Defense Against the Dark Arts class was spent copying over text from the book, and then copying it over again so they wouldn't forget it. Melissa began drawing rude pictures of Umbridge instead of writing the lines. Draco would occasionally glance over and disapprovingly shake his head, though she didn't care much. The rest of their classes went by just as slowly, Melissa dozing off every couple minutes and playing unrelated games with Cassie—occasionally Tracey Davis would join in. By the end of classes Melissa was ready to be done with the entire day. The amount of homework they had to do was piling up quite quickly, often causing Melissa and Cassie to be up at all hours of the night. However, the girls in the dormitory had taken to working on everything together, which did make things go by quicker.
"I cannot wait for this year to be over." Tracey Davis said as she, Cassie, and Melissa sat down at the Slytherin table—all looking as though they hadn't slept in weeks.
"Next year won't be any easier." Cassie said gloomily, putting her tired face into her manicured hands.
"Oh I'm sure it'll get better." Melissa said as the three of them started to eat their dinner. "Umbridge should be gone by then, so there's a plus." She added with a smile.
"What do you mean?" Tracey asked.
"Defense teachers only ever last a year ever since Potter got here. They all end up trying to kill him." Melissa said with a shrug and Cassie smiled happily, finding it funny at the amount of professors that had tried to kill the Gryffindor boy.
"Cassie," Melissa snapped, shaking her head and disapproval. "That's not a good thing."
"Well, it's not exactly a bad thing either, Missy. That boy is a git and a menace. The school'd be better to be off with him." Cassie said firmly with a nod.
"Please, don't hold back, and tell us how you really feel," said Melissa sarcastically and Tracey snickered as Cassie shot Melissa a cold look.
"Potter's made a mess of this place, year after year," Cassie defended.
"It's not exactly been his choice." Melissa laughed, finding Cassie to be utterly ridiculous.
"Do you fancy the boy or something?" Cassie spat as Draco joined them, to which his eyes coldly fell upon Melissa though she easily ignored it.
"No, I agree that he's a git and arrogant and unfathomably thick, but it's not like he's running about making a muck of everything by choice." Melissa said shaking her head.
"Talking about Potty?" Draco asked as he gathered food onto his golden plate, Crabbe and Goyle sitting opposite him—heaping massive amounts of food onto their plates.
"She's defending the gargoyle," said Cassie quickly pointing to Melissa.
"I'm not defending him all I'm saying is he didn't choose to have everyone wanting him dead." Melissa said, throwing her hands into the air in frustration knowing all too well Draco would not appreciate her view on the boy.
"He asked for," said Draco bitterly glaring at Harry from across the hall. "All of it."
"He didn't ask You-Know-Who to try and kill him, or his family." Melissa quickly retorted angrily.
"Might as well have," said Draco smugly and Melissa's face soon turned a shade of red it never had before.
"And what of my family, Malfoy," Melissa barked bitterly, glaring at the tall blonde haired boy. "Did I ask for it as well?" she asked, gathering all her things and storming out of the Great Hall before he had a chance to answer. He didn't call after or get up to follow her, merely stared at his plate attempting to hide a look of shamed that'd flooded his pale pointed face. Melissa climbed the moving marble staircases to the seventh floor, and waited for a doorway to appear in the wall. She opened the large doors and quickly shut them behind herself. The room had taken to that of the one the D.A. meetings were held in. She walked over to the picture of the original Order of the Phoenix and stared at her. Her mother, Alexia, was smiling happily and proudly beside Lupin, glancing over at James and Lily with a cheerful laugh every once and awhile.
"What are you doing in here?" a voice asked and Melissa quickly turned to see Harry walking into the room.
"I could ask you the same thing, Potter." Melissa said coolly and looked back at the picture longingly.
"I have to plan the next lesson." He snapped walking over to her. "Your turn," said Harry, glancing down at her.
"Lupin lied to me." She said with a bitter laugh and huff, shaking her head lightly. "That's my mother standing next to him." She said, her voice breaking in sadness. "She didn't—she didn't die in some ruddy magical accident, she was murdered." She said, her blood boiling as the words fell from her trembling lips.
"And so was my father." She added, hot tears forming in her bitter blue eyes, but she did not let a single droplet of sadness fall. "They were killed on Halloween. And I don't know why or how, and no one will tell me anything as if it's their right to keep it from me," said Melissa as her fists clenched tightly and the lights in the Room of Requirement began to flicker. Harry looked around the room for the cause and then glanced back down at the breaking girl.
"If Lupin lied, I'm sure he had a reason." Harry said.
"If," Melissa said looking at Harry as though he were insane. "He lied, Potter. I trusted him and he lied to me. I don't care much what reason he had." She hissed sinisterly.
"You aren't the only one that's been lied to by people here." Harry said and Melissa rolled her eyes, not caring for what he had to say.
"It's a different situation, Potter." Melissa said, shaking her head.
"How do you figure that?" Harry snapped violently.
"You are the bloody boy who lived, the one that is supposed to kill You-Know-Who; you have to be protected from certain things that might not be the best for you to know," said Melissa as if it were completely obvious. "I'm just a girl." She said with a shrug. "I'm of no importance to this supposed war that's coming. All I want is to know what happened to my parents, and that's it." she said shaking her head. "It's not fair. None of it is, my situation or yours," said Melissa and looked up at Harry for moment before back at the picture. "But I, unlike you, am clever enough to get the information I'm seeking." She said staring at her mother once more.
"How am I not,"
"You constantly let your anger get the better of you. Your pride is too big to realize some of the people to fight are the very ones that can get you the information you desire." She said, a small smirking growing on her cold face.
"That why you hang around, Malfoy?" Harry spat bitterly. "He can get you what you need?" he said as though she were a despicable person.
"He turned out to be someone I could use, though that was hardly why I started to hang around him, Potter. I'm talking about people like Snape and Umbridge." She said and looked up at him. "Snape is a git but he's a good mate to have on your side. And Umbridge will end up running this school before this year's out, and I have her hooked." She said with a proud smirk as Harry's face changed to a shade of red. "I don't want her running this school either, Potter. Not everything goes how it should though, and it's time you started realizing that." She said harshly and turned to leave the room.
"So you take the easy way out," Harry barked and she abruptly turned around, glaring menacingly at him.
"It's far from easy to watch Umbridge constantly heckle my professors, professors I have a strong attachment to, nor is it easy to sit back and hear people say muggles are filth and that mudbloods are worthless considering my parents are muggles, regardless of whether they are my birth parents, and I am considered a mudblood by some wizards because of who raised me, Potter. No, Potter, it's not the easy way out; it's the smart way of working around the rules so I don't get myself in the bloody mess you've gotten yourself into." She spat furiously taking steps closer, until she was far too close to him for anyone's comfort. She stood like a statue though, immobile as Harry glared down harshly at her.
His face suddenly brought about a sinking feeling in her stomach as the world in front of her seemed thousands of miles away. A woman screaming her father's name filled her ears and the sound of running feet. A never fleeting wave of utter terror swept over her body and it felt as though she'd been running for ages making it hard to breath. Sinister laughs took over the air as her heart began to pound relentlessly.
Harry touched her shoulder, a look of confusion on his face, and she was pulled back into the world in front of her. She looked up at him and took a couple steps back.
"Are you alright?" he asked, though she could hear no more than an echo from him. She hastily tried to piece together everything she'd heard. The voice of the woman, Melissa found comfort and familiarity in it and she looked at her mother's picture for a moment. The laugh, the evil laugh was the one from the nightmare that haunted her every night.
"I'm fine." She snapped quickly, shaking her head to rid the sound of a screaming dying woman. "Watch yourself, Potter," Melissa breathed quietly and looked up at him. "Things are only going to get harder for you." She said, looking concerned a confused, as though the weight of the world had been dropped on her shoulders.
"What do you mean?" he asked slowly. "What do you know?" he barked abruptly, though Melissa did not acknowledge it. She turned back around and left the room, feeling as though she were going to be sick.
***
Note: Things are about to get nasty in the very near future. I hope you guys stay tune to this like the way you do with TCATK. It'll be very much appreciated. <3