A Mind Of Wonders - (Harry x Draco x Melissa)

Chapter 21

Hey readers, I hope you enjoy this chapter and thank you so much for 400 reads! I am ever so grateful! I am going to the shops today to get some Christmas gifts for my friends. I have like 7 days left of school (included a weekend) and then it's finally Christmas break.

1723 words

Melissa's POV

Harry, Ron, Hermione and I are heading to the trapdoor. We met up in the common room.. I'm not going to lie, I don't know what to expect tonight. I have a gut feeling that the three headed dog is the easiest task out of all of them. You could say that I'm nervous, hella nervous. All three of us turn as we hear a croaking sound, busted already? We've barely even got anywhere yet. Harry recognises the frog immediately. Trevor. Ron tries to get the frog to go away but it just stays still. "Trevor shh! Go, you shouldn't be here!" I turn my head to notice that the chair had suddenly moved and someone is sitting in it, the one and only neville. "Neither should you. You're sneaking out again, arent you?" Harry tries to reason with Neville clearly trying to adjust the matter of hurry we are in. "No! I won't let you! You'll get Gryffindor in trouble again! I-I'll fight you." Neville seems to be holding out his fists to fight us. Well I for one was impressed that he stood up to all four of us, his own friends. Now that takes a lot of courage. "Neville, I'm really, really sorry about this... Petrificus Totalus." Neville's body becomes rigid and then frozen.. the weight of him can't seem to stand so he falls backwards onto the floor. Okay I wasn't expecting that, little harsh don't you think Hermione? "You're a little scary sometimes... you know that? Brilliant, but scary." Ron admits as his greatest confession. Harry brings us back to reality on saying we best be off, we all walk besides Neville and whisper a sorry. However Ron has different intentions "It's for your own good, you know."

All four of us are under Harry's invisibility cloak as we walk to our desired destination. Harry and I stood in front of both Hermione and Ron. I have no clue how we all fit under that cloak but I am thankful we do. "Ow! You stood on my foot." Hermione exclaims which results a eye-roll from Harry and a giggle from me. Ron whispers a quiet apology. Oh so that he can apologise for but not for basically implying my father is evil. As we reach the door that holds the three headed dog I pull out my wand and whisper the spell. "Alohomora." As soon as we enter we come face to face with the hideous creature, however it doesn't look so life threatening. It seems to be asleep? "Wait a minute.. he's sleeping." Ron comments, yes captain obvious, he's sleeping. "Snape's already been here. He's put a spell on the harp." Enough with my father already, Harry's clearly obsessed with him. If it's not my father then it's Draco. "Ugh, it's got horrible breath." Ron states. "Well Ronald, did you think it would smell like flowers?" Harry then tries his best to stop our bickering and informs us that we have to move the creatures paw. Which we do and might I say was extremely heavy. I then decide to open the trap door to unleash whatever was in there.

"I'll go first. Don't follow until I give you a sign. If something bad happens, get yourselves out..." That's when I couldn't take anymore of Harry's bravery. "Harry! When are you going to get it into that thick head of yours, we're in this together, besides you can't last 2 minutes without me." I smirk towards Harry. "Does it seem a bit...quiet?" Harry interrupts my train of thoughts, rude. Hermione notices that the harp stopped playing and warns us. Just after.. a drool drops on Ron's shoulder "Ew! Yuck! Ugh." Hang on, that could've only come from one singular animal. All four of us exchanged looks of worry before we glance up above us to come across Fluffy eyeing us angrily, Fluffy starts barking which makes us all scream out of pure terror. We all start to jump through the trap door, me being the first.

We land in some plant that looks awfully like Devil's Snare. I exchange knowing looks with Hermione as I utter the words that I unwillingly want to speak "this is... Devil's Snare.. isn't it? Hermione please tell me I'm terribly wrong!" She tells me that I am absolutely correct which makes me panic but then it hits me. You have to stay still. "Stop moving, all of you, This is Devil's Snare. You have to relax. If you don't, it will only kill you faster." Hermione alerts the boys who clearly are reacting in panic mode. Especially Ron. "Kill us faster?! Oh, now I can relax!" Hermione manages a sneaky smile and sends it over to Ron before she vanishes. I immediately do the same as Hermione without thinking and a mini second later, I disappear too. Which results into Ron and Harry distressing about where we've gone. "Melissa! Hermione!" I hear them shout at the top of their lungs, clearly frightened for their lives as well as ours. Hermione shouts on how the boys should just relax. "Hermione! Melissa! Where are you two?!" Harry questions Hermione's judgements once again. "Do what I say. Trust me." A wind of trust seems to blow past Harry as he starts to relax and falls to the ground where both Hermione and I are standing. Harry's concern immediately goes towards me. "Melissa! Thank god you're okay. You're alright right?!" I nod along to him unable to speak at the current dilemma we seem to be caught up in. Ron keeps screaming for help because he's clearly not calm after what he's just witnessed. This starts to stress all of us as we don't know how to help him. Hermione starts to search in her brain for knowledge on how to help dear Ronald. "Uh! I remember reading something in Herbology. Um Devil's Snare, Devil's Scare, it's deadly fun... but will sulk in the sun! That's it! Devil's Snare hates sunlight!" Hermione whips out her wand and points it into the direction of the Devil's Snare. "Lumus Solem!" A beam of light shoots out of Hermione's wand which allows Ron to land in the exact place we were standing. "Whew. Lucky we didn't panic!" Ron exclaims but just his voice makes me want to slap him. "Lucky Hermione pays attention in Herbology." Harry snaps out of frustration.

Just then as we were about to move.. the air around me sends shivers down my spine. Cold breaths were exhaled from my mouth as I struggled to find the warmth to breathe. All the happiness I had once felt left me. I immediately knew exactly what the next task was. Two black hooded figures come racing towards us.. Harry, Ron and Hermione having no clue what the creature was started to scream for their lives. Unable to find the courage to move. As the dementors were only a few inches away, I quickly point my wand towards the two deadly creatures and shout at the top of my lungs "EXPECTO PATRONUM." A magical beam of light bursts out of my wand, forming into a horse shape as that was my patronus animal. It span around me before shooting before the dementors that tried ever so hard to attack us.

My patronus protected my friends and I resulting in the two dementors to flee from the scene. "Woah!" Was all I heard that came out of Harry's mouth. "How did you do that?! What was that??" Hermione bombards me with questions. I span around to face my friends who had a pure look of shock across their faces. "That was two dementors, creatures that are vastly deadly. A dementor can make you relive your worst memory. A memory that haunts you. It sucks out all the happiness within you. You stand no chance against them unless you know the spell to send them away." Hermione then questions why would they be on school grounds. "I have no clue why they are on school grounds, that part is strange to me, why on Earth would Dumbledore even allow this? Maybe it was because the area is enclosed, I'm not sure." Ron then asks me on how I know such a spell which I gladly return an answer. "I know how to perform that spell because my father taught me how. He taught me many things beyond a first year shouldn't know." Hermione nods to show that she understands why my father would teach such a spell. I dreaded saying the next few lines that I knew had to be said. "You three must go on, I however must stay here." All three of them looked at me as I was deranged, as I was clearly not in the right mindset. "Are you mad?! You must be joking, we are not leaving you here!" Harry exclaimed which the others agreed with him. "Harry's right Melissa, what if they were to come back. What if you're not strong enough to fight them off?! What if there's more than just two of them." Hermione adds to Harry's comment. "Hermione, that's exactly why I have to stay. If there's more.. they can attack you guys and I don't know if I will be able to protect you. This way, I can ensure my protection. It's nothing I can't handle. I have a funny suspicion that it's not my father that you seek to see, Professor Quirrell is the one trying to get the stone. I may not have proof but I have the faith of my father to stand by my word. But I won't keep you for long, you three must go." Harry, Ron and Hermione certainly don't seem convinced that I can handle myself. "I don't care Melissa, we are not leaving you behind." Ron states along with Harry. "You don't have a choice. I will be fine, I can protect myself." With enough convincing on my behalf, the others were able to carry on. However not willingly, they did it for the good of the school. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't fearful for the events that may take place but I know I am needed here, to fight off the creatures that wonder in this world that we call our home..