The room gave off a suspicious silence, but Melody disregarded all sense and forced straight ahead to the body lying on the floor. She tugged on the shoulder to reveal a wise man’s beard upon an eternally still chest.
Breathe eluded Melody as she collapsed on top of the body. Into the silver threads of Dumbledore’s beard she cried as if she had lost her father. Her weeping filled the room as she clung to her savior. Dumbledore was every ounce of guidance she had ever completely relied on, and now he was gone. She was too late.
She continued to pour out her sorrow into the corpse’s midnight robes, but was awakened as she heard a shrill cry from the Great Hall. Knowing she had to leave the body in order to reach Harry in time, she whispered sweetly into the dead man’s ear.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here in time.”
From behind her a voice asked, “What could you have done? If the great Dumbledore couldn’t protect himself, what makes you think you could?”
Melody was immediately on the defensive again, but Malfoy had already seized her by the waist. His thin fingers dug into her skin as painfully as if her uniform was not in between them. He forced her body against his, making Melody cringe.
“You know, Chancelle,” he said only a couple inches from her face, “we would have made a great team. I thought for sure you were mine before Potter stepped in. If only you had used your pretty little head.”
With this he began to force her backwards against a cold, stone wall. His killing hand gently graced her cheek, but she slapped it away.
“I see you still haven’t come to your senses,” Malfoy replied, only tightening his grip on her, “It looks like I will have to be the one to kill you after all.”
He finally stepped away to reach for his wand, allowing Melody to acquire her own. Without hesitation, he began attacking her with difference curses, all unforgivable. Thinking quickly, Melody expelled Malfoy’s wand causing it to fly through the air and straight to her feet. She cautiously pointed her own wand down and destroyed his.
Malfoy looked at the remains of his wand in terror for a moment before he charged her in the hopes of wrestling her own wand from her hand. He successfully knocked her to the floor where he rose only slightly over her face.
“Looks like we find ourselves in this position again,” he joked maliciously, “Seeing as we’re already here, I might as well let you die happy.”
He leaned lower and forced a kiss on Melody. With no where else to go, Melody turned to the side in hopes of deflecting the affection, but instead Malfoy aimed for her neck.
Completely helpless, Melody utilized an old American trick. Sharply thrusting her knee upwards, Malfoy was soon rolling on the floor beside her in agony.
Rising to her feet, Melody replied, “Don’t flatter yourself.”
Still whimpering from pain, Malfoy was instantly petrified and wrapped in ropes. Having secured her triumph over her opponent, Melody moved on to the bigger, more pressing, task of getting to Harry.
She approached the door lightly, but before she even touched the wood panels, they flew open and the mirror’s scene was alive before her.
Attempting to retaliate, Harry raised his wand from his defeated form on the floor, but his arm just fell limply back to the ground. Voldemort had turned to face the doorway. In the instant before he called out her name, Melody furiously thought up a plan.
It all came to her as Voldemort called for Draco. Draco had wanted an alliance, and that is exactly what she was going to offer the Dark Lord.
“Chancelle, I wasn’t expecting you. How nice of you to drop in on our little tête-à-tête.”
With this said, he cast a curse in her direction, but she quickly deflected and prepared to give him a false offer.
“Before you kill me, you would be wise to learn what I came here for,” she said beginning down the center aisle.
“Melody, get Dumbledore, I need him,” Harry said from his broken heap on the floor.
Trying to remain intent on her false conversion to the dark side, Melody replied, “He’s gone, you oath. Now, shut up.”
Melody was thankful that Harry fainted before she even finished speaking, for the lies spurting from her mouth were even a little too convincing for her.
“Why do you speak to him so coldly when you have come to save him?” the Dark Lord asked.
“That’s just it. I haven’t come here to save him. I’ve come to save myself.”
Melody was now standing at the Dark Lords feet fighting the invasions he was undoubtedly attempting into her mind. This was a skill Melody had mastered many years before when her mother would try to see if she was lying. Faced against the Dark Lord, Melody remained focused and shut out his intrusions.
“You pose no threat to me without him,” the Dark Lord hissed.
“No,” Melody began, “but when you have rightfully taken over the world, there will come a day when someone comes to my door assuming my loyalty is not with you, and I will be killed. When I was aware of your attempts tonight, I knew I had to come and set the record straight and offer you my loyalty.”
Voldemort stepped down so that he was on the same level as Melody. He stood very near her as he obviously continued his attacks into her mind.
“I know what you are looking for,” Melody said after a long pause, “but I am sure you are finding no discrepancies. I want to be on the victor’s side. It is as simple as that.”
Voldemort stepped away and paced for a moment before coming back and asking what use he had for her.
“My Lord, I am much stronger than the average witch, and I know you know that. I have the abilities of someone three times my age. I am not a force to be reckoned with. If you need anymore proof of that just go and see what I have done with your little henchman for the time being.”
Melody knew that Voldemort was already aware of what had happened to Malfoy, but hesitation still covered his face.
“And what tells me that you are through with Potter? How do I know you are not trying to trick me into letting him go?” he hissed.
“First of all, one as great as the Dark Lord would never let the enemy go on the testimony of a seventeen year old girl. Second, I have one tool I can use to prove to you I am fighting for your team. I am sure you are aware of Aphrotans. If I Harry and I were in love, he would rise up and begin this lifetime battle once again, but if I feel no love for him and perform the curse, he will only become weaker and his heart will be broken, breaking the protection his mother placed on him as a baby.”
Voldemort was slightly leery, but he stepped aside revealing Harry’s frail form.
“Then prove to me that you are not in love with him. Perform the spell.”
Melody calmly approached Harry’s body. Her plan had worked almost too well as she kneeled down to perform the spell transferring all her strength to Harry. Placing her hands on either side of his chest, she began to recite the spell.
“Love within me, save a life. Take from me the final strength. I hold out my hand to end their strife. Pass onto him the final ends of my life.”
In an instant Harry was resuscitated and he rose to his feet. Melody heard Voldemort exclaim the killing curse before she blacked out where Harry had once laid.