Despite the misunderstandings from the previous year, Melanie couldn't wait to see Tom again. Her school friends stopped being mean to her because they were scared, but she still wasn't liked because of the same reason. She didn't care much, though. She never cared about having lots of friends.
On the day of Tom's arrival, she wore her prettiest dress. The red one with a bow, that her mother had given her for her fifteenth birthday. And when she saw him in the door, she almost gasped. That's how handsome he looked. Even more than the previous summer.
But Tom only nodded his head at her coldly, without a smile, and then he went to his room.
Melanie didn't know if she should follow him or not. She decided not to. She had her pride.
She thought that Tom should be the one to approach her first and start a conversation. But it didn't happen for the whole summer. He seemed to avoid her and she eventually stopped visiting her mother's workplace.
Tom felt a little bit bad. He knew that he broke Melanie's heart. He saw it in her eyes. And it was a terrible feeling because she used to be his only friend. He owed her a lot. His childhood would be dreadful without Melanie Benningfield.
But she was a muggle. And his new friends - Nott, Rosier, Mulciber, Avery and Lestrange - they had explained to him already how awful all the muggles were. No exceptions.
He even hated himself for being a half-muggle, so how could he force himself to like Melanie a little bit?
Well, he didn't have to force himself. He liked her. But it was something he would never admit and he wanted to stop liking her. He decided that distancing himself was the best idea.
As long as she was coming to the orphanage, it was hard, though. Tom couldn't stop secretly watching her. She was even more beautiful than the year before. She was fifteen already and stopped looking like a girl. She was a woman now with all her elegant dresses, sensuous smiles, refined hand gestures and sparkling laugh. When the days were really hot, she was wearing dresses with big cleavages and Tom couldn't stop staring at her chest. The way it was moving up and down, up and down, up and down...
He hated himself for that.
But she eventually had stopped coming to the orphanage and he finally found his peace.