Silver and Sebek said nothing when Neville began to join them in their morning chats. At first he was nervous, because he found Melanie very intimidating, but soon found himself relaxing in their presence. It was mostly because of Silver, who had a knack for finding Neville's pet toad and told him how to make a habitat that would suit the poor amphibian better.
As a result, when it came time for the first flying lessons, Melanie made a point to stand next to Neville. She found it odd that mages had pre-enchanted brooms, rather than use their own magic to fly but said nothing.
Her hand lashed out and grabbed Neville before he could get up too high, and she gently pulled him back down.
"Thanks," he said, nervous beyond belief.
"It's fine. Sebek crashed into a tree the first time he got on a broom. He used too much magic," said Melanie. "Besides, green mages like yourself aren't really suited to flying without a lot of practice."
Neville blinked at that.
"Green mages?" he replied, and happily took the distraction for what it was.
"I suppose you'd call them 'Earth wizards' here?" she said confused. "Your magic is naturally attuned to growing things and the manipulation of plants and of the earth, not things like flying. We have a lot of them back home, so I had you pegged as one after the second potion lesson."
It was the royal green mages who had created the adoption circle. Melanie had spent some time with them, but her relationship with them was mostly professional, as her natural alignment was more fire than earth.
Draco sneered at her as Madam Hooch was busy correcting everyone's grip.
"It's not enough that you somehow slipped into Slytherin house despite being a mudblood, but now you lower yourself to befriending squibs?"
Neville flinched, and Melanie paused in their conversation to glare at him. Something in her glare made Draco flinch, but he didn't back down. After all, what could a muggleborn do to a scion of a pureblood house?
When Draco went to do a basic loop under Madam Hooch's strict gaze, Melanie struck. Right as he went above the trees (against Hooch's instructions) his broom inexplicably snapped in half, right down the middle. Draco didn't have a chance to do more than cry out in shock as his broom snapped right where his ass met wood. He landed on the ground with a nasty thud, and began to cry as if mortally wounded.
"Oh dear...broken wrist. You'll be out for a days at least, but it could have been worse," said Madam Hooch. "If I catch any of you on brooms before I return, you'll be in detention before you can say Quidditch!"
Neville looked at the scene in amazement and a bit of fear. That could have easily been him if Melanie hadn't caught him in time.
Melanie just looked smug.
Later, in the Slytherin dorm
Draco was hamming it up among the other students, loudly proclaiming he'd have the school pay for his "pain and suffering", even though his wrist was more or less sorted out in less than an hour. And with magic, he'd be fine within three days tops.
Melanie had a cold smile on her face. It took a while, but Draco finally noticed her smug attitude.
"Find something funny, mudblood?" sneered Draco, attracting the attention of the entire dorm. Particularly those of the old blood faction, who were firmly on Draco's side because of who his father was.
"I find it amusing you honestly believe your misfortune was an accident."
If she didn't have the attention of the dorm before, she did not. The implications of her words had quite a few of the older students subtly fingering their wands.
Slytherin didn't disparage or attack the "unwanted" (read: muggleborns and unacceptable half-bloods) in public, but in private all bets were off. Snape had blatantly made it clear he would not protect them in the least from the first day, and they either toughened up or learned to keep their heads down.
Considering everyone believed Melanie to be a 'new blood', she had zero protections from her fellow students.
Fortunately, her grandmother had given her explicit permission to put the lesser bloodlines in their place, so long as her true identity was not revealed and that she didn't embarrass them in a way she would have to be reprimanded for.
Which meant Melanie had to be creative.
Unknown to the other students, she had alerted Silver and Sebek of her plans. She was tired of Draco's spoiled behavior, and honestly she wanted to make an impression now rather than endure more of their uncivilized behavior another day. The two of them were standing guard at the entrance of the Slytherin common room, waiting for any foolish enough to try and escape her demonstration.
"Care to explain yourself, mudblood?" snarled Marcus Flint.
"I would have thought it obvious. I was simply reprimanding a lesser mage for his poor sense of decorum," said Melanie, her tone mild as if all she had done was a light reprimand on a child who was throwing a tantrum.
Draco saw red.
"What."
"Really, for the house of the cunning it seems my expectations of your intelligence was highly overestimated," she sighed in mock disappointment. "Then again I should have expected this, considering you all eagerly kissed the boots of someone who could not be bothered to actually fulfill his so-called promises to his loyal followers."
Now she had them all rather pissed off. Melanie hid a smirk. She had them right where she wanted them, and they didn't even know it yet. Now to really twist in the knife.
"You think you're better than us?" snarled Flint.
"I know I am better than you," she replied, looking down upon them all. "You have all become so used to petty power plays that you would not know how to recognize real power if it bit you in the ass."
One of the older years, a wizard known for "breaking in" the muggleborn females unlucky enough to be sorted into Slytherin, cast the first curse.
It didn't even reach Melanie, as she calmly shifted her head and let it pass harmlessly by her...before she snapped her fingers.
The pureblood began to scream in agony as thorns sprang from out of the floor, impaling him.
"I may not be the infamous Count Tepes, but I certainly agree with his methods of discipline," she said pleasantly, as if she hadn't just impaled another student like it was nothing.
Shocked silence filled the room, aside from the screaming of the wizard impaled by thorns.
"You...who are you?" demanded Draco, staring at her. There was a hint of actual fear now.
Melanie's body was hit by the glow of the limited moonlight coming from the windows behind her. Her smile turned as cold as death, as an oppressive aura filled the room. Behind her, the shadow of a massive dragon with terrifying deep green eyes peered down emotionless at the collective students (and Snape). The air became so thick it was hard to breath, and to the deep shock of everyone, the windows behind her began to develop some ominous and terrifying cracks.
"I have put up with your poor behavior and lack of proper decorum for a full month. I am not going to suffer it any further, especially if you persist in the belief that I am just another victim," she said in a tone that brokered no arguments. "I can hold my breath long enough to reach the surface...can you?"
Fear began to fill the room, and some of the weaker students attempted to flee. Melanie did not bother to chase them, and soon the cry of shock and the unexpected sound of a fist meeting the unprotected face of the ones to run was heard. Everyone turned to see Silver and Sebek standing guard, at the door, hands on their wands which had formed a spell blade made of pure magic. It was clear they were there to prevent any attempts to escape.
The obvious implications of their loyalty had everyone slowly turning to face Melanie, who had sat on a nearby table. She looked like a dispassionate Queen on a throne, ready to dispense punishment to those who earned her ire.
"I believe I have made my point perfectly clear, would you not agree?" she said pleasantly.
The sight of water leaking dangerously from the cracks made her implied threat very clear. If she were angered, she could easily drown the entire dorm and not feel an iota of guilt about it.
"Your point has been made," said Snape coolly.
The ominous aura began to dwindle, just a bit. Any dismissive thoughts they may have had about Melanie's placement in Slytherin were destroyed in an instant. Instead of seeing another victim, they now saw a threat.
Seeing that the entire house got the memo that she was not to be trifled with, Melanie snapped her fingers again. Green flames licked the cracks on the windows, mending them in seconds. However she did not retract the now impaled student. He had made the poor mistake of attempting to force himself on her two weeks in and implying that if she "serviced" him, he would provide "protection".
His very offered had offended her greatly, so the fact he was stupid enough to cast first gave her all the excuse she needed to end him.
Snape watched as the two Hufflepuffs moved to flank Melanie as she left for dinner. The way they moved indicated years of actual training, and it was obvious now why they had been sorted into the house of the badger rather than anywhere else. Their loyalty to their Lady would have overridden anything else.
Melanie had anticipated this. She knew that after demonstrating a true threat in their midst, some of the older, more foolish pure bloods would likely attempt to kill her as penance for reminding them of their place.
Melanie was waiting patiently, observing the moonlight by the window.
The moment the door creaked, she got into position. The first witch to enter never saw her end come, as dragonfire raced down the hallway. She died in an instant, and those foolish enough to join her soon followed. They didn't even have a chance to scream.
Those who managed to survive the initial blast soon found themselves on the wrong end of her claws. One unlucky witch stared into the cold, impartial eyes of Melanie...before her neck was promptly snapped, ending her life.
The lone witch to survive bolted, fearing for her life. Melanie threw the corpse down the stairs, before calmly walking down them. She found several of the more prejudiced wizards waiting, staring at the scene in shock.
"It would seem I will need to make an example of all of you," she said pleasantly. "I suppose you shall make a sufficient warning of this schools motto of never tickling a sleeping dragon."
When the other students left their beds the next morning, it was to the scene of a massacre. Several people threw up at the mess left behind, and Snape viewed it all with abject horror. And that was before he found the nightmare in the girl's dorm.
Melanie was calmly drinking her coffee next to Silver, Sebek and Neville. The entirety of Slytherin took one look at her, and kept their distance.
Her point had been made about crossing her.
Once the shock wore off however, one brave witch came to a decision.
Daphne Greengrass looked Melanie in the eye as she spoke to her. Her tone was neutral, her expression calm.
Melanie looked more bemused than anything.
"So...you wish to join my faction?" she asked.
"I have no desire to become a pawn in the games of fools," said Daphne succinctly. "As it stands now, my only value is as a tool for political marriage, unless I can show my worth in other ways that don't involve being perpetually pregnant."
Melanie's smile was a bit warmer now.
"Well, Grandmother did send me here to find potential ladies-in-waiting."
Daphne was unsurprised by the implications. Melanie held herself more like a queen than a pureblood princess. Her manners were impeccable for someone who had supposed muggle origins. Enough that not even the more die-hard supporters of the Dark Lord could find fault in them.
And honestly, she had no desire to be married off to some fool who couldn't or wouldn't see her true worth. She'd rather serve the dragon princess of Slytherin than be caught on the wrong end of her wrath.
It really didn't hurt that Melanie had essentially wiped the slate clean for the entire house, as most of her victims had been the worst of the worst of Voldemort's former supporters.
"So...friends?" asked Daphne hopefully.
"It would be good to have another girl my age to talk to," said Melanie wistfully. "The only real friends I have had to talk to growing up were Silver and Sebek."