The next morning, Melody found her marigold dress robes sitting neatly folded on her trunk. Instead of putting them away, she picked them up and ripped them in half. Anna would be furious, but nothing could control Melody’s anger at that moment.
She dressed quickly and went for a walk to calm herself down. Outside, she ran into Malfoy and his goons.
“I heard what happened last night, Chancelle. Tough break. Perhaps you would like to join me and some others to … well, ease your mind,” he said as she cracked his knuckles.
Melody contemplated the offer in her mind. Seeing as this was Malfoy, this little meeting could be anything. As she thought it through, vulnerability and rebellion welled up inside her. In her mind, she felt as though she had nothing to live for, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity to take a risk and try to forget Ron -- and especially his actions.
***
That night at one o’clock, she snuck through the portrait hole and down to the lake. She found Malfoy and a small group of Slytherins sitting under the willow and passing around what looked like a large brandy bottle. When Melody approached, many of the people glared up at her, but Draco rose to greet her.
“Don’t worry, she’s one of us. Guys, this is our newest member, Melody,” he said as he was handed the bottle.
He offered it to Melody and she willingly took a generous gulp of it. It burnt as it went down, and Melody coughed slightly.
“Be careful, Chancelle. This is only your first time!” Draco laughed as both he and Melody sat.
This night was only the first of many. Every Saturday night, the little group met and passed that bottle around. Some nights, they pulled pranks and others they just sat, drank and laughed at each other. Melody soon withdrew herself from everyone except those few in the group. She was seen walking the halls on Draco’s arm. They all laughed at her jokes and respected her, but they would be her downfall. With every Saturday night, she grew a little more ill from the alcohol and each week they got a little more intoxicated than they had the previous. Melody put herself in great danger trying to forget Ron.
One Saturday night, Draco and Melody hung back after all the other people had gone. Both drunk, they began to kiss. For many hours they remained there until Melody snapped out of it and pushed him off. She ran to the castle and up to the tower.
***
Melody woke the next morning with little recollection of what had happened. All she knew is that things had gone too far with Draco, and she would have to face him today.
Her chance came quickly as he met her in the hall on the way to breakfast. Placing his arm around her shoulder, he led her into a vacant classroom.
With a hushed voice, Draco said, “Last night shouldn’t have happened.”
“I know.”
“Good, because Pansy would be furious if she knew I cheated on her.”
“Exactly.”
That was all that was said, and that was all that needed to be said. They left the classroom and acted as natural as possible. Melody held Draco’s arm in a most friendly way, and they walked down to the Great Hall for some breakfast. All appeared normal.
At breakfast, Melody sat with the Slytherins. She acted as she always had in the previous weeks, but was still anxious about the incident with Malfoy.
In Defense Against the Dark Arts, Draco nervously glanced at Melody a number of times but she remained calm and attentive. She listened to Fleur’s lecture soundly, until her head began to throb. The room began to spin and her hands began to shake. Melody grew scared and within minutes fainted onto the floor.
***
She woke in the hospital wing. Harry was sitting over her, looking very concerned.
“What are you doing here?” Melody asked in her recent nasty persona. She hadn’t talked to Harry since the ball, and Draco had nearly brainwashed her to hate him.
“Fine, I’ll leave then,” Harry said sharply as he began to leave.
The last bit of the old Melody was revived and she apologized.
“I’m sorry, Harry. Please don’t go.”
“OK, then. I won’t, but you have to tell me what has been going on with you lately. You’re a mess.”
Melody felt her eyes beginning to burn with tears as she spilled about the drinking and the secret parties. She left out the part about Draco, but Harry still looked down at her in sheer shock. The perfectly innocent Melody he had known had turned into a horror story.
He shook his head, “Mel, what were you thinking? It’s Malfoy! You know better than that! This doesn’t have anything to do with Ron, does it?”
At the mention of Ron’s name, Melody tensed. Her teeth clench as she tried her best to remain calm. The thought of what he had done to her stung. Pictures of his face filled her head, and she remembered the night in the prefect bathroom when they had first kissed. Memories of their relationship played in her head as she broke down.
“Harry, you don’t know how bad he hurt me. It only made things worse that it was with Hermione. Two of my best friends betrayed me in one night -- wouldn’t you be upset and a little vulnerable?”
“You could have come to me,” Harry said sweetly.
Shame draped over Melody as Harry looked down at her. Of the “friends” she had made through Malfoy, none of them were here. Her ex-boyfriend’s best friend was. She thought of the way she had treated Harry in the last few weeks. Harry had been nothing but kind to her, even when he had enough to deal with himself. Melody sobbed as she cried out, “Harry, I need your help now.”
Harry nodded and took her hand in his own.