— ★ chapter four . . . !
" H E R E C O M E S
T H E B R I D E ! "
"MELODY, DID YOU even hear a word I was saying?" Pansy exclaimed from beside the distracted young brunette.
Melody looked up at the sound of the short-haired Slytherin girl sitting beside her in the train cart. Pansy sat leaning forwards toward Melody with an annoyed look on her face. Even though Melody had made it clear that she wasn't paying attention, Pansy still went on about her summer and how horrendous Millicent's new haircut looked on her. But, in Melody's opinion, she thought it suited the girl quite nicely.
Melody sat in one of the train compartments on the Hogwarts Express heading to her fourth year at Hogwarts. Sitting in the cart with her were Draco, Pansy, Theodore Nott, and Blaise Zabini with Crabbe and Goyle sitting beside Pansy scrunched together. They refused to sit elsewhere since all the other compartments were full but mostly because they had found out Melody had some baked goods from her mom. Despite Draco's remarks about not giving the two greedy boys any, Melody ignored him and happily gave the two some. In her defense, it was because they asked nicely.
"Hm? I'm sorry Pansy, I wasn't paying attention. I did tell you I was reading a letter from my mother" Melody spoke as she motioned towards the neatly written letter from her mother in her hand.
Pansy rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest, leaning back. "Excuses, excuses"
"What did your mother say, Mel?" Draco questioned from across the two girls. Once Pansy noticed how Draco's attention went on Melody's letter, she leaned in to take part in the conversation. Melody shuffled a laugh at the sudden change of emotions from Pansy.
"She's just wishing me good luck on the new school year and you as well" Melody spoke.
Melody then perked up once she came across an important detail she was very excited about in her mother's letter. "Oh! My cousins Fleur and her little sister Gabrielle will be joining us at Hogwarts along with their school. They will both attend this year the Triwizard Tournament. Gosh, I haven't seen Fleur in years"
"Who?" Draco questioned with furrowed eyebrows.
"My cousin Fleur? She goes to Beauxbatons. She's from my mother's side" Melody explained causing Draco to nod in understanding.
Melody had never really got to have a close relationship with her mother's side. It was mostly about her father's side and whenever Melody did get to see her mother's family, Mrs. Phoenix always had to bring her to them. The Delacours weren't very fond of the Phoenix family and they never understood why precious little Odette Delacour would've ever wanted to marry Apollo Phoenix.
Odette's parents had complied because he made their daughter happy. But Odette's brother — Henri Delacour — never trusted Apollo. Henri had tried as much as possible to have his sister over so his daughters and her children could play together. Apollo and Henri had never seen eye-to-eye and everyone learned-so after the first and only family reunion that ever existed between the Delacour and the Phoenix's.
"Is she cute? I might just get the urge to meet her" Blaise commented with a sly smirk upon his lips.
Melody glared half teasingly at the boy across from her. "Don't get any ideas, Blaise. That's my cousin you're on about" to which Blaise put his hands up in defense but his sly smirk never left his lips.
"Isn't Beauxbatons a French school?" Commented Theo.
Melody nodded her head. "My mother attended Beauxbatons for her seven years. She was a Delacour before she was a Phoenix after all. I almost went there actually"
"I didn't know you were part French, Melody" Draco said with furrowed eyebrows.
Right after Draco spoke, Pansy let out a dramatic fake gasp. "Wow, some future husband you are, Draco. Poor little Melody doesn't deserve that type of treatment. I'll gladly take him off your hands, Mel" Pansy said as she brought the brunette closer to her side as if to take pity on her. Draco rolled his eyes at this while Theo and Braise shuffled a laugh at Pansy's words.
The thing was, Melody knew that Pansy has had a huge crush on Draco since their first year and was wildly jealous that everyone called Melody the "Slytherin Princess" instead of her. Then when she found out that Melody and Draco were in an arranged marriage in their third year, Pansy became even more jealous — if that was even possible. Melody never minded and always let Pansy have the victory. After all, Melody had never really thought of Draco that way. It didn't matter to Melody if Draco did decide to date Pansy sometime during their school years, Melody would still have to marry Draco in the end.
"Knock yourself out, Pansy. He's all yours. Where are the papers so I can sign you two off?" Melody joked while holding out her hand, pretending to ask for the legal marriage documents. Pansy's eyes brightened and she excitedly turned to Draco, staring at him lovingly. This is when Theo and Blaise busted out laughing, unable to keep it in anymore.
Draco elbowed Blaise's side harshly and leaned over Blaise to flick Theo over the head. The two boys then began to rub the injured parts of their bodies. "Very funny, Melody" Draco said sarcastically but the girl just gave him a grin and looked back at her letter.
Theo cleared his throat and looked toward Melody with a glint of mischief in his eye. "Even if you didn't agree Mel, Pansy would have taken the Slytherin Prince over here at any chance she got. Desperate much?" Theo said causing Pansy to snap her attention over towards him and glared harshly at him. "After all, everyone knows Melody is the true Slytherin princess, and what is the princess without her prince?" Theo motioned toward Melody and Draco at the last part.
Melody lightly kicked Theo's foot in desperation and leaned forward a bit. "Theo, are you trying to get me locked out of the Slytherin common room?" Melody said in a hushed voice while eyeing a pouty yet furious-looking Pansy who was probably already thinking of a way to murder Theo and take revenge on Melody. But all the boy did was smile in victory and lean back in his seat.
"I'm hungry" Crabbe commented from next to Pansy
Pansy rolled her eyes. "Didn't you two just eat?"
"Yeah! But in our defense it was — what? Twenty minutes ago!" Goyle defended while Crabbe nodded his head in confirmation.
Pansy let out an annoyed sigh. "Starve for all I care Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum"
"Watch it!" Goyle said.
Sensing that an argument was going to start if nobody did anything, Melody spoke up. "You know what? I'm hungry too. I'm going to find the trolly. Do you guys want anything?" Melody asked while standing up from her seat.
As each of the boys said what they wanted one at a time, Melody began to mentally note each amount of candy in her head. Of course, at first, each boy said their candy order at the same time to which Melody had to stop them and go by who was closest and farthest. Goyle wanted a chocolate frog, a peppermint toad, a chocolate wand, and a licorice wand. Crabbe wanted the same thing as Goyle but instead of a licorice wand, he wanted a pumpkin patsy. Then Blaise wanted a wand and licorice, Nott wanted a patsy and wand, and Melody mentally noted for herself that she wanted a frog and a patsy.
"Draco? A chocolate frog and a chocolate wand? Do you want to share a Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans as well?" Melody asked.
Draco shook his head. "No, just the chocolate frog and wand, Mel. I don't need you trying to kill me with Bertie Bott's Beans like last time"
Melody let out a chuckle at the memory of Draco having bad luck. He kept ending up with the nastiest bean each time he would grab one from the bag. It was the last time he would be sharing a bad with Melody for a while. "I remember well. I guess I'll just get them for myself then. Pansy?"
The girl dramatically sighed and stood up along with Melody in the compartment. "I might as well go with. It beats being around you lots. Now, hand over your money" Pansy spoke as she held out her hand to the five boys in the compartment.
But all Pansy got was silence from each of the boys as they stared at Pansy in confusion. The girl rolled her eyes at their obliviousness, mentally face palming herself. Boys are such bloody idiots, I swear.
"What does Melody look like? Charity? She isn't going to pay for you all to pig out. Now hand it over" Pansy demanded, raising her voice. The sudden aggression caused Crabbe and Goyle to quickly scramble into their pockets for some money while Theo and Blaise took their sweet time annoying the girl. Draco had already handed Melody the money before Pansy began yelling.
As Melody began leaving the compartment, Pansy was going around to each boy, collecting their money. "So aggressive today, Parkinson" Theo teased with a smirk.
Pansy kicked Theo's shin causing the boy to hiss in pain. "Bite me, Nott"
Before things could escalate, Melody grabbed Pansy gently by her wrist and began slowly tugging her away from the compartment. Of course, Pansy being Pansy, began making dirty gestures towards Theo to which he began to do so as well. Blaise was having a kick out of the whole thing while Draco rolled his eyes at his two idiotic friends. Meanwhile, while Melody was trying to pull Pansy away from the situation, she was also scolding Pansy for such rude gestures.
Once the two were fully out of the compartment, they walked together to go find the trolley. Melody began going over what everyone wanted in her head while Pansy was still pissed off that she didn't go in for another blow to Theo's shin.
"Four chocolate frogs, two peppermint toads, three licorice wands, Bertie Bott's every flavor beans, four chocolate wands, three pumpkin pasties. Did I miss anything?" Melody asked towards Pansy, glancing over her shoulder at the dark-haired girl. But Pansy wasn't listening to Melody.
"I still can't believe you're going to be wedded to Draco in — what is it now? Three years? Merlin, you even act like his wife" Pansy suddenly spoke out of nowhere with her arms crossed.
Melody furrowed her eyebrows with a shuffled laugh. "I do not? Where did you get that from?"
Pansy rolled her eyes. "Oh please, Mel. You're always buying things for him, checking in on him, practically attached to his side, supporting him in everything —"
"You do keep in mind that we are still only fourteen, right?"
Pansy continued. " — giving him your opinion on things, have deep and meaningful conversations, help with his homework, always making sure he's not too cold and not too hot, feed him —"
Melody let out a sudden burst of laughter, amused by Pansy's words. "When have you ever seen me feed Draco? Don't you think that would be a hilarious sight to see?"
Pansy ignored Melody and continued to finish her list. " — and go on vacations together with his family. Now, what do you call that?" Pansy asked, stopping the brunette from continuing to walk ahead of her in the middle of the train.
"A good close friend?" Melody said questioningly with a shrug of her shoulders.
Pansy looked at Melody as if to say are you dumb? before they both continued to walk ahead. "If that's what you want to call it. But for me, I call it clingy girlfriend with a hint of arranged marriage"
Melody halted in her tracks before whipping around to look at Pansy. But Pansy didn't look at Melody, but instead nonchalantly picked at her nails with a bored expression on her face. Now, Melody wasn't dumb and she knew that Pansy was only doing this because she wanted to get a reaction out of her. Well, more like a confirmation that Melody secretly liked Draco. Despite Melody always telling Pansy that she didn't like Draco in that sense, she didn't believe it.
Don't get Melody wrong, once upon a time, the brunette did think Draco was cute and had a small crush on him. How could she not? After all, they were always together because of their parents and he was raised to prepare for marriage to the Phoenix's daughter. So there were times Draco would do sweet little gestures for her and hold her hand when they were kids. Like when Draco had given Melody a teddy bear to help her with her fear of the dark for her birthday. The girl had practically swooned, but then they got older and realized reality.
"Girlfriend? Who says anything about me being his girlfriend? He's been my best friend since we were babies, Pansy" Melody defended with a little tint in her cheeks that shamelessly made Pansy's a little irritated when she had glanced over at the brunette.
After a moment of silence, Melody cleared her throat and turned back around to continue their task. But Pansy's words kept replaying in her mind over and over again. The sweet girl began to overthink everything when it came to Draco. Did I really act like his girlfriend? No! That's preposterous!
"When did you have time to observe this stuff?" Melody spoke up after a few moments.
"I'm a very observant person" Pansy said in a matter-of-fact tone as she continued to follow. "Melody Anne Malfoy, hm. Don't you think Pansy Priscilla Malfoy has more of a ring to it?"
But Melody wasn't listening to Pansy, she was still overanalyzing things in her mind. Sure, it looked like she was Draco's girlfriend sometimes and she was always around his family. Plus they hung out a lot but these things were only because her family trained her since childhood for becoming Draco's wife. It's just how she was around him.
"I'm not clingy, am I?" Melody asked more to herself.
"I don't know, are you?"
Melody shook her head. "No, I'm not"
Pansy smirked from behind Melody. "Whatever gets you to sleep at night" but as Melody glanced over her shoulder at Pansy, the Slytherin girl's smirk dropped at what was in front of them.
Pansy rolled her eyes and a look of disgust appeared. "Oh god, it's Weasley and Potter"
Melody and Pansy both stopped in their tracks and looked ahead to see Harry and Ron standing just a bit outside their compartment talking to the trolly lady as they bought candy. Melody's breath hitched in her throat and her cheeks started to become redder at the sight of Harry again. Melody hasn't seen or talked to Harry since the night of the World Cup.
"Just be patient, they will go back into their compartment in a second" Melody spoke with a shrug of her shoulders, trying to move her flushed face away from Pansy's sight. She knew that Pansy would instantly tease and drill her with questions once she sees her reaction.
Pansy let out an annoyed grumble, resting her shoulder against the nearest wall in wait. "You ask too much of me, Mel"
Melody and Pansy both stood a bit off to the side, waiting for Ron and Harry to be finished ordering and paying for their treats. Melody couldn't help but gaze at the side of Harry's face as he let loose a boyish smile, racking his eyes over the treats in thought. A giddy smile begins to slowly creep onto Melody's lips without her knowing. But the girl snaps her head over to Ron as his voice causes her ears to perk up.
"A packet of droobles and a licorice wand" Ron spoke as the trolley lady began gathering the treats he wanted. Once Ron realized how much money he had and how he didn't have enough for everything. Melody frowned a bit at this and felt a small tug on her heart. "On second thought, just the droobles" with that Ron grabbed his candy and went back inside the compartment.
Just as Melody and Pansy were about to approach the trolley, a pretty girl with long ebony hair approaches the cart with two other girls. Melody recognized her from anywhere, Ravenclaw Cho Chang. Pansy let's put a frustrated sigh. "Now Chang shows up? You owe me big time for being in her presence, never mind Weaselbe and Potter" Pansy spoke while crossing her arms over her chest.
"Two pumpkin pasties please" Cho spoke in a sweet voice as she gives the money to the trolley lady. From behind Melody, Pansy begins to mock Cho quietly in a high-pitched tone of voice.
A part of Melody didn't mind that Pansy was mocking Cho. The reason being was because once Cho said what she wanted, she glanced over at Harry with a flirty glint in her eye. Harry looked over at her and her friends begin to giggle a bit and nudge Cho. A blushing Cho and her friends then walk away from the trolley with Harry watching them walk away.
Melody took this as her cue to walk toward the card. "I think you'll live, Pansy. Now, what do you want?" Melody asked as she gestured for Pansy to follow her.
"A chocolate frog and a peppermint toad" Pansy spoke to which Melody looked over to her with a knowing look.
Pansy rolled her eyes. "Please" once Pansy said those two words Melody smiled and nodded her head.
The trolley lady looked over at the two girls approaching the cart and smiled warmly at them. "Anything from the trolly dears?" The trolley lady spoke causing Harry's attention to go to Melody and Pansy to the left of him.
"Five chocolate frogs, three peppermint toads, four licorice wands, Bertie Bott's every flavor beans, six chocolate wands, three pumpkin pasties, and a packet of droobles" Melody spoke in a kind voice, listing off her friend's treats she made a mental note of.
The trolley lady looked at Melody with wide eyes for a second but let out a laugh. "Oh dear, that's a lot of treats. You and your friends must have a large sweet tooth"
Melody smiled sheepishly at the women as she took out hers and Draco's money. "Sorry about that"
"Not at all dear, not at all!" The trolley woman spoke as she took the money from Melody and Pansy, counting it out before gathering all the treats Melody listed off.
A silence settled among the four as Melody kept glancing over at Harry while the boy stood at the trolley, not knowing what to say.
"Hi, Harry" Melody suddenly greeted causing Harry to fully look at the sweet girl in front of him. But this also caught Pansy's attention, causing her to look back and forth between the two with furrowed eyebrows.
"Melody, hi, um. . . .how's the cheek?" Harry spoke with a mix of concern and a small stutter in his voice. Gosh, he's so cute. Not now!
Melody touched the right side of her face lightly as her face grew hotter. "It's getting better. It's healed almost completely. Thank you for asking"
Harry nodded his head with a soft smile. "Not a problem"
Just then, the trolley lady gave the two girls three small brown paper bags of candy. Melody took two and Pansy took one. While Pansy began digging for her chocolate frog and peppermint toad, she kept a suspicious eye on Melody and Harry. Just as Harry was about to walk back into the compartment while the trolley lady walked away, Melody stopped him.
"Wait, Harry! These droobles are for Ron, I felt bad" Melody spoke in a hushed voice while digging into one of the bags to pull out a packet of droobles. She then handed them to Harry causing their hands to lightly brush against one another. A small amount of electricity could be felt from both of them. But they both ignored it. Melody leaned in a bit closer to Harry so Ron wouldn't hear. "Don't tell him they are from me though, he might not accept them"
Harry cleared his voice awkwardly at the sudden closeness between the two. Melody let out a small giggle and leaned away from Harry. "Of course, yeah. I'm sure he would say it was much appreciated" Harry said as he watched Melody's every move, not even noticing Pansy behind her until the last moment.
Once Melody nodded and turned away to start heading back to the compartment, Harry watched as she walked away with a dazed smile. But this dazed smile of his quickly was erased from his face once he saw Pansy looking back over at Harry while following Melody. Pansy glared harshly at Harry before turning back around.
"Please say you put a spell on those droobles or something, Mel" Pansy spoke from over Melody's shoulder. But Melody didn't say a word, knowing that she was in for it when she got back to the compartment. But the brunette hoped that her friend wouldn't say anything to the boys. Pansy let out an annoyed mumble under her breath before it turned into silence, walking closer and closer to the compartment.
Once they reached the compartment and opened the sliding down, both Crabbe and Goyle were on them like flies. "What took you two so long?" Crabbe spoke up.
"Yeah, we're starving over here" Goyle followed catching the other three boy's attention.
Pansy rolled her eyes. "Then you two pigs could have bloody gotten up and gone yourselves" Pansy spoke while practically throwing one of the candy bags to the two boys. The bag of candy hit Crabbe's chest harshly but the two boys began digging into the bag. Theo quickly snatched the bag from them to make sure he got his treats. During this Melody was handing out the treats to each of the boys from the two bags in her hand.
"What's wrong with you, Parkinson? Got your panties in a knot?" Blaise spoke in a teasing tone while accepting the wand and licorice candy Melody began handing him.
Draco noticed this and grabbed the bag from her. He grabbed out her candy and gave them to her. Draco gave her a reassuring nod and told her quietly that he'd take care of the rest. Melody said a small 'thank you' to him with a smile.
Pansy scoffed. "Piss off, Blaise. I've had it with you and Theo" Pansy pointed her finger at the two before sitting back in her seat, crossing her leg over the other.
Once Melody grabbed her frog and patsy, she sat back beside Pansy. Pansy looked over at Melody as she began eating her chocolate frog while observing nature's beauty from the compartment window. Pansy only saw the back of Melody's head but still gave it a small glare before turning back over to the boys.
"The reason why we took so long was that Melody was talking with Saint Potter. The two had quite a chat" Pansy spoke with a mischievous look in her eyes. A small smirk itching to let loose from the corner of her lip.
Once Melody heard this, she continued to look out the window as the trees of green and clear waters passed by quickly before her eyes. She knew she should have gotten comfortable talking to Harry, especially with Pansy there to blab about it. Melody could feel a heavy silence wash over the group and eyes from all around boring into her figure. Melody let out a small sigh before speaking.
"Could you all please stop looking at me like I committed a crime" Melody pleaded as she turned her head to see all eyes on her. Each one of her friends at the same look of disgust. But once Melody turned her attention to Draco's, it was a look of betrayal with furrowed eyebrows.
"What were you doing talking with Potter, Mel?" Draco spoke with venom in his voice, leaning forward towards Melody.
"This should be interesting" Theo spoke with a smirk as he, Blaise, and Pansy both leaned back in their spots. They watched as the show went on.
Melody let out a sigh before shaking her head. "All he said was hi, Draco. That's it. What was I supposed to do? Ignore him?"
Draco quickly spoke right after her. "That's exactly what you were supposed to do. You shouldn't even be around the likes of Potter. You just might catch a disease" Draco said.
Pansy instantly perked up. "Oh, he said more than just a greeting"
"Pansy" Melody warned in a hushed and hurried voice indicating for Pansy to stop. But Pansy didn't stop at all, in fact, it just fueled the dark-haired girl.
"How's your cheek Melody? I hope it's healing well. Oh, Melody, kiss me" Pansy said in a mocking high-pitched tone. She ended her sentence with a laugh at the conversation Melody and Harry had previously. "It was sickening, I wanted to throw up right then and there"
Melody leaned back in her spot in defeat. She knew she was in for it indefinitely once she saw that burning look in Draco's eyes. "Wait for a second, how does he know about what happened to you at the World Cup?" Draco questioned suspiciously. At this point Blaise, Theo, Crabbe, and Goyle were all watching from the side while munching on their candy.
"He doesn't know. Harry only noticed the bruise and was just being polite. That's a thing you know, being nice" Melody defended.
Draco let out a small humorless chuckle. "I doubt that coming from Potter. If you're not praising him for being 'the boy who lived' then he wouldn't glance at you" Draco spoke with hatred laced in his voice. The platinum blonde paused for a moment before looking back over at Melody with suspicion. "You never actually told me what had happened before I found you wondering the camping grounds the night of the World Cup"
Melody knew Draco would catch onto the small holes in her story from when she got separated at the World Cup. It was inevitable but she wasn't expecting him to start questioning her now. She couldn't exactly tell him that she found Harry and she stuck with him until the end. That would make Draco go ballistic and she wouldn't be able to go near the Gryffindor table ever.
Melody nodded her head quickly. "Yes I did, Draco. I told you that I was knocked out from the crowd and that's how I got this bruise. When I woke up everyone was gone and I found you" Melody said. The brunette knew that no matter what this wasn't going to be the end of that conversation. Melody knew that Draco was going to keep drilling her for an answer or give her a look for the rest of the day. So while Draco started to come up with what to say, Melody began putting her candy back into the brown bag and stood up.
"You expect me to believe —" Draco was cut off by Melody.
"We'll be arriving at Hogwarts soon. We should change into our school robes. Pansy, come with me please" Melody spoke in a hurried tone of voice. She began rummaging in her bag for her uniform. Melody wanted to get out of that compartment and away from Draco as fast as possible. She needed to clear her head instead of getting into another argument with Draco.
"But my chocolate frog and peppermint toad! Crabbe has been eyeing them both ever since I started eating them!" Pansy whined just as Melody grabbed onto Pansy's wrist. Crabbe gave Pansy an offended look.
"I'll buy you more" Melody spoke as she tugged on Pansy's wrist, indicating for her to stand before Melody practically dragged Pansy out of the compartment. The boys watched in confusion as Melody dragged Pansy out with Draco wanting to protest.
"Ow! Watch it, Mel" Pansy shrieked, snatching her wrist out of Melody's grip. Once they got a bit away from the compartment, Melody snapped her attention towards Pansy.
"Why would you do that?" Melody spoke with a bit of anger and betrayal laced in her voice.
Pansy looked at Melody with wide eyes in disbelief. "Me? What about you? What were you doing being all nice and sweet to Potter anyways? He's the enemy, Mel. Him, the mudblood, and Weaslbe"
Melody furrowed her eyebrows. "All because they are Gryffindor? Don't you think that's a bit ridiculous" Melody said.
"It's because they believe they are better. They make us Slytherin look like vile scum, Melody" Pansy spoke as she used her hand to move back and forth between the two girls.
Melody gave Pansy a look. "That is Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle's fault"
Pansy rolled her eyes before stepping closer to Melody. She grabbed onto Melody's shoulders before speaking in a hushed tone. "Gryffindor's house is filled with blood traitors, remember that Mel. They are the worst and Slytherin is the best house there is"
Melody raised her eyebrows. "That's debatable," Melody said in a small challenging tone. Both girls suddenly went quiet when two Slytherin students brushed past them. The two girls nodded toward the two familiar classmates before looking back over at one another.
"All I know is that if I was sorted into Gryffindor — hell, even Hufflepuff — I would leave and never come back. It's truly embarrassing. I wouldn't blame my parents for disowning me" Pansy shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly before leaning against the wall behind her. Pansy didn't know how much her words affected Melody. Pansy knew what she said was wrong at first but she just wanted to get a jab at Melody. She didn't realize how deep she stabbed the knife into Melody's chest before it was too late.
Melody looked at Pansy in shock and tears welling up in her brown eyes. She took a step back from her Slytherin friend, a deep frown resting on her lips. Melody had come to Pansy a few times about her disowned brother and how much she missed him. Despite Pansy being a very rude and sly girl, she was still there for Melody. Deep down she had a soft spot for the bright and cheerful girl. So Pansy always stopped and listened to whenever Melody came to her about certain troubles.
Melody gave Pansy a look only Melody could achieve perfectly, the look of a kicked broken puppy. "Thank you, Pansy. I appreciate that"
Realization quickly dawned on Pansy causing regret to form. "Melody I —" Pansy began to speak but Melody quickly walked past her before she could utter another word.
Pansy kicked the wall behind her in anger. "Fuck" Pansy cursed under her breath before chasing after the brunette. As some Slytherins watched the two, Pansy gave them each a dirty look to which they each looked away minding their own business.
As Melody began to reach the compartment with her robe in hand and Pansy in tow, she quickly wiped the under of her eyes. She didn't want any of the boys to see her crying or upset. Melody honestly didn't need any more questions from anyone, she just wanted to be by herself for the remaining time until they get to Hogwarts. She didn't even really know how she got into the position in the first place. That's right, it was all because she wanted to be kind and greet Harry. That's all she did and it just upset her Slytherin friends. She couldn't help that she was generous and caring. Okay, maybe she also wanted to talk to Harry. But what was the problem in doing just that? Nothing at all.
As Melody opened the compartment door, all eyes were on her again. Melody gave the boys a fake smile before grabbing the letter from her mother on the seat. If anything was going to calm her down it was her mother's gentle words. "I'll be right back, I need some air" Melody said to her friends but mostly turned her words towards Draco.
Draco looked at his best friend in confusion and slight worry. He wasn't stupid. Draco saw the small redness in her doe eyes, the fake smile, and the barely noticeable tear trail on her cheek. Before anyone can utter a single word, Melody booked it to the compartment door where Pansy stood. Pansy spoke Melody's name in a soft tone but Melody still walked away in the other direction.
"What did you say to Mel, Parkinson?" Blaise questioned while Draco looked at Pansy with the same question on his mind.
Pansy let out a noise of frustration before stomping off to her seat next to Crabbe and Goyle in defeat."Nothing, just sod off" Pansy exclaimed, snatching her chocolate frog out of Crabbe's hand before he could take a single bite.
Melody searched down the Slytherin compartment section of the Hogwarts train. All she wanted was to find an empty compartment she can sit in. Even if there were one to two people in the compartment, she'd take it. Melody needed to clear her head and get rid of the stressful thoughts overpowering her mind. Melody didn't need nor want them. Especially the thoughts about her brother, Orpheus. She missed him so dearly and hadn't seen him for a very long time. Once Melody luckily found an empty compartment, she opened the door before shutting it. Then the brunette stands down in the compartment in complete silence. The only sound was the muffled laughter and talking from Hogwarts students outside her compartment.
At that moment, Melody finally let loose the tears that threatened to leave her eyes. The kind and soft girl let out a small sob before quickly wiping her eyes just in case anyone walked by and noticed. But that didn't help, if anything her efforts to dry her eyes made her cry even more. Her chest began to ache and her tears began making small wet drops on the envelope that enclosed the letter. Melody never minded Pansy and thought of her as a very close friend. She knew how Pansy could be sometimes but this time she hurt Melody. Pansy went too far.
Melody can take the jealousy, she can take the bitterness, she can take the sarcastic remarks, and she can take the attitude. But Melody couldn't take Pansy this time. Melody looks down at the envelope in her grasp before opening it once again. As Melody began drying her tears with one hand while pulling out the letter with the other, she began to get a little clumsy. A piece of folded paper slipped out from behind the letter and tumbled to the floor below her.
Melody sniffled before setting down the envelope and letter beside her, bent down, and picked up the folded piece of paper. Sitting upright, Melody began unfolding the piece of paper to reveal a newspaper clipping from the Daily Prophet. Melody furrowed her eyebrows in confusion at the insignificant words of the newspaper clipping before turning it around. Melody's eyes widened in a mixed emotion of surprise, happiness, and shock at the newspaper clipping. Her mother must have cut out the piece from the Daily Prophet and slipped it into the letter before her father could see. A small sad smile started to form on Melody's lips and she hugged the newspaper clipping to her chest.
On the single newspaper clipping was an article with a moving repeated picture of a man and a woman holding each other from the side. They both looked at each other with adoring looks before looking forward again at the camera with joyful smiles. The woman had beautiful long blonde hair and light kind eyes from what Melody could tell from the black and white-colored photo. Her left hand was being held onto by the dark brunette-haired man who looked very much joyed and ecstatic. On the blonde woman's left ring finger sat a gorgeous shimmering engagement ring.
SOON TO BE WED:
Auror Orpheus Phoenix proposes to now fiancée Lyra Moody — daughter of infamous Auror Alastor Moody.