, relax!" She blinked her eyes open and sat up. "We haven't missed supper."
"Yes we have!" He gestured to a clock they had added to the Room of Requirement's conjured bedroom. "It's 8:30! It's nearly curfew!"
"And we have a time machine." She sat up on the edge of the bed, but found herself too groggy to move. She patted the bed. "Come sit with me. That's it." Harry gingerly sat down, shifting as she held him close. Her aura caused him to shiver, though the girl muttered, "Don't be so dramatic," behind her half-closed lids. She slipped the necklace over his head and spun the dial. When the magic ended, their room had gone dark, and a pair of soft snores filled the room. Her hand pressed against his back, ensuring that they stood in unison. They worked quietly, retrieving their bags and day clothes. Then they snuck out of the room, leaving their past selves asleep for the next six hours.
"What now? It'll be 2:30 by now. People are going to their final classes."
"That's what the invisibility cloak is for."
"And, what? We're going to wear it for the next few hours?"
"Of course not, silly!" Melissa waved off causally. "We've got an entire secret chamber and the caves, remember? Come on, we still got some essays to write."
On Thursday morning, Melissa pulled Hermione Granger away from the Gryffindor table in the middle of breakfast. "This is hardly discreet," Granger muttered.
"Oh?" Melissa said almost too loudly as they walked past some bleary-eyed Gryffindors. "And here I thought I was doing you a favour by not making you pay up in front of all your friends!"
"What?!" Hermione shouted, not noticing the curious looks they were getting.
"Did you forget about our bet?" She asked. "I know you think gambling is an 'ugly habit' but a deal is a deal, and it's time you pay up. We can go to Gryffindor Tower if you don't have the galleons on you."
"What?!" The words finally dawned on her. "Oh- You! You horrible, no good-!"
"Hush!" Her voice quieted, "I needed a reason to get you out of the great hall for the time-turner. Come on!"
Though aghast and thrown by the whiplash of topics, Hermione followed Melissa out to the second floor loo. When the coast was confirmed clear, Melissa whispered to the hidden entrance and led Hermione into the Chamber of Secrets. Both girls had grown used to visiting the space over the last two months, so Hermione made no protests down the trek. Melissa brought Granger to the library and sat her down on one of the rickety chairs.
"Do I really have to give you galleons when you clearly cheated?"
"Cheating is a matter of perspective," She said as she pulled out another chair. "I've lost bets with future-sight before, so it's not like it was a guarantee- but that's not why we're here."
She sat down firmly, using both her shields and a bit of acting to put on an air of authority.
"Hermione Jean Granger," Her tone caused Granger to flinch in surprise. "I am going to tell you a truth, and I need you to listen- thoughtfully and without judgement- until after I finish."
"Alright," Hermione said nervously.
Melissa eased the time-turner's chain until the pendant was revealed from underneath her robes. Her face remained stoic, though her words came softly, "Since Tuesday afternoon, I have caught up on all of my assignments, attended all of my classes, have eaten when I was hungry, slept as much as my body required, and even went to Music Club for the first time this year. …All of this took over 100 hours to accomplish."
"One hundred… you've been overusing the time-turner!"
"No!" she said sternly. "I am using the time-turner as intended by our professors. We are to use the turner to wisely manage our time in an overly-packed schedule. And, yes, that does mean to finish homework, because they are related to our classes."
"And what about your club?" Hermione said accusingly. "That's hardly class work."
"Two things," she said tersely. "First- we are children. We are supposed to have downtime. You are supposed to have downtime. Otherwise you'll burn out. It is a well-researched fact. Actually, even when we aren't children we need downtime; but it's especially so while you're young so that our development doesn't get fucked up. I'm sure both Professor McGonagall and the Headmaster will agree. They have high hopes for you, Hermione, and it would probably break their hearts to see you exhaust yourself to the point of burnout and failure.
"Second, and- yes- I realize this only applies to me, music is my life. Flitwick may sign off on me getting forged GCSEs, but if I show up at a muggle institute without having actually done the work to deserve it, I will be fucked and flunk out! So, yes, our magical classes are all well and good, but if I don't have a chance to hone my craft and interests, what is even the point?
"And the same goes for you. Don't you want the opportunity to learn as much as possible? To achieve more than anyone else has done? Hell, if you stick with Muggle Studies and manage your time better, you could probably pull off ace-ing every OWL and write actual GCSEs! Do you know how many muggleborn and half-blood Ravenclaws would kill for an opportunity like that? You have that chance, Granger. All it takes is the right mindset and a willingness for flexibility."
Hermione stayed quiet for the entire lecture. Her face shifted with the varying sentences. Dismissive, contemplative, offended, appreciative, guilty, and inspired. "Do you really think I can do both?"
"Yes," Melissa said, somehow sounding both reassuring and firm. An odd expression crossed her face and she sat back with a loud huff. "Let's be real, Granger, from one girl to another: We don't really like each other or get along, right?"
Hermione looked almost guilty as she said, "True."
"Then believe me when I say that I see a lot of potential with you." She gave Hermione a tight smile. "The futures I see don't come in a straight line, but as a multiverse of possibility. I've seen many versions of you, Hermione Jean Granger. Versions of you that you would envy, versions of you that you would pity- but, at the end of the day, the vast majority find success because of your drive, your cunning, and your bravery, even when that success is marred in misery.
"I don't want you to be miserable, Hermione," she said as the girl flinched at her possible fate. "I want you to live a full life to the best of your ability; and that means using this time-turner for more than just classes." To emphasize her point, she took off the necklace and placed it in Hermione's hands, folding her own hands over Hermione's in the process. "So, are you ready to be the best Hermione Jean Granger you can be?"
"I-" Her eyes went wide, shimmering wetly, "Yes. I want to be."
"I'm glad to hear it." She patted Hermione's top hand and let go, standing up in the process. She almost went to ask after her galleons to be funny, but held off on seeing the inspired brightness in Hermione's eyes. Ah, well, she can do that another time. Might as well since she just kissed the other seven goodbye with that speech. "Come on, kid. You got a long, fulfilling day to pull off!"
Friday April 1st, 1994
The morning was peaceful.
Too peaceful.
"What do you think they're planning?" Jacinth asked in a hushed voice over breakfast.
"Maybe they're not planning something," Amy considered. "Last year they put Mel in a coma. They wouldn't want to do anything crazy this year, would they?"
"I don't know…" Domonkos hummed, "George lost his arm and is still into pulling pranks. I don't think anything fazes those two."
Hums of agreement or skepticism followed that comment. Melissa, herself, was of the latter group. Despite her friendships with the twins and putting the fear of God (and the Devil) into Runcorn's murderous posse, she still picked at her breakfast carefully; casting a variety of poison-detectors and on her food and drink.
A few minutes later an owl landed beside her, carrying a letter. After a moment's hesitation she cast a few more detection spells on the owl, before allowing herself to untie and open the letter.
Any allergies we should know about? Same question for your housemates.
-GAAF
She showed the letter to her housemates, and immediately whispers went underway. The fact that it was sent now made them feel safer about breakfast, and they did appreciate the (vague) warning ahead of time. Still, the group took time before writing a reply for the impatient owl. They spread out to the various year-groups at their table for answers. Only when they confirmed with all seven years did they write back and send the owl off flying.
After breakfast, a small collection of students left for the Hogwarts Express. Those that remained spent their day off with tense study sessions. Much of the school was overwhelmed with assignments and tests. Melissa and Harry were one of the exceptions amongst the teenagers, having caught up on all work that was assigned before Thursday. That said, both were still anxious due to the suspicious letters they had received that day.
Harry ended up joining Melissa at her table for supper. (His concern for her was endearing, though hopefully unnecessary.) Supper itself was a normal affair. None of the hot meals provided gave any twinge of being tampered with. However, when dinner food was switched out for dessert, the tables revealed a collection of small cakes, each topped with a large pair of jelly-bean textured hearts, and accompanied with gilded notecards.
Please enjoy this sweet confection, as a token of brotherly affection!
A heart for you and one for your brother, then split this cake with one another.
Be sure to chew it fast and complete, to enjoy every moment of this special treat.
Murmurs broke out across the room. The professors had yet to catch on, as no cakes were served on their table, but the children all read the note with curiosity.
"Well, at least this time they've made it optional." She looked up at Harry with a cheeky smile. "Well, my brother from another mother, would you care to split this cake with me?"
Domonkos raised a brow. "Are you sure that's wise?"
Adrian answered for her, "I saw the twins pull a couple people aside earlier to warn them off of eating it. It should be safe for the rest of us."
"In that case, let's dig in!" Melissa plucked out one heart, and encouraged Harry to do the same. Being mindful of the instructions, Melissa shoved the whole thing in her mouth and bit down with a wince. "It tastes like-" her face screwed up as she chewed widely "-spicy cinnamon."
It's just a glorified cinnamon heart! Are they messing with us?!
Loud swallows and chews occupied all remaining sound at the table. After a moment someone muttered, "Is that it?" More confusion followed.
Then her stomach started to turn. She gripped the table, feeling like she might throw up. She only felt mildly placated to see others reacting the same way. At least this means it's supposed to happen!
She shut her eyes as the feeling of sickness reached its height. It felt similar, yet different, from last time. Last year it felt like Pop Rocks as bubbles of thought popped in her skull. This time, there was a sensation of bubbles all across her skin. The bubbles grew and shifted across her skin in the oddest ways. It was a bizarre sensation, so much so it almost distracted from the pain in her stomach. When it finally ended, she took a gasp of relief and went to check on Harry.
Except… that wasn't Harry.
"Harry?"
"Ugh, yeah?" The boy still had his eyes shut. That, oddly, was something she was grateful for, since that meant she could see his reaction in real time.
That and… was it just her or did her right side suddenly feel lighter?
She felt along the right side of her body. Then, quickly as she was able, she pulled off her outer robe so that her muggle T-shirt was exposed. It came off just in time as Harry looked up to find the room transformed into a sea of redheads. He sat up straight, his arms propped him up as he shouted. "Wait, what the hell?!"
"Hey Brother," Melissa exclaimed, lifting her right arm up with a grin, "give me a high-stump!"
"Ah!" He nearly fell off his seat. "George, what happened to your prosthetic!?"
"What prosthetic? I've never had one of those. Have I, George?" She turned to another one-handed Weasley at the table. She recalled that Domonkos was the one in that seat.
Luckily the boy caught on quickly. "Can't say you have, George. Neither have I, come to think of it." Then, with a bit of manoeuvring, the two genuinely gave each other a high-stump.
Unlike the Slytherin pair, many people screamed or shouted at the sudden transformations. The screams were probably from the newly-made Georges more than from the Freds.
"I don't get it. How is this possible?!" Fred-Harry asked.
"We've been polyjuice'd, my brother!" Melissa answered.
"Polyjuice'd?"
Fred-Jacqueline gasped with understanding. "It's a potion that lets you transform into another person. It's very challenging and expensive to make, though. I'm amazed they pulled this off; and to make it into a sweet, no less! That's incredible! How did they even come up with this?!"
"YOUR ATTENTION, FREDS AND GEORGES OF HOGWARTS!"
Everyone turned as two pairs of Weasley twins stood near the entrance - None of them had prosthetics. "THANK YOU FOR JOINING US ON THIS SPECIAL DAY! YOU HAVE SHARED YOUR HEARTS WITH YOUR FELLOW BROTHERS, AND NOW IT'S ALMOST TIME FOR CAKE! BUT FIRST!"
A magical banner unfurled, sparkling with the words 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY',
-every cake was suddenly topped by a pair of lit candles, and the four began to sing.
"Happy Birthday to you-"
Others joined in ""Happy Birthday to you-"
The rest of the school swelled in song.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR FRED & GEORGE WEASLEY-" ("WEASLEYS", some added)
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!"
People blew out their candles, cheering either before or after the action in celebration. Many people started digging into their cakes. Others examined their bodies in fascination. At the professor's table, there were loud arguments and discussions breaking out from the adults. No doubt Snape was shocked and appalled (and hopefully impressed) by the blatant use of such a powerful potion.
Though none were so loud as when one person at Gryffindor table suddenly shouted, "MERLIN'S BALLS, I'VE GOT BALLS!"
An awkward silence fell in the room. Then a fair number of Weasleys, all of them wearing skirts, started to stare between their legs (or discreetly pat them) in morbid fascination.
Following this, dozens of skirted Weasley fled the hall, claiming to suddenly need the loo.
Melissa was one of them.
On Sunday morning Melissa leapt onto the Hufflepuff table with a flourish. The action caused MacMillan to nearly fall out of his seat as he shouted, "What is wrong with you?! Don't you usually bother the Gryffindors when you wear that stupid hat?!"
Melissa giggled, giving a little twirl to make her jester hat jingle. "Oh MacMillan- my anti-joy villain. It takes only a glance cursory- to know that I'm here to wish Harry a Hoppy Friendiversary!"
Harry and a few of his friends chuckled at the pun. "Happy friendiversary, Melly! I take it our Easter Egg Hunt is ready?"
"Adrian has our eggs concealed- from rooftop to field!" She exclaimed. "We can start our fun- once breakfast is done."
Harry gave a droll smile. "And are you planning on wearing that the entire time?"
"Nah-ah." Melissa hopped off of the table to take a seat. "I'll be sure to doff- before we fly off."
"Hold on," Sally perked up, "I thought your 'friend anniversary' thing was mid-April? The same time as that- stuff last year? Isn't it?"
Others were shocked that the girl brought it up. Yet Melissa didn't seem fazed. In fact, she was grinning widely at the question. Harry could tell things were about to get weird when his oldest friend removed her jester hat to give an answer.
"Ah, well you see, Young Badger, it is not the date that matters so much as the spirit of the event! FOR YOU SEE-" she exclaimed dramatically, "it was Easter Weekend when Harry and I first met. Then, a powerful meddler killed out friendship with obliviation! Yet, much like the biblical Christ, our friendship ROSE AGAIN against all odds!"
That answer was met by a chorus of groans.
Justin's face fell into his hands. "You cannot be serious?!"
"You will find," she intoned, "that seriousness and silliness can exist in majestic harmony!" She wrapped an arm around a chuckling Harry. "And that is the true beauty of friendship, my friends! We must never forget its power, for it can raise armies, defeat enemies, and inspire grand Easter egg hunts where the loser must egg Dumbledore's office or forever be labelled Chicken!"
"Wait, what!" Harry whipped his head to her. "I never agreed to that!"
"Then you best find them fast, little Hufflepuff! Otherwise you'll find yourself in an egg-streamly tricky situation! HA!" She jumped out of the seat, dashing for the door and laughing maniacally all the while.
The Hogwarts Express arrived by nightfall. Though grateful for the chance to see her parents again, Tracey knew things were about to get serious for this last term. She got onto an open-air carriage with Luna, Entwhistle, and a couple of second years, and exchanged small talk with the others. When they crossed the school grounds, they ducked as a broom shot out overhead.
"What was that?!" Someone shouted.
Luna peered over the carriage with interest. "That looks like Harry."
"Harry Potter?"
Another broom rider made a shout of frustration before diving into the trees.
"What on earth is going on?"
It was a question that none could figure out the answer to. That is, not until Tracey commented on it to Daphne in the Great Hall and was startled by Adrian Pucey's laughter.
"Oh, Circe, they're still looking?!" He and Soros laughed harder.
"Looking for what?"
"Easter eggs," Pucey answered. "Mel and Potter are doing an Easter Egg hunt."
"Wait, they're still looking?" One of the other fifth year girls commented. "How hard did you make the hiding spots, Adrian?"
"Ha!" Soros barked. "Oh, it's not about how hard he hid them. It's about how many eggs he hid."
"...And how many did you hide?"
"About forty of them," Pucey answered with a smile.
"-That we numbered randomly from 1 to 50," Domonkos added, "with a few obvious exceptions."
The fifth year witch jaw-drop. "You did not-!"
The boys broke down into more laughter. Even Tracey started laughing, though she tried to cover her mouth in the process.
The fifth year witch didn't share their sentiment. "And what exactly is your plan when they realize what you two did?"
"Ah, we already have that covered," Soros said with a grin. He then shouted over to the Ravenclaws, "Corin, how goes your basket-decorating?"
"It's gone pretty good!" A Ravenclaw boy shouted. As if to emphasize the point, he pulled a basket out from under the table. The basket was filled with ten brightly painted eggs that were numbered at random.
"You boys are evil!"
The chorus of laughter delightfully agreed.
The next morning Melissa approached the Great Hall bleary-eyed. Yesterday had been loads of fun, even though she lost the bet 17 to 23. How the hell did Corin even know to FIND those eggs? He's not even a Hufflepuff! That's just unfair! Ah well, hopefully Fawkes will help me with the prank. Maybe I'll get in less trouble if I fill the room with wrapped Cadbury Eggs instead-
"Uh- excuse me?" a quiet voice interrupted her thoughts. She looked down to see a little Ravenclaw boy waving at her.
"Yes?"
The boy chewed his lip nervously. Over at the Ravenclaw table, a pair of firsties walked over quickly, having noticed the boy approach her. "My parents told me," he said.
Melissa blinked, and her brows raised, causing her eyes to flutter blearily. "It's a little early in the day. You're going to have to talk to me like I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh," the boy said with a dash of disappointment.
At that moment, Astoria and another boy arrived, the latter of whom tugged at the boy, whispering "Tom, what are you doing?"
Tom? Oh, it's Mini Tom Baker! "It's alright," she said reassuringly. "Sorry about that, Baker. Just start from the beginning."
Baker gave a stiff nod and moved to reassure his friend before saying, "When I went home for Easter my parents told me that they're expecting a baby."
"Nice," she said simply. "Congratulations."
"Thanks," he said. Then he laughed nervously, "Thing is, when you gave me that prediction, I thought you were talking about Doctor Who starting back up again."
…Isn't that exactly what I did? "Who's to say I didn't?" she said with a tease.
The boy laughed with her, "Sure. Well, anyways, I showed the prediction to my parents and they were super fascinated that you were able to See another magical baby. They want to know if there's anything else you can tell them about the baby?"
"Tom!" Astoria gasped. "You know what happens when predictions are forced!"
"I'm not asking for anything big," he assured. "They're mainly wanting name ideas. My mum says her grandparents used divination to pick baby names, and since the baby's already been predicted, they think it's a fun idea to try. I also told them what you said about the last one being 'on the house', so they've agreed to pay you for it as long as you give a reasonable price."
"Huh," Melissa tilted her head, the offer spinning with possibilities, "that actually sounds pretty cool. I don't know how to do name-divining, yet, but I can ask Professor Trelawney tonight and write up a quote for your parents. Is that alright?"
"Sure!" Baker chirped. "Thanks, Bennett!"
"Any time!" she said brightly. She smiled as the boy and his friends returned to their table.
Getting paid to divine baby names… Now that's an interesting way to make money! Despite her misgivings about the class, she was looking forward to tonight's lesson. And if she's unable to find a good choice for the family using divination, she can always go for Christopher or Rose. Even if the kid doesn't end up magical, the family will still be impressed in eleven year's time!
So, fun fact! Predicting baby names is an actual occupation in the wizarding world! A 'Naming Seer', as Professor Trelawney explained it, looks into a child's future and uses what is seen to determine a good name for the baby. These days the idea of consulting a Naming Seer has fallen out of favour, but those who do pay a good deal of galleons for the opportunity. The idea is certainly lucrative for someone like Melissa, especially as the Bakers were willing to pay her at a discounted 'Novice Fee'. It was just a matter of, well, divining a name.
Ah, well, she has until their meeting this summer to figure that out.