Melody eventually woke to find herself wrapped tightly in warm linen blankets in the Hogwarts hospital wing. The previous night was still just a blend of a thousand pictures without any coherence. Searching her mind for the details of the evening, she turned onto her side under the white sheets.
One bed over, Harry was lying, almost motionless except for his mild breathing. As she watched the comforting rise and fall of her chest, the pieces of the previous night’s puzzle slowly came together.
She remembered seeing Dumbledore’s lifeless form, finally giving Malfoy a bit of what he deserved, and getting to Harry through a well acted lie. Finally, she recalled giving every last ounce of her strength to Harry through Aphrotrans.
Melody was just beginning to free herself of the blankets when the door to the room swung open and Professor McGonogall swept in. The events of the last night were written all over her face as fear and sorrow screamed in her eyes.
“Good, you’re up,” the aging woman said, attempting to wrap her feelings in a false happiness.
Melody took the moment to try to formulate the right words to say, but nothing came. She herself had been completely broken by the loss of Dumbledore, but before her stood the woman that was Dumbledore’s strongest ally. Searching the face of the deceased’s finest companion, Melody couldn’t find a single sound.
“You should try to sit up for a bit,” McGonogall said as she crossed to Melody’s bed.
In the next moment, Melody saw more humanity and affection in McGonogall than she had ever known. The strict teacher melted into an angel as she helped Melody unwrap the blankets and placed a pillow behind her. Placing a hand on the young girl’s shoulder, McGonogall let the smallest ounce of emotion escape her as her eyes welled with silent tears.
Melody was dying to ask her what happened the night before, but she backed away as she waited for the woman to finally cry the tears that she was so masterly holding in. A tense silence filled the air, but was soon cut off as McGonogall answered the main question in Melody’s mind.
“Voldemort is dead. Harry killed him.”
Melody’s heart leaped. Finally the battle that would revive society had been won. A sincere relief fell over her as she inwardly bid farewell to the constant fear that followed all that knew the name Voldemort. She wanted desperately to talk to Harry.
“And Draco?” she asked with a wide grin on her face.
McGonogall only looked at her quizzically, but Melody pressed the subject on.
“What happened to Draco?” she repeated.
“Draco Malfoy?” the new Headmistress asked, “Why I am sure he is safe at Beauxbaton with the rest of the Hogwarts delegation.”
Melody paused for a moment to contemplate this strange reaction. How could she possibly think that Draco was with the Hogwarts delegation when he had only killed their headmaster less than 24 hours ago?
“That can’t be,” Melody replied, “Someone must go get him. He’s a murderer.”
Melody didn’t have to explain any further. In an instant McGonogall pulled from within her robes her own version of the familiar two-way mirror. Into it she called for Hagrid.
“Hagrid!” she called, “I need you to check if Draco Malfoy is with the remaining members of the Hogwarts delegation. Hurry, it is quite urgent.”
McGonogall looked up at Melody from behind the mirror.
“Professor,” Melody began lightly, “I tied Draco up myself in the entrance hall. I found him there when I arrived to help Harry last night. He killed Dumbledore.”
McGonogall could only shake her head as she tried to fathom the hatred in such a young man. For a long time, nothing in the room stirred. Melody was almost afraid to breathe until Hagrid called out to McGonogall through the glass.
“The boy is missing, Minerva!” he called, “Did that nasty rat and his father have anything to do with last night?”
McGonogall couldn’t even answer. She just continued to stare at Melody in complete shock.
“I never thought Albus would go at the hand of one of his own,” she finally said after gaining what composure she had left, “But then again, Tom Riddle was Albus’ own special case, and to be honest I thought he was the only one that could bring such a great wizard down.”
“So Draco escaped?”
“He must have,” McGonogall began, taking on her old qualities, “The castle has been repeatedly searched and there is no sign of anyone.”
McGonogall took the next silence as a chance to check on Melody’s roommate in the next bed over. Hovering above the magic world’s savior, she took on a mother’s endearing gaze.
“It is a miracle you came along to help, Melody. Without your help Harry would never have been strong enough to kill the Dark Lord.”
Melody was silent as she played out the image of what might have happened in her mind. Thinking it over, she came to the realization that Harry should not be unconscious in the bed beside her. True, he may have gotten a little tired from performing the killing curse, but he should not be almost lifeless.
“McGonogall,” Melody said, breaking yet another silence, “Last night I used Aphrotrans to transfer all my strength to Harry and I blacked out. With all that help, shouldn’t he be fine?”
“He is fine, he just blacked out from exhaustion. It seems that what you handed him in strength wasn’t quite enough.”
“But Professor,” Melody continued, “I gave him every last ounce I could spare. Shouldn’t that have been enough?”
McGonogall took her focus away from Harry for a moment and leaned against Melody’s bed.
“Aphrotrans is a complex spell that relies on too many delicate factors. It could have happened this way for a million reasons, but the most likely is…well…I’m sorry, dear, but you may have overestimated his affections for you.”
Melody was struck by these words and accidentally let her inner thoughts escape her.
“He doesn’t love me, does he?”
Trying to sooth the breaking heart of a young girl, McGonogall fought for other explainations.
“Even if there is a great deal of love on one side of the Aphrotrans, it can often be a weak connection if-“
“He doesn’t love me,” Melody finished.
“Not necessarily,” McGonogall said patting Melody’s hand, “He may love you, but if he isn’t willing to accept help from the one he loves, it is reasonable that it would fail. He had enough strength to perform a killing curse, so there must be some love there.”
“But not nearly as much as I thought there was,” Melody said, mainly to herself.
McGonogall decided to allow the poor girl some time with her thoughts, so she excused herself to deal with the Aurors that would be gathering to search for Dumbledore’s killer.
As she exited the room, Melody rose from her bed and crossed the small distance to where Harry lay. She slid a stool over so that she was sitting right beside the bed and sat there for a moment as she recounted all that she had learned in her short talk with McGonogall.
It was obvious that something was still holding Harry back from fully loving her. She knew it was petty to worry about this now, but this was her last chance to change her mind or stick with their decision. Today she could walk away from this school and successfully vow to never see him again, or she could choose to stand by his side in the next months and forever.
She let her hand caress his face just as she was making her decision and to her surprise, his eyelids opened to reveal his pure, green eyes.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, looking around the room as if he expected to see Voldemort towering over him.
Melody wasn’t even offered a minute to respond for he instantly changed his focus onto learning what he had missed or forgotten.
“What happened last night?”
“Well, I saw in the mirror that you were being tortured, so I performed Aphrotrans, but I guess that wasn’t enough to keep you on your feet.”
“What do you mean?” Harry asked impatiently, “What happened to Voldemort?!”
“He’s gone. You killed him.”
“He’s dead?” Harry asked quietly.
Melody only nodded as she visualized the weight lifted from Harry’s shoulders. The room fell silent, but Melody knew that Harry’s mind was racing with the aftermath of the final batter and the victory of right over wrong.
“It’s a strange feeling,” Harry said after the long pause, “It’s strange not having to worry if today is the day I will really have to face him. I never thought it would be over, but it is.”
Melody managed a smile to mask her broken heart, but still could not make herself walk out and leave this place.
“Now things can slow down and maybe get a little normal,” Harry said taking Melody’s unguarded hand.
She reacted with a sharp withdrawl.
“You shouldn’t have blacked out,” she said quickly, rising from the stool.
Harry said nothing, but was well aware of the unhappiness weighing on Melody’s shoulders.
Her emotional rollercoaster with Harry had taken every last bit of her endurance, and she had met her end “ the last line. She was about the cross the finish, but looking back on the course, she had seen that the race for Harry’s heart wasn’t really worth the pain. She couldn’t live another day of her life questioning where tomorrow would land her with Harry. It was clear that they would be better off alone.
“I can’t believe it took the death of Voldemort to make me realize that you don’t love me quite as much as I love you,” she said quietly, “And I know this is the least of your concern right now, but I’ve come to see that you were right. We can’t possibly be right for each other if all we do is go back and forth. I’m done with this, Harry “ all of this. I’m leaving, but please don’t come after me this time.”
Her piece spoken, Melody snapped her fingers so that she disappeared, leaving Harry with only a memory of the one heart that fought through countless rounds of battle only to collapse in the final period.
The Last Line by Sparkling Star
Chapter Notes: This is it - the end. I hope you have enjoyed this fanfiction, and also that you will enjoy the next. I've begun to plot the third and final installment in the Melody/Harry tale. I appreciate all those that have read this. Thank you!