Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
────── 〔✿〕──────
xi. ELEVEN
THE FEAR AMONGST THEM
────── 〔✿〕──────
TERM HAD ALREADY started by the time Melora got back to Hogwarts. She was led to Hogsmeade by Narcissa - since being taken to a highly secured school by a hunted criminal didn't quite cut it for them - and had actually entered the building with her Head of House: Professor Snape.
However, it was her aunt who had ever given her the most advice at all, and she seemed to trust her words. After fifteen years of it, that seemed like a reasonable thing to do, at least.
"People will probably act differently towards you once you get back," she said before her professor had arrived. "I should imagine that they've all seen the Prophet yesterday. I'm sure Draco will receive similar treatment, so don't worry too much over it."
She was most likely referring to the fact that her friends would be too fearful of her to continue hanging out with her, or simply being friendly. But, Melora knew that this would not be the case at all. If anything, her friends would love her all the more. Even Ilia, who would probably come across as the most likely to flee.
Her mother's return would certainly clear things up with Prescott, anyhow. If she hadn't been trusted due to conversations with George, and how she'd been someone to disobey family rules, and break apart such a pure and beautiful name, then perhaps having her mother back would settle those arguments. Not properly, of course. But Melora had regained power. She was back on the top of the food chain, and this time, her crown was not going to slip.
"Ah, look. There's Severus," Narcissa said as a tall dark figure came striding over towards them. He was her Head of House, but was also fairly close with her family, as he too, was a supporter of Voldemort. It was him that would escort Melora back to the castle.
She left Narcissa behind as she then hurried after her professor, following him, despite the awkward atmosphere. The only time she'd really seen him had been during Potions classes or in the Great Hall. She'd never seen much of him elsewhere. And the only people that she'd walked around Hogsmeade with had been Ilia, Montague, Pucey and Prescott. To now saunter into the castle with Snape one day late, whilst everyone else was heading to the Great Hall for breakfast after settling in, would be strange.
As they entered the castle grounds and walked their way across the courtyard, several first-years that were hurrying around actually screamed. She looked over at them, worried for what had scared them, but began to laugh when she realised that it was her. She was feared now. She found it amusing, if anything.
There were only a few latecomers to enter the Great Hall for breakfast that morning. There were several people that were sceptical about Professor Snape being absent, too. Silence had fallen as the students waited for Dumbledore to speak, but he did not stand. Confused, they began to whisper amongst themselves, but they were still waiting.
When the doors burst open quite violently, the students hushed and turned their gaze to the entrance. Snape began to stride to the front, where his empty chair sat waiting for him. He didn't glance at any of the watching students as he walked. Melora had walked in after him, and instead of walking between the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables, she veered off to the side to join the Slytherins. The entire time she walked, there were eyes on her. She ignored them, and took a seat beside Ilia.
Nobody spoke after she had sat down. There was not the usual muttering people would get after something interesting happens. They were either staring at her, or the floor. Either way, there was no communication once she had made her entrance. Even the younger students seemed to know what was going on.
The feast began shortly after Dumbledore had spoken to the students in the hall. Ilia and her other friends turned to Melora expectantly, almost demanding an excuse for why she had not been on the train yesterday with their glares.
"Did you not read the Prophet yesterday?" she asked rather casually, serving herself some food. "Oh, for goodness sake, the mass breakout from Azkaban?"
Prescott had also begun to eat at her food, since she'd concluded that the information given would benefit her more than anyone. Perhaps the news of Melora and George had reached the Malfoys, and they had been dealing out consequences. But once she was informed on the real reason for Melora's absence, her fork was sent clattering onto her plate.
"Your parents are-?" Ilia desperately tried to say, her voice a little shaky from her shock.
"Free, yes," Melora nodded. As she glanced down the Slytherin table, there were very few people who were actually eating anything. Most of them were stealing glances at her, or her cousin - who was actually very relevant to the breakout too, since it was his aunt who had escaped - and she was left feeling highly uncomfortable.
"Did you-?" Adrian Pucey began asking, but he stopped, unsure of how to phrase it.
"Meet them? Yes, I did," she said rather proudly. "Well, only my mother. I don't know what happened to my father; she didn't speak about him at all."
Melora wasn't exactly sure how she would choose to describe the encounter, if she were asked the question. She'd known mothers to be more warm and protective, but Bellatrix hadn't seemed to fit those qualities when she had met her the previous day. She thought that perhaps she had been when Melora was young, but Azkaban had changed her personality.
Across the other side of the hall sat Harry Potter and several of his friends. He must have seen the Prophet too, as he also looked apprehensive to Melora's return. The twins were sat slightly further along the Gryffindor table, and both were laughing as usual. George did not look over at the Slytherin table that morning, and Melora couldn't work out if she was glad or disappointed.
She had noticed that Prescott had stayed silent since the truth behind Melora's absence had been revealed. She brought it down to her being embarrassed; after what she had the previous term, hearing that the darkest witch to exist was wandering the streets freely would definitely cause her to cower into a corner. Especially if Melora was her daughter.
"You can stop trying to protect me now, Prescott. My mother will do that part from here onwards," Melora smiled at her, very sarcastically. "But, it was very thoughtful of you, anyhow. It's simply a shame that your suspicions were false, all along."
"You ran out of the hall crying when it happened," Ruth said, surprisingly calmly. "Why would you be distressed over something that isn't true?"
"Because you'd just exposed a false rumour about me to the entire school, perhaps?" Melora replied, her anger staying hidden as she spoke. "It's OK now. I'm sure, what with Bellatrix Lestrange being free from prison and keeping watch over everything that happens to me, that you can relax."
Prescott scowled at her for this. "Of course, Lestrange. I was only doing what I could to help you out."
Melora smirked, satisfied with the outcome of the conversation. She remained polite to Prescott throughout the remainder of the feast, and interacted similarly to her other friends too. This continued, right up until the end, in which they were dismissed. She smiled, and leaned closer to Ruth.
"Have a great time in your detention with Umbridge-" she grinned, a little triumphantly. With Prescott glowering at her, she then added, mocking the girl's smug tone from the previous term, "-Prescott."
Prescott's face was red with rage when Melora left the Great Hall.
