It had been a month, I hadn't said anyother word, I tried but nothing would come out. It's like my tounge had been ripped out. But I don't remember much of the days that followed the horrific events I saw, but I could tell you how uneventful they would of been.
But there's one moment that sticks out in my mind. The meeting with the Diggorys that took place the following morning.
They did not blame Harry nor I for what had happened; on the contrary, both thanked us for returning Cedric's body to them. Mr. Diggory sobbed through most of the interview. Mrs. Diggory grief seemed to be beyond tears.
"He suffered very little then," she said, when Harry had told her how Cedric had died. Like I said, I wasn't talking. "And after all, Amos... he died just when he'd won the tournament. He must have been happy."
When they got to their feet, she looked down at Harry and said, "You look after yourselves, now."
Harry seized the sack of gold on the bedside table. "You take this," he muttered to her. "It should've been Cedric's, Melissa told me she couldn't take it -" But she backed away from him.
"Oh no, it's yours, dear, I couldn't. . . you keep it Sweetie."
I had been spending time away from people, so I was sitting in the courtyard with Blaise and JJ. From what they told me, Dumbledore had spoken to the school that morning at breakfast. He had merely requested that they leave Harry and I alone, that nobody ask us questions or badger him to tell the story of what had happened in the maze. Most people, I noticed, were skirting me in the corridors, avoiding my eyes. Some whispered behind their hands as I passed. Perhaps they were formulating their own theories about how Cedric had died. I had to walk on crutches as so much damage had been done on my leg, it's not to bad after a while though.
As there was no longer a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, we had those lessons free. We used the one on Thursday afternoon to go down and visit Hagrid in his cabin. We I'm talking about Harry, Ron and Hermione.
It was a bright and sunny day; Fang bounded out of the open door as we approached, barking and wagging his tail madly.
"Who's that?" called Hagrid, coming to the door. "Harry! Melissa!" He strode out to meet us, pulled Harry and I into a one-armed hug, ruffled our hair, and said, "Good ter see yeh. Good ter see yeh."
They saw two bucket-size cups and saucers on the wooden table in front of the fireplace when they entered Hagrid's cabin. "Bin havin' a cuppa with Olympe," Hagrid said. "She's jus' left."
"Who?" said Ron curiously.
"Madame Maxime, o' course!" said Hagrid.
"You two made up, have you?" said Ron.
"Dunno what yeh're talkin' about," said Hagrid airily, fetching more cups from the dresser. When he had made tea and offered around a plate of doughy cookies, he leaned back in his chair and surveyed Harry and I closely through his beetle-black eyes.
"You all righ'?" he said gruffly.
"Yeah," said Harry.
"No, yeh're not," said Hagrid. "Course yeh're not. But yeh will be." Harry said nothing. "Knew he was goin' ter come back," said Hagrid, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked up at him while I looked down still, shocked. "Known it fer years.. Knew he was out there, bidin' his time. It had ter happen. Well, now it has, an' we'll jus' have ter get on with it. We'll fight. Migh' be able ter stop him before he gets a good hold. That's Dumbledores plan, anyway. Great man, Dumbledore. 'S long as we've got him, I'm not too worried."
Hagrid raised his bushy eyebrows at the disbelieving expressions on our faces. "No good sittin' worryin' abou' it," he said. "What's comin' will come, an we'll meet it when it does. Dumbledore told me wha' you did. Harry and you Melissa." Hagrid's chest swelled as he looked at Harry and I. "Yeh did as much as yer father would've done, an' I can' give yeh no higher praise than that and Melissa, I'm guessin' it's yeh father as well." I looked at Harry and smiled, Dumbledore had a long conversation with him and we're starting to remember the past we shared.
Harry smiled back at Hagrid. It was the first time he'd smiled in days. "What's Dumbledore asked you to do, Hagrid?" he asked. "He sent Professor McGonagall to ask you and Madame Maxime to meet him - that night."
"Got a little job fer me over the summer," said Hagrid. "Secret, though. I'm not s'pposed ter talk abou' it, no, not even ter you lot. Olympe - Madame Maxime ter you -might be comin' with me. I think she will. Think I got her persuaded."
"Is it to do with Voldemort?" Hagrid flinched at the sound of the name.
"Migh' be," he said evasively. "Now . . . who'd like ter come an' visit the las' skrewt with me? I was jokin' - jokin'!" he added hastily, seeing the looks on our faces.
It was with a heavy heart that I packed my trunk up in the dormitory on the night before my return home. I was dreading the Leaving Feast, which was usually a cause for celebration, when the winner of the Inter-House Championship would be announced, I've never had one before. I had avoided being in the Great Hall when it was full ever since I left the hospital wing, preferring to eat when it was nearly empty to avoid the stares of fellow students. Harry would join me, he'd talk and I'd listen, it felt easy. Must be a sibling thing.
When we entered the Hall, we saw at once that the usual decorations were missing. Tonight, however, there were black drapes on the wall behind the teachers' table. I knew instantly that they were there as a mark of respect to Cedric.
The real Mad-Eye Moody was at the staff table now, his wooden leg and his magical eye back in place. He was extremely twitchy, jumping every time someone spoke to him. I couldn't blame him; Moodys fear of attack was bound to have been increased by his ten-month imprisonment in his own trunk. Professor Karkaroffs chair was empty. I wondered, as I sat down with the other Gryffindors, where Karkaroff was now, and whether Voldemort had caught up with him.
Madame Maxime was still there. She was sitting next to Hagrid. They were talking quietly together. Further along the table, sitting next to Professor McGonagall, was Snape.
Professor Dumbledore stood up at the staff table. The Great Hall, which in any case had been less noisy than it usually was at the Leaving Feast, became very quiet. "The end," said Dumbledore, looking around at them all, "of another year."
He paused, and his eyes fell upon the Hufflepuff table. Theirs had been the most subdued table before he had gotten to his feet, and theirs were still the saddest and palest faces in the Hall. "There is much that I would like to say to you all tonight," said Dumbledore, "but I must first acknowledge the loss of a very fine person, who should be sitting here," he gestured toward the Hufflepuffs, "enjoying our feast with us. I would like you all, please, to stand, and raise your glasses, to Cedric Diggory."
We did it, all of us; the benches scraped as everyone in the Hall stood, and raised their goblets, and echoed, in one loud, low, rumbling voice, "Cedric Diggory."
I caught a glimpse of Cho through the crowd. There were tears pouring silently down her face. I looked down at the table as they all sat down again, Harry grabbed my hand in comfort as I was on the verge of tears.
"Cedric was a person who exemplified many of the qualities that distinguish Hufflepuff house," Dumbledore continued. "He was a good and loyal friend, a hard worker, he valued fair play. His death has affected you all, whether you knew him well or not. I think that you have the right, therefore, to know exactly how it came about." Harry raised his head and stared at Dumbledore. "Cedric Diggory was murdered by Lord Voldemort."
A panicked whisper swept the Great Hall. People were staring at Dumbledore in disbelief, in horror. He looked perfectly calm as he watched them mutter themselves into silence. "The Ministry of Magic," Dumbledore continued, "does not wish me to tell you this. It is possible that some of your parents will be horrified that I have done so - either because they will not believe that Lord Voldemort has returned, or because they think I should not tell you so, young as you are. It is my belief, however, that the truth is generally preferable to lies, and that any attempt to pretend that Cedric died as the result of an accident, or some sort of blunder of his own, is an insult to his memory."
Stunned and frightened, every face in the Hall was turned toward Dumbledore now... or almost every face. Over at the Slytherin table. I saw Draco muttering something to Crabbe and Goyle. He had become very distant to me recently, I don't know why.
"There are two others who must be mentioned in connection with Cedric's death," Dumbledore went on. "I am talking, of course, about Harry Potter and Melissa David."
A kind of ripple crossed the Great Hall as a few heads turned in Harry and my direction before flicking back to face Dumbledore.
"Harry Potter and Melissa David managed to escape Lord Voldemort," said Dumbledore. "They risked their own lives to return Cedric's body to Hogwarts. They showed, in every respect, the sort of bravery that few wizards have ever shown in facing Lord Voldemort, and for this, I honour them."
Dumbledore turned gravely to Harry and I and raised his goblet once more. Nearly everyone in the Great Hall followed suit. They murmured our names, as they had murmured Cedric's, and drank to him. But through a gap in the standing figures. I saw that Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, and many of the other Slytherins had remained defiantly in their seats, their goblets untouched. Dumbledore, who after all possessed no magical eye, did not see them.
When everyone had once again resumed their seats, Dumbledore continued, "The Triwizard Tournament's aim was to further and promote magical understanding. In the light of what has happened - of Lord Voldemorts return - such ties are more important than ever before."
Dumbledore looked from Madame Maxime and Hagrid, to Fleur and her fellow Beauxbatons students, to Krum and the Durmstrangs at the Slytherin table. Krum, I saw, looked wary, almost frightened, as though he expected Dumbledore to say something harsh.
"Every guest in this Hall," said Dumbledore, and his eyes lingered upon the Durmstrang students, "will be welcomed back here at any time, should they wish to come. I say to you all, once again - in the light of Lord Voldemort's return, we are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided. Lord Voldemorts gift for spreading discord and enmity is very great. We can fight it only by showing an equally strong bond of friendship and trust. Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open. It is my belief- and never have I so hoped that I am mistaken - that we are all facing dark and difficult times. Some of you in this Hall have already suffered directly at the hands of Lord Voldemort. Many of your families have been torn asunder. A week ago, a student was taken from our midst. Remember Cedric. Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory."
I was ready to leave, I was just sat in the common room alone, Rosabelle was in her cage by my trunk next to me and I was staring at the unlit fire my crutches down by my feet.
"Mel." I turned to see Fred leaning in the archway with his arms folding looking deeply upset. "We need to talk." I nod and he sits next to me. "I know you've stopped talking so I'll talk while you listen."
I nod, I'm unable to talk no matter how much I try.
"I've seen the way you look at Harry. You've been a lot closer to him, I know it's probably because he's been through the same as you... but if you want to date him instead of me..." I stopped him talking here by sitting on him and kissing him deeply.
"You stupid idiot. He's my twin brother." I say quietly breaking away from him. My throat hurt to speak but the words burst out as of my life depended on them being said.
"You haven't talked in months and the first thing you say is that I'm a stupid idiot..." Fred says. "That's the best description of me I've heard. So you and Harry are twins?" I nod. "Would never of guessed. Melissa Potter." I lightly slapped his cheek. Then Harry appeared. "Speak of the devil."
"Fred, yeah, we're kinda related. And um... well... I give you my blessing to date my sister. But if you do break her heart I will hex you and please keep the snogging a minimum around me." Harry says awkwardly.
"Thanks I think. We've kinda been going out for months now." Fred says. "Who's older?" I point to Harry.
"By an hour." He boasts. "See you later Honey Bee." I shake my head and turn to Fred. I try to speak like before but all that came out were painful noises.
"Don't speak." Fred orders as I get an idea. I take my wand and start writing. 'I would never cheat on you...' "I know that now, I'm sorry Mel."
'Don't worry about it. Now help me up please!' Fred picks me up and helps me stand while I adjust my crutches. While I walk he takes my luggage, he's a proper boyfriend, as we left for the train.
There wasn't a single cloud in the sky as the train left for Kings Cross. Harry, Ron, JJ, Hermione and I had managed to get a compartment to ourselves.
Pigwidgeon was once again hidden under Rons dress robes to stop him from hooting continually; Hedwig was dozing, her head under her wing, and Crookshanks was curled up in a spare seat like a large, furry ginger cushion, and Rosabelle was trying to eat JJ's hair. Around me they talked more fully and freely than they had all week as the train sped us southward. I felt as though Dumbledore's speech at the Leaving Feast had unblocked me, somehow. It was less painful to hear what had happened now. They broke off their conversation about what action Dumbledore might be taking, even now, to stop Voldemort only when the lunch trolley arrived.
When Hermione returned from the trolley and put her money back into her schoolbag, she dislodged a copy of the Daily Prophet that she had been carrying in there. Harry and I looked at it, unsure whether we really wanted to know what it might say, but Hermione, seeing us looking at it, said calmly, "There's nothing in there. You can look for yourself, but there's nothing at all. I've been checking every day. Just a small piece the day after the third task saying you won the tournament. They didn't even mention Cedric. Nothing about any of it. If you ask me. Fudge is forcing them to keep quiet."
"He'll never keep Rita quiet," said JJ. "Not on a story like this."
"Oh, Rita hasn't written anything at all since the third task," said Hermione in an oddly constrained voice. "As a matter of fact," she added, her voice now trembling slightly, "Rita Skeeter isn't going to be writing anything at all for a while. Not unless she wants me to spill the beans on her."
"What are you talking about?" said Ron.
"I found out how she was listening in on private conversations when she wasn't supposed to be coming onto the grounds," said Hermione in a rush.
I had the impression that Hermione had been dying to tell us this for days, but that she had restrained herself in light of everything else that had happened.
"How was she doing it?" said Harry at once.
"How did you find out?" said Ron, staring at her.
"Can we eat her?" JJ asks making us all stare at her. "You know, Hannibal the Cannibal."
"Well, it was you, really, who gave me the idea. Harry," she said.
"Did I?" said Harry, perplexed. "How?"
"Bugging," said Hermione happily.
"But you said they didn't work -"
"Oh not electronic bugs," said Hermione. "No, you see ... Rita Skeeter" - Hermiones voice trembled with quiet triumph - "is an unregistered Animagus. She can turn -"
Hermione pulled a small sealed glass jar out another bag.
"- into a beetle."
"You're kidding," said Ron. "You haven't.. . she's not..."
"Oh yes she is," said Hermione happily, brandishing the jar at us. Inside were a few twigs and leaves and one large, fat beetle.
"That's never - you're kidding -" Ron whispered, lifting the jar to his eyes.
"No, I'm not," said Hermione, beaming. "I caught her on the windowsill in the hospital wing. Look very closely, and you'll notice the markings around her antennae are exactly like those foul glasses she wears."
I looked and saw that she was quite right. "There was a beetle on the statue the night we heard Hagrid telling Madame Maxime about his mum!" Harry says.
"Exactly," said Hermione. "And Viktor pulled a beetle out of my hair after we'd had our conversation by the lake. And unless I'm very much mistaken, Rita was perched on the windowsill of the Divination class the day your scar hurt. She's been buzzing around for stories all year."
"When we saw Malfoy under that tree ..." said Ron slowly.
"He was talking to her, in his hand," said Hermione. "He knew, of course. That's how she's been getting all those nice little interviews with the Slytherins. They wouldn't care that she was doing something illegal, as long as they were giving her horrible stuff about us and Hagrid."
Hermione took the glass jar back from JJ and smiled at the beetle, which buzzed angrily against the glass.
"I've told her I'll let her out when we get back to London," said Hermione. "I've put an Unbreakable Charm on the jar, you see, so she can't transform. And I've told her she's to keep her quill to herself for a whole year. See if she can't break the habit of writing horrible lies about people."
Smiling serenely, Hermione placed the beetle back inside her schoolbag.
"But what if I want to keep her?" JJ asks as the door of the compartment slid open.
"Very clever. Granger," said Draco. Crabbe and Goyle were standing behind him. All three of them looked more pleased with themselves.
"So," said Draco slowly, advancing slightly into the compartment and looking slowly around at them, a smirk quivering on his lips. "You caught some pathetic reporter, and Potter's Dumbledore's favorite boy again. Big deal." His smirk widened. Crabbe and Goyle leered.
"Trying not to think about it, are we?" said Draco softly, looking around at all five of us. "Trying to pretend it hasn't happened?"
"Get out," said Harry.
"You've picked the losing side, Potter! I warned you! I told you you ought to choose your company more carefully, remember? When we met on the train, first day at Hogwarts? I told you not to hang around with riffraff like this!" He jerked his head at Ron, JJ and Hermione. "Too late now. Potter! They'll be the first to go, now the Dark Lord's back! Mudbloods and Muggle-lovers first! Well - second - Diggory was the first."
I stood him front of Harry with my wand pointed straight at Draco. He took a step back, obviously shocked at my turn of events.
"Minnie, what are you doing?" He asks.
"Choosing the 'losing' side. And it's Potter to you." I hiss at him.
"We're related." Harry says. "Twins."
"Fine, you choose the losing side as well Melissa, we'll have no choice-"
It was as though someone had exploded a box of fireworks within the compartment. Blinded by the blaze of the spells that had blasted from every direction, deafened by a series of bangs, I blinked and looked down at the floor.
Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were all lying unconscious in the doorway. Everyone was on their feet, all five of us having used a different hex. Nor were they the only ones to have done so.
"Thought we'd see what those three were up to," said Fred matter-of-factly, stepping onto Goyle and into the compartment. He had his wand out, and so did George, who was careful to tread on Malfoy as he followed Fred inside.
"Interesting effect," said George, looking down at Crabbe. "Who used the Furnunculus Curse?"
"Me," said Harry.
"Odd," said George lightly. "I used Jelly-Legs. Looks as though those two shouldn't be mixed. He seems to have sprouted little tentacles all over his face. Well, let's not leave them here, they don't add much to the decor."
Ron, Harry, and George kicked, rolled, and pushed the unconscious Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle - each of whom looked distinctly the worse for the jumble of jinxes with which they had been hit - out into the corridor, then came back into the compartment and rolled the door shut.
"I heard him speak to Mel and got extremely angry. Exploding Snap, anyone?" said Fred, pulling out a pack of cards and pulling me onto his lap.
They were halfway through their fifth game when Harry decided to ask them.
"You going to tell us, then?" he said to George. "Who you were blackmailing?"
"Oh," said George darkly. "That."
"It doesn't matter," said Fred, shaking his head impatiently. "It wasn't anything important. Not now, anyway."
"We've given up," said George, shrugging.
But Harry, Ron, JJ, and Hermione kept on asking, and finally, Fred said, "All right, all right, if you really want to know ... it was Ludo Bagman."
"Bagman?" said Harry sharply. "Are you saying he was involved in -"
"Nah," said George gloomily. "Nothing like that. Stupid git. He wouldn't have the brains."
"Well, what, then?" said Ron.
Fred hesitated, then said, "You remember that bet we had with him at the Quidditch World Cup? About how Ireland would win, but Krum would get the Snitch?"
"Yeah," said Harry and Ron slowly.
"Well, the git paid us in leprechaun gold he'd caught from the Irish mascots."
"So?"
"So," said Fred impatiently, "it vanished, didn't it? By next morning, it had gone!"
"But - it must've been an accident, mustn't it?" said Hermione.
George laughed very bitterly. "Yeah, that's what we thought, at first. We thought if we just wrote to him, and told him he'd made a mistake, he'd cough up. But nothing doing. Ignored our letter. We kept trying to talk to him about it at Hogwarts, but he was always making some excuse to get away from us."
"In the end, he turned pretty nasty," said Fred. "Told us we were too young to gamble, and he wasn't giving us anything."
"So we asked for our money back," said George glowering.
"He didn't refuse!" gasped Hermione.
"Right in one," said Fred.
"But that was all your savings!" said Ron.
"Tell me about it," said George. "'Course, we found out what was going on in the end. Lee Jordan's dad had had a bit of trouble getting money off Bagman as well. Turns out he's in big trouble with the goblins. Borrowed loads of gold off them. A gang of them cornered him in the woods after the World Cup and took all the gold he had, and it still wasn't enough to cover all his debts. They followed him all the way to Hogwarts to keep an eye on him. He's lost everything gambling. Hasn't got two Galleons to rub together. And you know how the idiot tried to pay the goblins back?"
"How?" said Harry.
"He put a bet on you, mate," said Fred. "Put a big bet on you to win the tournament. Bet against the goblins."
"So that's why he kept trying to help me win!" said Harry. "But Melissa won!"
"So Bagman had to run for it. He did run for it right after the third task." said George, shaking his head. George sighed deeply and started dealing out the cards again.
The rest of the journey passed pleasantly enough; I wished it could have gone on all summer, in fact, and that I would never arrive at King's Cross . . . but as I had learned the hard way this year, time will not slow down when something unpleasant lies ahead, and all too soon, the Hogwarts Express was pulling in at platform nine and three-quarters. The usual confusion and noise filled the corridors as the students began to disembark. Ron and Hermione struggled out past Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, carrying their trunks. Harry, however, stayed put with me, I knew he was thinking what I was.
"Fred - George - wait a moment." The twins turned. I pulled open his trunk and drew out my Triwizard winnings. "Take it," Harry said, and I thrust the sack into George's hands.
"What?" said Fred, looking flabbergasted.
"Take it," Harry repeated firmly. "She doesn't want it."
"You're mental," said George, trying to push it back at me.
"Dude, that's my girlfriend." Fred pointed out.
"You take it, and get inventing. It's for the joke shop. Anyway, it's both our money technically. But Melissa got the choice what to do with it."
"They are mental," Fred said in an almost awed voice.
"Listen," said Harry firmly. "If you don't take it, we're throwing it down the drain. We don't want it and we don't need it. But we could do with a few laughs. We could all do with a few laughs. I've got a feeling we're going to need them more than usual before long."
"Harry, Mel." said George weakly, weighing the money bag in his hands, "there's got to be a thousand Galleons in here."
"Yeah," said Harry, grinning. "Think how many Canary Creams that is."
The twins stared at us.
"Just don't tell your mum where you got it... although she might not be so keen for you to join the Ministry anymore, come to think of it. . . ."
"Harry, Mel," Fred began, but I pulled out my wand.
"Look," Harry says flatly, "take it, or we'll hex you. I know some good ones now and I'm pretty sure Melissa will turn you into ash." I stubbornly stick my tongue out. "Just do me one favor, okay? Buy Ron some different dress robes and say they're from you and Fred you have to buy something extra nice for Melissa." We left the compartment before they could say another word, stepping over Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, who were still lying on the floor, covered in hex marks. You know what, I don't even care...
Fred caught up with me carrying my stuff, well I couldn't leave without him. "Your mental you know that." I nodded smiling. "It's your prize money."
"And I want a pretty present from it." I say cheekily. Before JJ ran over.
"Hurry up! Charlie's ready to go!" She says excitedly taking Rosabelle's cage. "See ya Freddie." She says as they do a stupid handshake before she runs off.
"I'll take your stuff over to Charlie. You say bye to Harry." Fred says kissing my head. So I do, I go over to Harry and tap his shoulder.
"Melissa. Hey, these are our Uncle, Aunt and Cousin. Guys this is the niece you abandoned." The thing with muggles, the spell released pretty quickly so they remember me.
"Hi." I say awkwardly.
"Oh dear." Harry's Aunt says hugging me. "You've gotten so big. I remember when you were a tiny baby." She says weeping.
"Missa come on! I know you love your family and all but we have to go!" Charlie says walking over. "Hi, I'm Charlie. A muggle the kids probably call me." My Uncle suddenly looks impressed.
"Who's this small one?" My Aunt asks turning to JJ.
"Jasmin-Jinx Sun Eyes Shepard, but you can just call me JJ. My family disowned me so Charlie's adopting me." I grabbed her hand.
"Funny, you start off with no siblings and in the space of a year you end up with two." I whisper to Harry. After more talking between the adults and me saying a long good-bye to Fred, I turned to Harry. "I just find out your my brother then you have to go again."
"I know, it sucks. But least we know about each other now." Harry says.
"Yeah, yeah. I know. Well your the biggest misfit I've met." That's when a blind mans guide dog ran over to me and started barking. "Oh shh, it's okay, the trains are loud and scary but there's nothing to worry about."
"You still talk to dogs Honey Bee?"
"Somethings never change Potter." I smile before giving him a hug behind.
You know, everything that's happened to me before, I can't think about. Only my bright future and things ahead of me. You know what, the troubles I've been through It's A Thing Of The Past.
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Honey Bee finished! Ahhhh!
Wow, writing this book has been wow! Really me? All you can think of is wow?
Anyway, the sequel is 'Its A Thing Of The Past'. I was going up do something else but I kinda dig the title.
But thanks to everyone for your support and I'll hopefully be updating 'Of The Past' soon!
Also I do have a cover for it but if anyone would like to make one I'd be grateful!
I'll even create a character for them for the sequel ;)
Bye bye everyone
xxxx