Chapter 32: Returning Light

By the time classes resumed in earnest after spring break, something had shifted inside me. The edges of Dark Melody had softened completely. The anger, the constant vigilance, the sharp armor I had worn for months had faded, leaving room for something I had not allowed myself to feel in a long time, peace. I stood in front of the mirror in the Gryffindor dormitory that morning, taking a slow, careful look at my reflection. My hair was still the same deep, dark color I had chosen for Dark Melody, but everything else had returned. My robes no longer felt like armor but like fabric I could move in freely. My face, once hard and unreadable, carried the softness of Bright Melody again. My freckles caught the sunlight spilling through the window. My eyes, still bright and alert, no longer glimmered with a constant edge of fury. Hermione peeked into the room with a curious smile. “You look, different,” she said softly. I turned slowly, smiling in a way that felt natural, unforced. “I feel different,” I admitted. “Still me, just a version that can breathe again.” Even Pansy, who had spent months trying to provoke me, hesitated when she saw me in the halls. My presence no longer carried the sharp sting of Dark Melody, and yet the dark hair reminded everyone of the strength I had built. It was a balance. I could be bright without being weak, warm without being vulnerable to everyone’s cruelty. When I saw Draco later in the day near the library, I felt a flutter in my chest I had not felt in weeks. He looked up, startled, his eyes widening for a brief second before a smile spread across his face. “You look, happy,” he said, stepping closer. “I am,” I said, voice soft but steady. “I have missed feeling like this. I have missed feeling like me again.” He reached out, brushing a strand of my dark hair back from my face. “I am glad you found her again,” he said quietly, meaning more than just the girl standing before him. I laughed lightly, a sound that felt unburdened, and for the first time in months, I allowed myself to imagine a future without armor, without constant vigilance. The bright Melody was back, stronger for everything she had endured, carrying a shadow of Dark Melody not as a curse but as a reminder of the battles she had survived. And as I walked beside Draco through the sunlit halls of Hogwarts, I realized that being both strong and bright was not only possible, it was mine to keep.