Wednesday Nov 2nd, 1994

It was a good thing for Melissa that she had first period off, as it took just about all of that time to convince Madam Pomfrey to let her attend Ancient Runes. She arrived there fairly early, and was surprised to see Cedric waiting outside of the classroom. On seeing her, he wilted in relief.

"You made it! I was worried you wouldn't be. I tried to visit you at the Infirmary yesterday, but Madam Pomfrey said you were still asleep."

"Yeah, sorry about that."

"Did she figure out what was wrong?"

"I think my Sight's been on the fritz," Melissa said with a shrug. "Might get some lingering effects, but I don't think I'll have any more as bad as the other night."

Cedric gave a worried nod, "I hope you're right."

The door to the classroom was still closed, so they continued to wait outside. In that time, Cedric kept giving her furtive, guilty looks. Clearly something was on his mind. "Sorry, but nothing I saw on Halloween was related to the Tournament." Cedric jerked up in surprise at being caught, then curled inward with guilt. "It's alright. I can tell you wanted to ask."

"I know, and I'm sorry. It would be unsportsmanlike to ask you for any help with it."

"Why? We did the same for the contest, didn't we?"

He looked taken aback by the question. "...True, but that was Garrick's call to make. Not mine."

Melissa made a hum of agreement. "If it makes you feel better, I don't have any idea what the three Tasks will be."

Another short silence followed. "...If that's true…" more warring guilt made him hesitate, "what did you see the other week that made you so sure Harry would also be in the tournament?"

"Oh." Yeah, that claim complicates things, doesn't it? "I saw Harry flying near a cheering crowd, but he wasn't wearing his quidditch uniform, and I'm pretty sure he was dodging a blast of dragon fire."

"Dragon fire?!"

"Yeah. I was hoping it was some kind of broom-flying challenge, but Adrian says that that's not a thing in Britain, so the only things I could think of were it being a contest abroad next summer, or, well… this." She gave him another shrug. "Sorry, I know it's not much-"

"It's more than enough," Cedric said earnestly. "You shouldn't try to push yourself, especially after the other night."

Melissa smiled. "Thanks, Ced."

A pleasant silence fell as Professor Babbling opened the door and let them inside. While they got their supplies ready, Cedric spoke again. "Have you told Harry about any of this?"

"Ah- no, I haven't." Her lips pursed, and she muttered under her breath, "Damn, I was planning to talk with Snape at lunch about doing a remedial for yesterday's class-"

"You should still do it. I'll tell Harry after class. We're sitting together at lunch anyways."

"You are? Sweet! Thanks, Ced, you're a life-saver!"

Cedric gave a small laugh, "No problem, Mel."

"HEY CEDRIC, GUESS WHAT?" Corin shouted out. Both looked at Corin as he waved at Cedric, and he stopped at seeing Melissa, "Hey Mel! Glad to see you're feeling better!"

"Thanks, Corin," she said with a smile.

"So what happened?" Cedric asked Corin.

"Oh! Right! Turns out you're missing out big time on Alchemy because both Krum and Delacour are taking the class with us!"

"Is that so?"

"It's brilliant!" This time it was Rachel who spoke. "Krum's a lot smarter than he looks. He answered a really tough question Dumbledore gave the class, and Delacour was asking all of these questions about elements that I could barely keep up with, but Dumbledore knew exactly what she was talking about."

"Sounds like you're in for quite a challenge," Corin teased Cedric. "I hope you're ready."

"I'm sure I'll manage just fine," Cedric said with a surprising level of confidence. "Don't forget, I was chosen for a reason."

Melissa and the others gave nods of agreement, as well as promises to help their champion as best as they can.

Quiet murmurs, turning pages, scratches of quills, small clinks of inkwells, beyond that, the library was near-silent, per usual. Melissa worked as well as she could in that silence. The problem was, with the room being quiet, it somehow made Jacqueline's nervous observations feel LOUD.

"Since you want to ask, no, I don't know what the tournament tasks are."

"I wasn't thinking of that at all," Jacqueline said in an equally hushed tone.

Melissa flicked her eyes up from her book. "Then what's with all the weird looks?"

"I'm just worried for you, that's all."

Melissa took a moment to understand. "Thanks. I mean it. I'm sure it was just a one-day thing."

Jacqueline had the slightest look of disbelief. "I suppose Halloween has become a day for strange things to happen."

"Heh. You've said it. Azkaban, that thing with Creevey, the troll, Halloween's a bit of a centerpoint for the weird."

Melissa looked back down at her book, missing Jacqueline's furrowed, calculating look. "I think we should try to finish this assignment today. I can also show you my notes for potions so you're prepared for your remedial tomorrow."

"I guess," Melissa gave a huff of annoyance. "We'll be late for dinner, though."

"We have plenty of time for dinner. Besides, you have your music date afterwards. You might as well do that on a full stomach rather than risk going hungry from overusing 'dark magic'."

The two snorted at that, immediately muffling themselves, lest Madam Pince reprimands them. "Ooo, yes, the scary dark magic of music!" Honestly, after talking with the Durmstrang kids, a fair few people have had to rethink their ideas about that school's reputation. "But you have a point. I guess I can wait a bit."

"Good," Jacqueline smiled to herself, victorious.

For the sake of discretion (you know, for dabbling in "dark magic") Melissa met with Astrid at the Durmstrang ship. Being aboard an old-timey ghostly ship was awesome! Melissa drank in the decor as Astrid led her aboard and deeper into the ship. Some people gave the pair odd looks, while others nodded in approval. One of the girls exchanged a quick word with Astrid, and she translated the message with a smile.

"The Headmaster is busy in his quarters. We should be safe from being caught."

Melissa gave a grin and a nod at that, wanting to avoid her English voice from carrying.

They snuck off to the students' quarters, and spelled the door with a trigger should Karkaroff come nearby. When they settled, Melissa went straight for her satchel and pulled out a muggle binder. "This is everything I've learned about galdralag so far. I have them separated by Germanic and Greek methods, plus a couple subcategories."

Astrid took the binder with confusion, and then with interest as she noted the divider names and the notes within. "This is an odd way to make notes."

"I know," she refrained from mentioning that the book is muggle, "but when you have different ideas at different times, it's a handy way to add new notes to each subject when you go back to them."

"Hmm. I see what you mean." A few minutes passed as Astrid looked over her notes. Melissa, meanwhile, pulled out her keyboard and balalaika and made sure they were tuned. After a while, Astrid nodded in satisfaction, "These are good notes. You're already working on… compositions?" She said the last word slowly, reading out the word from the top of a page.

"Yeah, I found a book that gives a good foundation on how to start, so I've been playing around with some of the ideas, in case I ever get the chance to try them."

"Get the chance? You have not tried yet?" She gestured to the instruments at Melissa's side.

"I have," Melissa gave a disappointed sigh, "but I can't get them to work. Which is dumb because I know this keyboard, at least, is magically made."

Astrid hummed thoughtfully at the predicament. "Let me take a look at it. Hej, Linnea, kan du hitta Lev?" The second part was called out to a blonde witch nearby, who nodded and went over to knock on one of the doorways down the hall. Astrid, meanwhile, took a look at the magical keyboard. After some inspection, Astrid pouted at the instrument. "This is… not normal. I- I don't have words in English to explain, but these runes are connected to arithmancy written to… make sound? This instrument makes no sound without magic?"

"...Oh!" Realization dawned on Melissa. "It's meant to look like a muggle keyboard, which uses electricity to mimic piano sounds, and other instrument sounds. The inventor must have stuck to that principle when they made it!"

Astrid looked positively aghast. "Why would anyone think that that is a good idea?!"

"The band who got it for me has the same thing. They perform for both magical and muggle concerts, so they must have needed it as a disguise to keep things consistent?"

"Magical and muggle?! Who would think to do that?!"

At that moment Lev walked in, "Are ve talking about ze Veerd Sisters?"

Both witches looked at him strangely, though Melissa's had more amusement. "You know the Weird Sisters?"

"Da, of course! I heard zem play vile on holiday in Bremen. Very Rock and Roll! I almost sang along ven you all sang ze Badger song."

Something about Lev calling her boys 'Very Rock and Roll' made her laugh, more so at the thought of her songs reaching across the continent. "Yeah, they're great, aren't they?"

"Lev," Astrid interrupted, "can you look at this balalaika, to see what's wrong with it?"

"Okay," he picked it up casually and gave it a once-over. "Zis is ancient! Whose is it?"

"Mine," Melissa answered.

"Yours?" He looked at her strangely. "How, and vy?"

"I found it lying around at school, and because I wanted it."

He gave a small laugh, then strummed the instrument. "Hmm, old, but not bad. Vot is wrong vit it?" Astrid answered the question in Russian, producing a frown on Lev as he played around with some of the chords.

Suddenly the room got colder. A chill but gentle wind blew through the room despite the closed portholes. "Hmm," Lev shrugged casually, "it vorks to me."

"Hold on," Melissa looked about in confusion, "was that you just now with the wind?"

"Yes. Ze start of a simple veszer spell."

"Whoa, whoa, hold on! Can you do it again?"

Lev strummed the instrument again, bringing about another cold breeze. Melissa paid attention to the wind, and the notes played, with a laser focus.

"Give me that," she said, almost greedily, as she reached for the balalaika. Lev obliged with amusement. Melissa took it and immediately repeated the notes he just played. …The room stayed perfectly still, regardless. "What gives? I did the same thing, didn't I?!"

"For music you did," he answered with an impressed tone.

"Maybe your magic was not focused onto wind?" Astrid suggested.

"My magic?" They looked at her in confusion, and then realization hit her like lightning. "It's like a wand! I read about that! How could I be so stupid?!" She looked up earnestly at them. "Do you have to think of any words when you play? Like with a spell?"

"Not exactly. You must zink of making vind- of changing ze veszer- ven you do."

"Huh. Okay…" and put my magic into it, like a wand. Honestly, why didn't I try that before? She focused on her magic, and thoughts of wind and weather, as she strummed the balalaika again. Feeling nothing, she repeated the progression again, and a gentle wind caressed her arms. "I think I did it!"

"You did," Astrid said with a smile. "Good job."

"Thanks!" She looked down at the instrument in her hand. "All this time I had something that plays magical music, and I had no idea!" Honestly, it was mildly embarrassing. "I wonder what else I can do with it?"

"Let me check," Lev offered. "Some are made to do specific magics. Ze makers leave notes."

"Oh, okay, sure." She handed the instrument back to Lev, and he inspected it once more. He checked out the body and peghead, commenting idly that it might have been made for a farming community, as there were signs that it specialised more in weather and elemental magic, as well as summoning animals and fish. They were odd concepts to Melissa; but she supposed that, for a rural community, those magics would make sense. Lev then looked over the bridge, and his eyes went wide. "Kakogo cherta?!" A phrase which Melissa's heard from Rusalka enough to know it's basically an equivalent of WTF. "Zis sign is from Áillun Vaara!"

"Chto?!" Someone shouted.

Melissa was confused by the sudden hubbub. "From what?"

"A famous Saami witch," Astrid said. "The Vaara family makes great instruments."

"But Áillun Vaara died over ten years ago!" Lev said. "And zis balalaika is very old. Zat you have one of hers from her- her high time, it is incredible! Can I buy zis from you?!"

The thought of money made her consider it. The thought of it being valuable, and Lev being just a student, made her quickly decline. "I'll have to think about that. If this is the only instrument I have that works, I'd like to work with it while you're all here."

Lev looked genuinely torn by the non-answer. "Can I ask again before we leave?"

"Sure, I don't see why not." I might even know it's full value to charge by then, she thought greedily. "Though, now that I know that this works, let's see how many of these instrumental songs I can pull off!"