After a night of fitful sleep and endless visions, Melody rose from her bed. Her rest had been tortured with the anxiety today brought. Nearly every relationship with her peers had been transformed last night, and all of them had to be confronted. However, her disposition was sweet and happy as she danced her fingers along the clothing hanging in her closet.
It was Sunday with no classes, so the day was full of chances to seek out Harry and have a long overdue talk. The night before had shown Melody the truth about Sarah.
Sarah was for Harry what Marcel had been for Melody – a pawn to be used against the other. After months of playing this vicious game in a stalemate, they had almost reached a tie.
Now Melody found herself anticipating the words she would share with Harry the instant she found him. For too long she had been denying her sincere affection for Harry, but now that she was reminded of his devotion to her, she was excited to set things right.
Once dressed, she made her way down to the dining hall. With each step along the way, she glanced almost frantically around her in hopes of catching Harry on his way to breakfast.
Instead, she was met by Marcel and a small crowd at the base of the steps to the main building. For a tense moment, Melody and Marcel stared at each other while the crowd looked on.
“Good morning,” Melody said to break the silence.
Marcel continued to look her in the eyes for a second longer before he looked over his shoulder at the curious faces. Again, Melody saw him transform in front of his friends as his eyes sharpened on her.
“Come on,” he said to the group, “Let’s not waste our time.”
With that he turned as sharply as his eyes had become and bounded up the steps to be followed by a staggering entourage of bodies glancing back at Melody. No matter what Marcel had tried to convince her he was decent in the past was erased from her mind as she watched him disappear behind the large doors.
After eating quickly to escape the escalading whispers, Melody made her way to the Hogwarts train. Her right hand was twisting around her left index finger as she searched for the right words.
As she reached the door closest to Harry’s compartment, she felt the excitement building within her. Each second she was a little closer to being complete.
She enthusiastically tapped on the door and waited for someone to let her in. Only a second passed before Neville popped into view. His expression pointed out that Melody had been a topic of much discussing in the last few hours. He tried furiously to hide it with false enthusiasm to see her.
“Melody!” he shouted slightly over his shoulder, “What are you doing here? Not that it’s a bad thing! It’s always nice-“
“Neville!” Melody stopped him, “I just need to talk to Harry. Is he here?”
Caught in a tough spot, Neville began to whimper a little while maintaining the same plastered smile. It wasn’t until Hermione relieved him of his post that he calmed down and retreated back into the train.
Stepping down from the train and closing the door behind her, Hermione blatantly walked away from the train in hopes that Melody would join her in a walk. When Melody didn’t move, Hermione settled in front of her.
“Don’t mind Neville. It makes him a little nervous that you sent Marcel flying across the ballroom last night. How is he, by the way?” Hermione asked, pretending to be concerned.
“I couldn’t care less how he is. He’s out of the picture for good.”
Hermione looked at her with unnecessary curiosity.
“Marcel was the biggest mistake of my life, and I’ve made a lot of mistakes.”
Hermione smiled, “I’m glad you came around, because I didn’t want to be the one to fill you in.”
The two friends laughed for a moment before a smooth silence fell over them.
“I’m sorry I’ve been such a jerk. You and Ron are great friends and I let this dumb spat with Harry get in the way of that. I haven’t been myself since this hole mess started and I think have taken it out on you two. I’m really sorry,” Melody spilled, looking at her feet.
Hermione took in her words for a moment.
“Ron will be happy to hear the real Melody is back. I assume Harry will be pleased too,” she said behind a smile.
Melody was suddenly reminded of her mission.
“Harry! Where is Harry?” she asked frantically.
Hermione was suddenly struck from her warm state as her eyes widened.
“Maybe you should find him later. He’s a bit…now’s not a good time.”
“Why where is he?”
“It’s not that. It’s who he is with,” Hermione replied with decreasing passion.
Melody instantly knew what she meant. Somewhere on these grounds, Harry and Sarah were having a moment – a moment that could ruin Melody’s final chance.
Melody quickly excused herself from Hermione’s company and swung the door to the train open. To her right she heard distinctive laughter. She slid open the compartment door to find Dean and Seamus’ room with its owners present.
“Where is Harry?” she asked brashly.
After a few stutters, the boys informed her that Harry was down by the magical creature stables. Without a word, Melody disappeared with a spin. Reappearing outside the groundskeeper’s cabin, Melody peeked around its corner and saw the thing she feared was true.
Sarah was sitting slightly bent over upon the fence as Harry stood directly in front of her speaking into her ear. Melody couldn’t see either’s face, but their closeness spoke miles about reconciliation. She watched for a moment longer as Harry helped Sarah down from the fence and embraces her.
Melody couldn’t watch for another second, so she retreated into the woods bordering the grounds and came upon a familiar clearing that was at one time used for midnight meetings with Marcus in fifth year, but now it was her hiding place.
Once feeling safe, Melody was thrown back into the cruel game her and Harry had started, but this time, she was without a pawn and therefore, saw no way to move about the board.