The tournament was tied between Harry and Melody as she learned standing in the center of the ring. Dobri had not yet returned, but Melody could have cared less as she watched Harry flaunt his victory to the crowd.
This went on for a long time and the crowd slowly became a dull roar around her. Much more time passed and Dobri was still not back. Still caught up in his win, Harry was indifferent to the fact that the third champion had yet to return.
Until another half hour passed, no one showed a great deal of concern, but the clock warned that Dobri has now been gone for an hour longer than it had taken the other two champions. A slight panic began to feed through the crowd.
The wait had gone on long enough when Dumbledore rose from his seat and shot into the sky to retrieve the boy. Melody knew little of the other opponent, but she had liked him from the beginning and her heart sank a little with each moment he was gone.
Behind her, Harry had taken to pacing, but not over the missing Bulgarian. He came up beside Melody and placed a hand on the small of her back. Anxious from the chain of events, Melody jumped a little but then slightly leaned into Harry.
“Can we go somewhere and talk, Mel?” Harry asked quietly as he began to guide her away.
Taken aback by Harry’s lack of concern for Dobri, Melody stepped away.
“Now?! Dobri is missing - perhaps injured or dead “ and you want to have a little chat. Don’t you have an ounce of concern for him?” she snapped before walking away.
She was just about to turn around and give Harry another piece of her mind when the crowd came alive once again. Looking up, Melody saw Dumbledore’s tall frame hovering slowly back down to solid ground. In his arms was Dobri.
Immediately, healers rushed to Dumbledore’s landing point only yards away from Melody. Between the chaos of the men, Melody saw Dobri lying limp on the ground but also a small rise in his chest. In an instant he was swept away to the infirmary.
Melody let a day of visitors pass before taking a moment to go see Dobri. Upon arriving in his room, Melody was pleased to see him sitting up and paging through a textbook.
“Reading, are we?” she asked softly.
Dobri looked up with a friendly smile and replied, “After my failure on that intelligence test, it would be best if I study up.”
Melody laughed a little as she took a seat beside his bed.
“They attacked you?” she asked cautiously.
He nodded.
“It was terrible.”
His smile had faded, but Melody tried earnestly to continue her own.
“And on top of that, they left me with this mark,” Dobri said pulling up his pant leg to reveal a small, black star, “Apparently it means that I had better not mess around in space any longer. Dumbledore said this marking makes me the equivalent of a leper. If I ventured into space again, the Luce Stellare would do anything in their power to get rid of me. All who encounter them are left with one of two marks, the one I have on my ankle here, or the one I am sure is imprinted on yours.”
Melody bent down to lift the leg of her jeans and verified Dobri’s assumption. There on her ankle was another star, but hers was gold and had a certain glimmer to it.
“Harry will have one too,” Dobri continued, “He is a fierce competitor. It is intimidating going up against someone who has already won…as a fourth year!”
Melody was discouraged by the subject change as she warned, “Don’t give him so much praise. He gives himself enough. I hope you never experience his arrogance in action.”
“Arrogant?” Dobri asked quizzically, “But I have rarely heard him talk of himself, for he always seems to be on the topic of you.”
“He talks about me?” Melody asked sharply.
“All the time. Why, during the first task while you were out on the field, I have never seen anyone so genuinely concerned for anyone. He nearly ripped his hair out over it.”
Melody was instantly caught up in emotion. Rising from her seat, she excused herself and rushed out in hopes of finding Harry somewhere.
She was through fighting him off. All she wanted was to be in his arms again and to feel the comfort of having him on her side. The entire charade had gone too far and now all she wanted was to go back to the way things were.
She ran most of the way to the Hogwarts train, and found Harry, Hermione and Ron chatting on the side facing the river. As they saw Melody approaching, Hermione and Ron departed on a walk together.
Melody’s heart stopped as she finally reached Harry. She was dying to spill her heart right there, but was interrupted when he spoke first.
“Mel, I’m sorry. You’re right. I’ve been arrogant. I understand that you have probably come here to explain this to me some more, and you have every right to, but I don’t think you should waste your time with me anymore. You deserve better.”
With his little speech spoken, he disappeared into a train compartment leaving Melody dumbstruck on the outside. She had been so close to setting it all straight. Harry has never been so utterly dejected and she hated herself for being the one to make him that way.
His words turned in her mind as she returned to her suite to find Sparx waiting with a notice from Madame Maxime.
Dear Melody,
Congratulations on another task well completed, but I have important concerns with your education that must be addressed. As you understand, while you were away at Hogwarts, your classmates here at Beauxbaton were taking their national wizarding exams. I must insist that you make these tests up before your last year here in order for you to move on. In a months time you will be examining along with the other two champions that also have required exams to complete. Study up and I am sure you will do fabulously.
Your Devoted Headmistress,
Madame Olympe Maxime
Melody cast the letter aside as the last thing she needed on a day like today.