I'm not quite sure when I started to notice her. I mean, she'd always been around, always at the Burrow, always with Ron, Hermione, and Harry. She was smart, quiet, and possibly more of a bookworm than Hermione was. But I never really noticed her until the Yule Ball.

This little fourteen year old girl I that I had glanced upon every so often, this little fourteen year old girl who my little brother Ron had a crush on, this little fourteen year old girl with golden brown eyes, short black hair, and a couple of freckles under each eye wasn't just a little fourteen year old girl. She was mature, classy, brave, intelligent . . . and beautiful. I realized that last part when I saw her at the Yule Ball, dressed in a satin like gold dress that complimented her eyes quite well and clung to curves I never thought a fourteen year old girl could have. Her short black hair no longer seemed tangled, but smooth and velvety, pulled back into a bun to show her lovely face.

And she came with some fifth year Ravenclaw pretty boy.

Well, I suppose it served me right for not noticing her first. I did however, manage to snag a slow dance with her. I told her she looked beautiful and she gave me a breathtaking smile, pale spots of pink popping up on her cheeks.

"Thanks," she had murmured softly. I danced with her until that stupid Ravenclaw guy came back with punch, looking angry.

I watched as he argued something and as she looked confused as to why he was mad. He must have said something that really ticked her off though because she rarely ever got mad. And I saw it all from where I was sitting. One hand went to her hip while the other tightened on the cup of punch. Her eyes flashed menacingly and I saw her lips move quickly before her hand raised and dumped the juice on his head. He stood in shock as she threw the cup down and stormed off.

A smile came to my face. Okay, so she wasn't always classy but she sure as hell was tough enough for me.

I chased after her, calling her name. Melody. It seemed like the perfect name for her, it really did. She stopped and turned, a stray angry tear falling from her eye. She wiped it off her cheek before giving me a weak smile. "Hi, George," she said.

I smiled at her. "Are you okay?"

She nodded slightly before shaking her head. "It just irks me when people think its okay to talk bad about other people, you know? And Franklin said something so . . . horrible – I didn't mean to make a scene, I just – I think I'm going to back up to the common room."

I grabbed her hand as she turned to leave. "Come on and have one last dance with me."

She was about to respond when Ron came walking towards us, looking angry too. He started going off at the mouth about Melody coming to the dance with people who were against Harry or something like that. I saw Melody's eyes flash again and her hand tightened slightly on mine. She stormed off, wiping tears from her face.

I turned on Ron then, saying, "What'd you do that for, you big prat? She was already upset!"

Before Ron could respond I raced up the stairs after her, hoping I could catch her before she got up the stairs to the girls' dormitories. Fred caught me though before I could even get halfway up the stairs, telling me that Alicia Spinnet really wanted to dance with me. He dragged me back down to the Great Hall before I could protest.

That was pretty much the last alone time chance I got with Melody Travis.