Melody's Fifth Year 

Melody spent her early time at the school doing as she was brought up to do, trying to avoid notice and therefore ridicule.  She longed for friendship but saw few opportunities for it among her housemates, and her shame over her family legacy only further kept her alienated from her peers.  She watched the more popular members of the school with awe and envy.  An excellent potions student, she had in secret brought her research project from Durmstrang's with her, and is working on it in a hidden room in the dungeon levels of the school and stealing the necessary materials.  Between this subject area and the fact Snape is the one she's been told will more or less judge her, Melody has set the rather impossible goal of trying to win his approval.

In a chance discussion with her housemate Carter Reese, she panicked when he revealed his father was an auror, causing her to reveal the secret of her family's history to him rather than have him report this hostile action to Snape.  His reaction to learning was far less severe than she'd feared, and a later conversation with the new Astrology Professor Alena Dumbledore further made her begin to wonder if she could leave her family behind her. The auror Joseph Hawkins likewise expressed to her that despite knowing who she was, he had no desire for the fear of a fifteen year old girl.

The turning point came however in a conversation with the teacher she so admired, Snape, who she'd come to ask about things set in motion by an encounter with Draco Malfoy which left her decidedly ill at ease.  After the none too shocking admission that she was not proud of her family, he gave her the encouragement that would have meant so little from anyone else.  He told her she could build a new legacy for her family's name.  Filled with ideas of proving her greatness, Melody set off in a nearly giddy state.  Still spinning with these new directions she met the first year Gryffindor Artemis Jones, whose shyness is remiscent of Melody's own.  In her uncharacteristic cheer, Melody attempted to befriend the younger girl, but this idea lasted only until they reached the Great Hall where the reality of their House divisions set in.  Artemis went to be warmly greeted by her housemates at the Gryffindor table, while Melody was less amicably received by Trevor McGarrity at Slytherin, who quickly assured her neither he nor Snape would approve of socialization with Gryffindors.  Much sobered, and in an effort to undo this wrong in the eyes of Trevor and fellow Slytherin Isabella, Melody carried out an only partially effective attempt to get Artemis into trouble for entering the Dark Forest.  The events of this single day would set the stage for much to come, sowing the seeds of Melody's envy for the friendships which exists in House Gryffindor, and revealing to Trevor how eager to please the young Lestrange is.

Rather quickly Trevor began to exert his influence more heavily on Melody, who willingly fell into the role of the obedient puppy at his heels. His efforts to convince her of the admirable qualities of  "Tom Riddle" met with some success, as did those to convince her all Gryffindors were not to be trusted, playing off her envy of their much kinder social structure which she was not able to be a part of.  However on the subject of Harry Potter she remained divided, he one of the few of that House to not unilaterally mistrust her based on the patch she wore.  It was during one of these study sessions where the pair first encountered the new teaching assistant for Defense Against the Dark Arts, Domino Jinx.  His initial introductions did not go too smoothly, Trevor mistrusting him, and in the end it was Melody alone Jinx asked to help him on a research project. Meanwhile Trevor did more research on the family past which Melody had revealed to him, and decided her to be property worthy of showing off. 

In days to come Melody continued to pass considerable time with Trevor, eventually telling him of the Durmstrangs project she was still working on in secret at Hogwarts.  A potion meant to be fed not to people but Muggle machines, to imbue a semblance of life in them.  She was also eventually introduced to Draco Malfoy again, this time at Trevor's side, with Carter Reese's presence making the situation more tense.  However as it became more clear continuing problems existed between Reese and his housemates, Melody began to both wonder if acting against him might gain her favor, and also doubt Draco's capabilities that he had not been able to deal with these issues himself.  Though these thoughts she kept strictly to herself.  That evening also marked a meeting with Fintan Lepidus, an older Slytherin who seemed to be at odds with everyone.  She displayed an uncharacteristic amount of backbone when he made an attack on her for her lineage, all but shoving him as she yelled at him. (Much to the embrassment of her housemates who had managed to at least partially keep their cool.) None the less, later that night Trevor extended an invitation to Melody to the Yule Ball, where he planned on first displaying his find to Lucius Malfoy.

After this Melody made a trip to Hogsmede to lay plans to insure that Trevor bought her the dress she desired for the Ball rather than one to his liking, aided by her American exchange student housemate Jadiea.  After this her studies with Domino began.  The first session, which it is best only to say involved things no student should be taught, set her wary of Domino, thinking him a reckless madman.  However he changed tactics after that, and quickly won the girl's affections by adopting an open and patronly air towards her.  Domino in essence had become the father figure she had been lacking.

Trevor was less than thrilled with someone else having such great influence on his protégé , but could make little protest given Domino's staff position, and secretly Melody was glad of it.  Soon after Trevor decided to test Melody's obedience to him by trying to lead her into the dark forest, the girl surprisingly actually raising a protest to his actions.

After a night visit with Astrology teacher Alena Dumbledore which ran too late, Melody quite suddenly found herself about to be discovered by Filch in the halls with three other late-roaming students.  Courtney Schmitt of Hufflepuff, Liam Everwood of Ravenclaw, and Katie Bell, a Gryffindor Quidditch Team Chaser.  The unlikely quartet stayed together long enough for Melody to hide them all in her secret project work space in the dungeons, though she shooed them out as soon as it was safe and spent much of the time fighting with Katie.

The next day she encountered Courtney and Liam in the library, and gave into the comraderie which had begun to develop the previous night, finally giving them an open invitation to join her at her favorite table in the Library.  Not too long after that she had a not quite as comfortable meeting with Katie Bell, who did her best to try and make ammends for the arguing.  Reluctantly Melody gave into the girl's attempts at friendship, and compromised by informing her she too would at least not be shooed away from the library table.  After this she encountered Cho Chang in the halls, where she began to develop suspicions that the older girl knew more about the events of last year's TriWizard Tournament than had been publicized.

A few days later in the library the malfunction-prone wand of her housemate Colin Rutherford sparked an incident, when he nearly hit Melody as well as the Ravenclaw Erin Narcis and Gryffindor Galynn.  While initially enjoying ganging up with the other girls in teasing Colin and gaining some respect for Erin, when Melody noticed Galynn was a Gryffindor the event quickly turned into a heated argument between those two.  Eventually Galynn stalked off, but Erin remained, now angered by some of the things Melody had said.  Melody's display of backbone was short-lived, and while she'd only just managed to keep up the agressiveness with the Gryffindor, she completely folded under the Ravenclaw and backed behind Colin, regaining her submissive attitude and looking to the boy she'd just been teasing for help.  Fortunately for her, he allowed her to cower in his shadow.

The day after, she encountered Domino Jinx just leaving the Slytherin tower, and he took her aside to warn her not to go into the dungeons.  She reluctantly told him that she had business there, meaning her research, but Domino assured her if she shared the location he would see she was safe.  Somewhat taken aback by  all of this, Melody went up into her common area, where she learned from the students Kestrel Bleight and Tonya Sterces who were chatting there, that Domino had actually been there looking for either herself or Trevor.  After a short discussion on the assistant professor, she left the two alone.

Deciding she wanted to see her mentor and tired of waiting, the next afternoon Melody invited herself into the Slytherin boys dormitory to seek him out.  While receiving many strange looks from its occupants, she seemed unaware of the trespass. He attempted to take her for conversation into the dungeons, but it was cut short when she protested due to Jinx's earlier warning.

That evening Joseph Hawkins caught up with Melody in the library, and began to dig into the recent directions she had chosen for her life.  Eventually his proddings at the fact that her housemates were only using her reduced her to tears, Domino Jinx and Liam Everwood arriving around this time.  Melody quickly sought refuge with Domino, who was angered by the auror's actions but found the man had gone.  He took Liam and Melody down to his office where they could escape the crowd for a bit.  Amidst the interruptions of a psychotic housemate, they were soon joined by Courtney, and Domino offered both of Melody's aquaintances places helping with his research.  Melody was disappointed that Courtney declined, since she had hoped for a chance to get to know both students better, but Liam agreed to at least give it a try.

She missed her afternoon study session with Domino the proceding day to instead go to Hogsmeade with Trevor  to buy her dress for the upcoming ball.  The stay was short but enjoyed by Melody immensely, who managed to succeed in carrying out her plan to be bought the dress of her choosing instead of the one he'd already had ordered for her.  The day was slightly less satisfying for Trevor, who in addition to that loss found himself being troubled by a trio of strange, dark witches.  When they returned in the evening, Melody ran into Liam whom she spoke with about the dress and the upcoming ball which Liam said he planned not to attend.  However in that conversation Melody also realized she didn't know how to dance, and roped the older boy into learning with her so that she had a partner to practice with.

Her attempts the next day to convince Courtney she should go to the Ball with Liam proved rather unsuccessful.  Not long after returning to the common room she found herself listening to Tonya talk in her sleep, reliving painful memories in an unwakeable sleep due to a botched potion.  She was preparing to leave and avoid overhearing things she shouldn't, to the relief of Kestrel who was trying to care for the first year.  But then Domino entered and proceded to investigate what had happened to Tonya.  He also began showing more regard towards Kestrel than he had other students, making the insecure Melody wonder if she'd done something wrong.  She grew further despairing when her efforts to dispell the potion's effects were refused by Tonya.  Domino did give Melody a spell book, but what she had always prized most from him was the feeling that she was special.  The event culminated with Tonya using a spell to leap out the window and run away from her embarassment.

A visit to Professor Raziel Taverius to ask about a strange stone she'd found yeilded far more information than Melody had come seeking, discovering that the man had known her parents.  He gave her a ring which she did not entirely trust, and soon after the two were interrupted by Domino Jinx, who had come seeking to speak with Melody.  An uncomfortable power struggle between the two teachers over who she was going to speak with ensued, ending with Domino's departure. Though not before Taverius was clear witness to the affection between the two as Domino made steps towards quelling Melody's fears of being replaced in his regard. Noting this, Taverius spoke with Melody a little bit more before inviting her back for a future visit.

Later that day she was part of a large crowd watching Draco and sixth year Slytherin Cornelius Crowe in an unsanctioned duel. While watching in silent support Draco, she was approached by Katie Bell, who gave her much more vocal support to Crowe.  This lead to a debate between the two girls on why Melody continued to offer such unwavering support to Draco.  Katie had heard rumors of the people Melody was passing time with of late, and was concerned for the directions it would take her life.  Melody however remained steadfast in her belief that she had no other path save devotion to the hierarchy of Slytherin.

When Melody went for her promised visit to Professor Taverius, she found him being troubled by the auror Hunter McDavin.  Despite having been just in time to hear him be called a Death Eater, her sympathies for someone else bullied by them got the better of her and she entered anyway, her arrival giving Taverius an excuse to ask Hunter to leave.  This meeting was much more amiable than the last, Melody and Raziel having a common ground to connect on.  She offered to make a potion for him to provide dreamless sleep in aid to the nightmares he was having, and they made plans for a trip to Diagon Alley to buy the ingredients.  Unbeknownst to her, other wheels were also now spinning in the Professor's head regarding her.

That evening just before bed, Melody ran into Liam Everwood again.  He seemed more withdrawn than normal, and she was moved to try and pry from him an explanation for the way he always seemed withdrawn from the other students.  Just beginning to emerge from her own shell, she didn't want him to continue in the lonliness where she had islolated herself.  In private, he at last revealed to her that when his father had been killed by Death Eaters, they had also scarred him with a mark to claim that someday they would come back for him.  Shaken to tears at the thought of loosing someone she considered a possible real friend, Melody tried to tell Liam to stay away from her and the eyes of Voldemort's followers she knew were around her. Liam however countered that he'd have to run someday anyway, and that she had that option too.  Revealing for the first time to anyone that she knew just how much she allowed herself to be manipulated, she told Liam that she had no choices in the course of her life anymore.  Reminding her that at least he genuinely cared about her, he gave her his tiny owl Isis to watch over, and then her first kiss, before leaving.

Melody could not avoid Trevor for long, and with that encounter came the easily read fact that she was trying to keep something from him.  Unsurprisingly she could not help but give into his demands to know what was troubling her, and she told him of the kiss.  His reaction was not the scorn she'd feared, but she found herself surprisingly upset by his apathy, and rushed to assure him he was more important to her than Liam.  In a moment of honestly Trevor expressed that she was important to him as well, but Melody with surprising honesty in turn, replied that she wanted to believe him, but didn't know if she could.  A conversation followed that would ever alter their relationship, as Trevor revealed a closely guarded secret to her, and she made the decision to give him the thing which despite her obedience she never had before, her trust.

Melody and Professor Tavarius made their trip to Diagon Alley, uneventful save for more strange looks from unknown witches when they passed near Knockturn Alley on their way to Ollivander's (which Melody had asked to see, never having been to Diagon Alley before).  The two however solidified their common ground of dislike for aurors, and despite Tavarius's unsuccessful attempts to get her to divulge information on Jinx, Melody decided to begin studying with him after classes to catch up on enough material to take his Gemstone Magic class next year.  They returned fairly late in the evening, Melody catching a quick conversation with Alena Dumbledore's teaching assistant Cataria, who had apparently known her family when Melody was a baby, and then returning to the Slytherin tower in the company of her slightly unnerving housemate Seryn LeBlanc.

A few days later while reading outside, Melody found herself in brief conversation with the somewhat odd Jaime Maier before he (oddly) ran off, Aimee Mirabella, an older Slytherin who possessed the popularity Melody so coveted, and a visitor to the campus named Adrian Fidelis.  Before Melody had the opportunity to begin trying to work her way into Aimee's good graces, the visitor asked for help in finding Professor Tavarius, and the two girls took him to his office.  However they opened the door on Tavarius and Jinx in the middle of a deathmatch, which they did a rather ill job of hiding since the office was in shambles.  Much to Melody's dismay Tavarius chased Aimee off, though she was asked to meet her later in their common room.  Meanwhile Fidelis began troubling Tavarius, revealing that he was an auror associate of Hunter McDavin's.  Jinx slipped off, but shortly after he was gone Tavarius mentioned that Jinx was romantically involved with Hunter, eliciting a huge amount of shock and betrayal from Melody that he would become so close to an auror.  As soon as Fidelus left she began questioing Raziel more rigorously on this issue.  This also lead to her becoming upset that Tavarius was trying to turn aurors on Jinx,  eventually earning her an apology from him once she expressed her views that they were all united on the same side against that common enemy.

Later that evening she broke in on a conversation where Raziel was yet again trying to convince Adrian and Hunter to pursue Jinx, and demanded to know what the nature of Domino and Hunter's relationship was, sparking a short but heated argument between herself and McDavin.  She and Tavarius shortly after went to his still messy office, where a discussion upon loyalty, something Trevor had taught Melody to prize so highly ensued.  She showed little surprise or concern for hearing him admit he followed Voldemort, but also expressed it was not a position she shared, and urged him yet again to stop fighting with his own side.  Moreover, she assured him that she was his ally in whatever came.  These events had her running late for her appointment with Aimee, for which she practically grovelled in apology.  Aimee attempted to have a serious conversation with Melody, having caught on that she was involved in some of the darker plots about the school, but Melody was interested only in the shallow social life which Aimee had long ago become jaded with.   Even though much of what Aimee was trying to tell the younger girl about the fleeting nature of popularity was lost, her overtures and friendship were welcomed greedily.

The next morning Alena Dumbledore sent for Melody, and in an effort to try and keep touch with the student she feared she was losing to the darker people around her, asked her to help with taking some nightly readings of starcharts.  While there, she tried to convince Melody  she was heading in dangerous directions, and while she was much warmed and flattered by the attention of a teacher she genuinely liked, she was largely unswayed by the conversation, saying that everyone expected the worst of her no matter what she did.  Melody had already begun to believe she couldn't escape her parents' world, and that people lucky enough not to belong to it like Alena couldn't understand.

Melody tried unsuccessfully to convince Trevor to join in her in dropping Divinations next year for Gemstone magic, as in that conversation and later it became clear how her new trust in him, and belief that she had some value to him, made her far happier and more confident in his presence.  Ironically in the middle of a discussion about those who thought ill of him they ran into Professor Dumbledore at night in the hall, who confirmed Melody's thoughts on prejudices against her by voicing that she found Trevor suspicious in the middle of enquiring where they going.  

Not too long after that night Melody found herself facing one of the hardest decisions she'd ever had to make.  Domino Jinx summoned her to the home of Hunter McDavin, who was apparently under the effects of a deadly potion.  He had the preparations and instructions for the antidote, but asked for her help in preparing it due to her talent in the area and the difficulty of the counter potion.  She demanded to know why he wanted the auror saved, and asked if he loved her.  Jinx avoided the last question, citing instead Hunter's usefulness to him, including as a weapon against Tavarius.  Reluctantly, despite her personal hatred for the woman she made the antidote, but made it clear she was doing it only for Jinx's sake.  When he asked if there was anything she wanted in return, she told him to make peace with Tavarius.

At last the Yule Ball arrived, and despite a rather late appearance due to Melody and Jadiea's perfectionism on the subject of her appearance, Melody was introduced to Lucius Malfoy (at the time in the company of Professor Tavarius) by Trevor.  It was her first time to see him in the presence of the man he spoke so highly of, and the fact that Malfoy seemed less than thrilled to learn of her was an unpleasant shock for both children.  Lucius took Trevor aside to speak with him while Melody was left in the care of Tavarius.  Crushed that she seemed to have failed Trevor somehow by not earning Lucius's approval, the desperate girl queried the teacher on what she could do better.  His advice was simply to be obedient and submissive, more as she had been in her early days with Trevor.  However when her mentor returned, he seemed in good spirits, in fact flattering her more heavily than he ever had before, before the two shared a dance. Afterwords she had only begun to inquire if things were all right with Lord Malfoy when Liam's arrival at the dance caught Trevor's attention, and after launching an avis spell at the Ravenclaw (and Naomi and Perrin,  two housemates Liam was talking with at the time), Trevor pulled Melody from the room.  She was upset and angry at his action, and when he tried to take her down into the dungeons nearly abandoned him to go back to the Ball alone.  However a threat to abandon her completely quickly brought her in line, and she unhappily followed him down.  To her surprise rather than retrieving further fuel for trouble,  he produced a scrapbook detailing much of his family's history, and gave it to her along with part of the story of how that history had shaped him.  Moved, and ashamed that she had doubted him, Melody returned with him to the all but emptied hall for a final dance.

One of her study sessions in the Library with Tavarius was interrupted by the arrival of recent transfer Dora Malfoy, who was instantly recognized and harassed by the Professor, for the disgrace the Gryffindor student was to her family's name.  Melody was quick to emulate this scorn, at last having an allowable outlet for her dislike towards tha family.  Dora quickly left, and Melody remained even after Tavarius departed as well.  Eventually Liam came through the room, and Melody took the opportunity to apologize for Trevor's actions at the ball.  Liam tried to tell her not to get involved, but she informed him that if Trevor was involved she could not help but be as well.  She made him take back Isis before Trevor discovered she belonged to Liam and the owl was put at risk, but ironically as Liam was leaving, Trevor, who had been spying on them, struck at Liam with a petrifying spell, and the owl took the brunt of the effect. 

The next day Melody staked out the library and eventually succeeded in catching Liam to inquire about the condition of Isis.  However Liam, thinking it safest for all involved, lead Melody to believe the owl had been killed by the spell. Horrified and guilt stricken, Melody ran from the room.  She was later called to Dumbledore's office to be informed that a friend of he and Hawkins's on the board of Govervors, Arnold Blair, would be taking her for the summer this year instead of her returning to the muggle orphanage she had spent summers previous at.  She stated her preference to be left alone, but it was made clear the decision had been made, and she protested no more, seeing it as little different from the watch that was always being kept on her.  Blair tried to get her to open up to him, telling her that his own daughter had been killed a few years ago and he and that perhaps they could fulfill eachothers need for family.  Still reeling from sorrow and self loathing over Isis, Melody was beyond reaching.  At length she informed him that the only family she had was Slytherin, and left.

Melody continued to remain aloof from everyone in her guilt, and while hiding late at night in the greenhouse, her solitude was unexpectedly intruded upon by Dora Malfoy.  Much more vulnerable than before, Melody responded hesitantly to Dora's concern at her obvious distress, and found herself acknowledging certain similarities they had, namely in a lifetime of disapproval.  Desperately in need at that moment of contact with something other than the people she had resigned herself to being like,  Melody hinted at her envy that the other girl had been sorted into Gryffindor.  For the first time letting on to anyone that part of her spite for the house was fueled by jealousy.  Despite feeling a true kinship with the other girl, Melody made it clear she couldn't be her friend in public.

Still feeling that Isis's death proved everyone right about her, Melody went to visit Domino, who she'd not seen since going to Hunter's, to find many of his things gone from his office.  This abandonment was the final straw, and Melody lashed out, beginning to wreck what remained in the office.  She didn't get very far before Jinx himself showed up, and told her he'd thought himself in danger from Raziel and Lucius Malfoy, and had been ready to run with Hunter.  However things had been resolved with Malfoy and he chose to return to his work, and leave Hunter.   Melody openly pleaded for him not to leave her again, and he apologized.  She then began to tell him of what had happened with Isis, but in her ambiguous wording he took it to mean she had killed Liam.  As soon as he began to instruct her on their place as Voldemort followers however, she corrected him, his mistake actually comforting her a little as she realized there are worse crimes she could have comitted. Before leaving she also told him of the plans to send her to Blair's, and assured him that she would not let anyone come between her and the family she already had. 

In a section of Professor Nusakan's Ancient Runes class, she encountered a mysterious new Ravenclaw student she'd never seen before, who got on oddly well with the usually unapproachable teacher, but was unable to learn more.  Her attention was more taken up in class by seeing the further tresspasses of Cornelius Crowe and how he would rather associate with other houses than sit with his own.  Her disdain for him reached an all time high when later that day in the library he seemed incredibly friendly towards Harry Potter, who she made hardly a good impression on when she finally told Crowe what a disgrace to Slytherin he was.  There she also encountered Naomi Kavan, and finally got a chance to apologize to (and in doing so puzzle) her, for the events of the ball.  Liam Everwood's arrival quickly made her escape the room, running into Dora Malfoy who, concerned, went with her to the greenhouse where they'd met before, and Melody revealed that she had allowed Isis to die.  Asserting that even if she did like Liam, it paled to strength of her ambiguous bond to her mentor Trevor, Melody then decided that since she could not be with him, he and Dora should be together.

That night when she went to take readings for Alena, Melody discovered that the kittens (between Alena's cat Orion and Cataria's Mister Dibbs) whose star charts they were for had been born.  Alena despite Melody's utter terror of bringing harm to the animal, insisted that Melody would have one of the kittens when they were older.  In the process Alena also caught a glimpse of the book Trevor had given her in Melody's bag, and became interested in why she'd have something with the Gryffindor logo on it, but was able to learn nothing.

Yes again Melody was nearly run into at at the entrance to the library, this time by Dora who was more easily forgiven, where they then encountered Jaime Maier who had the unfortunate luck of running into her, and her resulting fit at being nearly trampled a second time chased him off as soon as he'd arrived.  Soon however the matter of the hour became to introduce Dora to Liam, who had entered with Naomi.  While Dora and Liam were ushered off to discover that they actually shared at least a liking for drawing in common, Melody and Naomi struggled with even more awkwardness to find anything to say to eachother, before finally departing.

She discovered that weekend that Alex Nicolai, an older student from her old school Durmstrangs had just transferred here.   They had never gotten along particularly well before, and during a tense conversation she discovered that he was now teacher assistant in the Transfigurations class. 

After a quick stop by mainly to check on the obviously still unhappy Jinx,  Melody went out to the Quidditch Pitch to ponder trying to practice her skills on a broom.  She was interrupted while still trying to psyche herself into it, when Alena came out for some late night practice.  The teacher could make many moves to inquire on the book, Aurora, a Gryffindor and moreover a half Veela came out for a walk, and Melody's jealousy at all the blessings of her life made her unable to do much more than glare at the girl, finally having to depart as yet more students crowded her and her sudden bad mood. 

A few days later Joseph Hawkins, told by Alena of the book Melody had, came to ask her about it.  It went as well as a conversation between her and an auror could possibly go, she resentful of the automatic suspicion.  But in the end, she did tell him it was only a photo album of a personal nature, and give him a flash of a look, just long enough to support her claim.  When her homework was through she went for a study session with Raziel, though he seemed worn out and ultimately she decided to leave him in the company of Cataria, as the two of them were little able to hide from her that they had become romantically involved.

That night by the lake, as Naomi and Perrin at last began to ply Liam Everwood for some of the secrets he was hiding, Dora, who had learned the truth from Liam, told Melody that Isis was still alive.  Cut to the heart that he would have let her suffer the guilt and self loathing she had, Melody lashed out, and spotting Isis as she flew back towards the castle, tried to stun the bird.  However Dora dived in front of the curse, taking the brunt of it herself.  Melody's next shot was too late, but drew the attention of Naomi and Liam, who rushed over to find a raving Melody and unconscious Dora.  Before the two Ravenclaws took Dora back inside, Melody informed Liam that she wouldn't stop until Isis really was dead.

At a time when so much was changing, Melody had a run in with a face from her first days at the school, Artemis Jones, in Melody's mind forever a part of the bond between her and Trevor.  The two were civil at best, and yet despite everything happening Melody still couldn't bring herself to hate the girl, remembering too much of what might have been.  The next morning she awoke to find Alena had sent her Europa, one of the litter of kittens.  As the week progressed, Raziel only urged Melody to act against those she felt had wronged her, and this sentiment was only underscored by an unpleasant meeting with Naomi and Dora.  Later on seventh year housemate Tate Harnsang was to make a good impression on her when he came to her aid in a confrontation with Dora and Ginny Weasley that hadn't been going too well for her.

However the focus of life quickly shifted when rumors began circulating that Draco and Ginny were dating.  Unable to stand for this Melody asking the young Prince flat out if it was true, and was horrified to hear him respond that it was.  With Trevor away from school for a time, she immediately reported this to Raziel instead.   Raziel she found was having problems of his own, now engaged to Cataria, the couple'd had a recent fight which Hawkins had used as an excuse to take his wand away.  The next opportunity which presented itself, Melody took it up with the auror, demanding he provide a good reason for his actions.  Hawkins tried to spare Melody from hearing that Raziel had resorted to violence against Cataria, but ultimately she forced it out of him, and perhaps wished she hadn't learned about it. 

The issue of the wand stalled, Melody tried acting on the other front, and got her courage up to question Draco on his relationship with Ginny.  She managed to get her point across that if he handled it improperly he would tear their house apart, but not before making him extremely displeased that she would question him at all.  She was saved however from further intimidation as someone else who made her uncomfortable, Alexander Nicolai, would pull her from that conversation to ask her to take possession of a book which used to belong to his father.  Later that night she found Ginny injured after one Peeves's pranks in a hallway, and any hope for civility between them died when another harsh exchange of words caused Melody to stalk off without even helping Ginny to the Hospital Wing.

A doctor who had been attending Cataria  turned out to be Arnold Blair's wife Cherie, a fact which Melody discovered when the two came to speak with her one evening at the school about their summer plans.  Despite a certain softness towards them, she and Tavrius who later walked in on the meeting tried unsuccessfully to convince them to let her stay with Cataria and Raziel instead.

Tate Harnsang ingratiated himself to Melody yet again, as his presence helped keep Draco from being able to intimidate her too badly at a meal at their house table as the issue of Ginny continued to make things tense.  Trevor's absence during this disaster continued to wear on her, and Raziel grew caught up in plans for his upcoming wedding.  Fortunately for her, her mentor at last returned.  Their reunion quickly turned into a talk about where he thought her ambitions should focus, as he pointed out that her recount of the time he'd missed only proved no one but him was worth her time. She did however, leave out the still existing problem of Draco and Ginny.. feeling it was best he find out about it on his own.

Ironically, in a display of bad timing the very next morning Domino Jinx sent Melody a letter stating that he was leaving the school and turning himself into the ministry.  The crushing blow that he had fallen in love with Hunter and wanted to become an auror only underscored the points Trevor had made the night before.  She skipped class to read the letter, and on her way back ended up finding sixth year housemate Adam Thatcher very injured on the edge of the Forbidden Forest.. if nothing else making a good excuse for why she'd been out of class.

That evening she relayed the news of Jinx's leaving to Trevor, and the pair came upon the Ravenclaws: Liam Everwood, Perrin Barclay, and Naomi Kavan.  Spurred by all that had happened Melody decided to try and enact her revenge, she grabbing Isis and Trevor staging the bird's death.  As they escaped back inside with the owl, they ran into Draco, who took the opportunity to drive home to Melody that he came first with Trevor. Eventually she left the two boys to hide the owl, and trevor finally learned from Draco of the situation with Ginny.

Not many nights later Melody made the mistake of being caught alone in the halls by the trio of Ravenclaws, who demanded to know where Isis was.  She held to the idea that the owl was dead, and subtle threats to harm her with knives turned into a poorly aimed stupify spell that was just strong enough to daze Melody without rendering her unconcious.  Helpless but awake she listened to Perrin get angry with the actions and malice of the other two, who seemed prepared to do terrible things to her.  Eventually due to their own argument,  Melody was handed off the Perrin, and the worst she got out out of the encounter was being left in a broom closet.  However it had a much deeper impact on her trust for people.

From that point forward Melody stuck much closer to her own House, and soon in addition to spending more time with Tate, met Kennedy Karmine, who had recently arrived from being raised in Puerto Rico.  The sophisticated young lady made a great impression on Melody, and something about Melody spurred Kennedy to take a protective interest in her.

Valentine's Day proved to be something of a turning point as the stir Melody made in mistaking a valentine sent by Alexander Nicolai as having been from Trevor drew Kennedy's attention towards the pair, and ultimately Kennedy and Trevor decided to form something of a working relationship, bringing someone else into what for so long had just been Melody and Trevor alone.  The fact that Karmine might be a threat the her importance to Trevor perhaps occurred too late to Melody, who finally left the pair alone, to go attend the wedding of Alena and Hawkins instead. 

The next day however she encountered Kennedy, and any existing resentment was washed away by the girl's obvious concern for her wellbeing.  Kennedy became the first person she told of how badly the Ravenclae ws had frightened her in the hallway, and it resulted in a small confrontation before they even left the library, as the Ravenclaw trio entered while the two Slytherin girls were leaving.  Later that day a young housemate of Nicolai's approached Melody and revealed to her who had really sent the valentine.  She of course took it as more of his attempts to tease her.

With her sense of house unity heightened more than ever, Melody finally got around to going to visit Adam Thatcher and inquire what had happened to him the day she found him injured.  Almost immediately the two students discovered something of a kinship in their mutual tendency to ramble. She was also quite disturbed to learn that it had been one of her own housemates, Jasper Collins, who had harmed Thatcher. Their conversation was interrupted by Nicolai, who Melody and Adam eventually walked off on, with her more upset with the boy than ever when he told her the book he'd given her was dangerous.   However.. it was also Adam who first suggested that the Ravenclaw might actually have a genuine liking for her, and this ultimately led her to refuse to give it back to Nicolai out of concern for his safety.

The next day Melody received a loveletter from an unexpected source, a fifth year Hufflepuff named Brandis Hathaway, who she'd barely even spoken to.  The sweet words filled her need for affection in a way that never had been before, and she immediately rushed off to see him.  Equally infatuated with the way he spoke to her in person, she still refused to make the mistake she had with Liam, and told him nothing could come of his feelings for her.  However.. this in conjunction with the realization about what she had taken as teasing from Nicolai started an entirely new train of thought in her head. 

The next day Melody pondered the directions she wanted to take her life, still overcome by how fulfilling the romantic interest had been.  Taking feelings of self worth from the fact that boys liked her, she spoke with (the somewhat disgusted) Kennedy about how to win as many suitors as she could. The conversation however was soon interrupted by Innana Martindale, and the situation ultimately degenerated into Kennedy hexing the Gryffindor.  Later Melody and Tate encountered Adam having more housemate troubles, but ultimately he convinced them to let it be, and Melody took the opportunity to try and warm up more to Tate.

An uncomfortable walk outside was soured not so much by running into Kavan, but by having to witness Ginny and Draco together.. evidence that problem still persisted.  However, for a short time Melody stood up to all three of them, and the fact she had gave her much to think about.   Still mulling it over she soon found herself drawing the attentions of Kennedy, Innana, Barclay, Kavan.. and in the process meeting the newest member of their Ravenclaw group, Vincent Bishop.  Inevitably wands were drawn again by nearly all parties, but sick of the fighting she'd caused Melody let Perrin, the only one of the Ravenclaws she had any remaining civility towards, pull her off in an unsuccessful attempt to sway Melody to put an end to the hostilities still surrounding them all. But as always Melody refused to stop hating Liam, and to act against Trevor's wishes.

The assignment of a project in fifth year Herbology was the start of more trouble, as Melody was paired with housemate Basil Lockheart, and Gryffindor Crusader: Charlie Atherton. It didn't take long for the fact both boys wanted the lead role in the upcoming school musical, and Melody's refusal to get in between them to turn the project into a disaster, with Basil hexing Charlie and their plants being ruined. Melody left the entire encounter feeling like Basil was definitely worth more of her attentions.. and perhaps ever so sorry for Charlie, who had been the first Gryffindor in a long time to not automatically mistrust her for her house.

The next day Nicolai came to her looking to retrieve the book, as his father was apparently looking for it and the holder could be in danger.  However partially out of her newfound resolve to make boys like her, she refused to put Nicolai at risk, and ultimately gave the book to Hawkins for safekeeping.  She continued these games when she ran into Basil in the dormitories, making sure to add him to the list of people looking to even her score with the Ravenclaws.

Perhaps partially because of all this, several of Melody's housemates (Adam, Tate, and her roommate Robyn)  made an excursion with her to the dueling classroom.  However everyone had underestimated how against pulling a wand on another person she was, and she refused to get up on the platform to practice.  This ultimately resulted in the new dueling teacher, Charlotte Aramis, noticing and berating the girl, and she and Adam getting into an argument because of it.

With Kennedy there, Melody and Inanna had an almost civil conversation as their two kittens didn't seem to care about house rivalries and began playing together in the library.  However everything turned tense when Basil (who had previously threatened Inanna's cat) and Dora noticed this going on.  Dora made a point of not doing anything to Melody's point, and Melody made the point right back of telling her that it made no difference.  That weekend she also went to see Tavarius (whose wedding with Cataria had never happened), and told him of the recent events in her life, in addition to getting officially transferred into his class.

Late that night Charlie and Basil met for a showdown, which Melody was quietly watching.  Basil got the upper hand and stunned Atherton, but unable to watch someone else be treated as she had been, she intervened when he began to try carrying Charlie off, and ultimately the whole incident was brought to an ugly and screeching halt when the Teaching Assistant for Dueling, Slytherin Nicole Hewitt, hexed Basil, and Navid Harnsang, Tate's uncle and more importantly one of the aurors who had watched Melody as a child was attracted by the commotion.  Melody was so upset by his presence that ultimately Basil had to lead her back to their dorms.

The next day she immediately went to talk to Tate about the situation, trying to get him on her side.  Then she went to have the meeting with Professor Aramis which she had been putting off.  It did not go well, Aramis seeming to think much like aurors did, and refusing to take Melody's tendency to shy from conflict and responsibilty as acceptable.  This was only further aggravated once she realized who Melody's parents were.  Seeking comfort she went to see Basil, who pleased her greatly by writing a song for her.

The next day Melody came the closest to her own fight she'd ever had, as Dawn Starr interrupted a conversation she was having with Kennedy, and then proceded to tease her once Kennedy left in an unpleasant mood.  Blaming Dawn for this (though it was really as much her own games with the boys that did it), Melody slapped the Gryffindor, who promptly bit her in return.

Melody and Hermione Granger found themselves partnered for the day in Potions, and struggled through an interesting attempt to outdo one another without being impressed by the others' skill, until Kennedy and a few moments later Trevor arrived in the room.  Kennedy and Trevor held a private conference in a corner that drew most of Melody's focus, unable not to notice a certain way that they looked at eachother.  Not wanting to watch this (and Hermione not wanting to be alone with the trio and longer than necessary), the girls quickly finished their work and left the other two Slytherin alone.

Melody and Trevor met alone the next day, and he shared with her the location of a secret room in the dungeon where he was working on Polyjuice potion to use in his plans to end the relationship between Ginny and Draco.  She in turn, told him that she had finally started to make long term plans herself.  But when they didn't involve the Death Eaters he was not entirely supportive, and his lecture on learning her place within that circle sparked the closest thing the two had ever had to a fight.  For a few minutes they actually argued, fiercely, about where both of their lives were or weren't going.  But somewhere in the middle of that, Trevor let some of his normal pretenses slip, and Melody glimpsed the part of him which had first truly drawn her to him.  Stunned by the realization that she loved him, she quickly folded, and let the discussion end, with her newly discovered feelings kept safely to herself.

~The next day Melody ran into Tate in the library, and took the opportunity to more firmly get his promise not to let his uncle harm her.  After that when she went to check on her Herbology project, she found Hermione in the greenhouse doing the same thing, and the two got into another brief exchange over who was going to score highest on the upcoming Potions exam.  However when they were joined by Fred Weasley and Tate, the situation grew quickly volatile. Fred made Melody incredibly upset by implying that she only did well in Potions because Snape played favorites, and then insulted Slytherin as a whole. Tate responded with a paralyzing curse, and then Fred, only partially hit, countered with a small incendio spell.  Melody tried to knock Tate out of the way but ended up getting her back singed in the process.

The injury almost turned out to be worth it for Melody, as it gained her visits (and flowers) from both Nicolai and Basil, both of whom she was sure to play up for sympathy and possibly to take retribution for her. Her burns were completely gone by the next day, but she discovered that when she had gone to see Professor Aramis the necklace which had belonged to her mother had fallen off in the office. Before she could learn why Aramis was making such a big deal of it and refusing to return it, Navid Harnsang stormed, ranting in German over the same issue, and Melody left them to battle, giving up on getting her property back.

Not too many evenings later, Melody came into the common room to witness a conversation between Trevor and Kennedy.. hiding to for a time to eavesdrop as the two seemed to be trying to work out their feelings for eachother. And getting nowhere. Having already decided she herself would never be good enough for Trevor, she did her best despite jealousy to urge the two to get past their pride and admit they liked one another.

Melody was slowly beginning to change, and seeking closure in the places she could get it, she decided the baggage of Liam’s owl had dragged on for far too long. After asking Trevor if she could re-take possession of Isis, she sent word through Naomi to Liam that she wanted to meet with him and return the owl. Tate caught her as she was finishing this, and invited her for dinner at his family home. When Kennedy learned of the upcoming date as well as Melody’s nearing birthday, she took her to Hogsmeade and bought her a new dress for the occasion.

While waiting for Everwood to get back to her, classes took up most of Melody’s time and seemed to provide an ever greater source of problems. In care of magical creatures when Hagrid had to take a student to the infirmary Melody’s attempt to steal one of the billywigs for potions use was thwarted by Harry Potter and ended with them both on the ceiling. Then a study session for Ancient Runes turned ugly when before class she and the other two member of the Herbology group got into a public argument.. She was so upset at being publicly berated by both of them (though they were also yelling at eachother) that she didn’t even stay long enough for Professor O’Connell to start class. And then she ended up paired with Vincent Bishop for a project in Gemstone Magic, and the two parted less than amicably when he refused to go along with her desire to just sweet talk a good grade from Professor Tavarius. However she did manage to score higher on the potions exam than Hermione.

It wasn’t long before she found herself clashing with Charlie Atherton again, though this time it was at Trevor’s side, and she was content to let him do most of the talking as it seemed the two boys hardly even needed her there to be at eachother’s throats. Trevor and Melody also had an unpleasant encounter with her partner Bishop and Hermione, the noise from which soon attracted Ginny Weasley, and in the worst possible place for a reunion Melody’s old friend from the summers in London, Audrey Micheals. Audrey tried to fathom why Melody was so cold to her, while Melody was busy trying to keep Audrey from letting on that there was a side of her no one at the school really knew.

At last the meeting to return Isis happened, and unknown to Melody Naomi, Dora, and Perrin remained outside the room where Liam and Melody met. She attempted to extract a profession of feelings from him, but got only as much as another kiss before she returned, the owl, and informed him she hated him. He seemed unimpressed by her attempt to strike at him emotionally, but the three girls outside each took their turn to snarl at her and she at them, before they all went their separate ways.

Already up late Melody went to the greenhouse to check on her Herbology project, and walked in on her two partners discussing Trevor. Basil was making an attempt to convince Charlie he was interested in changing, but between the Ancient Runes class and the way they were talking about Trevor, Melody didn’t react well the either of them. After a few accusations flung in all directions Basil pulled his wand on Melody as Charlie walked out. Basil afterwards apologized and tried to explain it was an attempt at deception, but Melody was upset at his treatment of her anyway.

Melody’s attempt to sweet talk Tavarius into a good grade didn’t go as she’d hoped, but he did offer to speak with Professor O’Connell after she told him how upset she’d been with the incidents in Ancient Runes. After Trevor helped Melody chase another fifth year from Reese’s seat at the Slytherin table, further conversation between the two was cut short when Marsailles decided to cause trouble by publicly planting a kiss on Trevor. The incident and his less than perfectly appalled reaction to this from the beautiful Gryffindor sparked something in Melody. The next day Trevor discovered her in his dungeon lab trying on makeup, and prompted an admission from her that she desired those types of attentions from him. She refused to relent until she’d taken a kiss from him, seeing it as her right.

Days of exclusive effort on the Gemstone project paid off, but it was soon forgotten when she found the Ravenclaw Gabriella Westward wearing Trevor’s jacket. When Melody couldn’t compete verbally she resorted to blows, to regain what she was sure Westward had stolen. When she returned it to Trevor however, he informed her he had indeed lent it to the girl, shaking Melody greatly.

She focused her attentions instead on her own dabblings with Tate Harnsang. The evening with his family went well despite the unexpected presence of his uncle. The warmth of his home environment as well as his treatment of her fought hard with her feelings for Trevor, but ultimately she rejected his invite to the upcoming masquerade ball, knowing Trevor would not be pleased if she couldn’t go with him.

This belief turned out to be quite incorrect however. Melody soon encountered Kennedy in the company of Melody’s old schoolmate Rilke Von Ulrich, where Kennedy saw fit to inform her that Trevor had already made plans to go with Gabriella.

Her world turned upside down, Melody went to see Draco: Begin Journal

~*Melody Lestrange*~ | ~Gabriel Archer~ | ~Lucius Malfoy~ | *Kimmy Knightdale* | -Jacob Wrathorne- | #Professor Meridian#