Melissa Kane sighed as she packed up her few possessions, and prepared to depart. Honestly, there wasn't much here, for her at Hogwarts. She had learned a lot, and that was pretty good, but what few friends she had made had either left, or had moved on with their own lives.

Sierra had her boyfriend(s), and her work at the orphanage. Seril, her own cousin, hated her guts. Kalara had Drado. Nina seemed to tolerate Mel's presence to a degree, but was not a friend. Mel found her to be positively scary due to experiencing the sting of the pink-haired girl's temper. Liss had changed ever since the attempt upon her life. She was another person that Mel found a bit scary if not a tad evil.

On the whole it seemed that her presence was merely tolerated. Nobody actively sought her out. If she happened to be nearby, then she'd be invited along on an excursion, but she'd end up feeling like a fifth wheel before the night was over.

So Mel was leaving. Maybe living out in the real world would help things. Even so, she would be meeting more people, and possibly selling some of her works, while continuing to learn how to add magic to her painting. A practical education, if you will.

She picked up her bag, and made her way out of the dorms, and out of Hogwarts itself. Nobody seemed to notice her. Nobody would miss her.

It had only been six days, and Melissa was already in trouble. She was well acquainted with the trope of "Starving artist", and now she was living it.

She'd been selling sketches to muggles, because wizards weren't interested in paintings that didn't move.

Melissa was homeless. Her money had run out.

The sketches were not something she could draw, and make a lot of money, so now she slept on the street. She was realizing that this was a mistake. She got up, and started to slowly make her way back to the wizarding world. She still had some wizard money, and could go back. She also still had her wand.

She'd go back, with her tail between her legs.

Mel awoke, groggy and somewhat disoriented. She hated when she had one of /those/ dreams.

They always tired her out, nocturnally. But then pleasing two people at once, even in dreams was exhausting.

Ever since she had dated Angerona, Melissa's dreams were particularly vivid, and realistic. Because of this, any dreams that she had involving the more physical side of affection ended up making Mel tired and irritable.

Why did she have such fantastic taste in women? It seemed that Mel's heart yearned for the people who would, more than likely, hurt her the most.

Melissa Kane was starting to look a little frayed around the edges. She had dark circles under her eyes, and seemed perpetually groggy, but when she seemed to drift off for a brief nap, she would wake up, abruptly, muttering something about never having that dream again.

In addition, Mel seemed to be avoiding the Slytherin Prefect, Liss Crest; and the Hufflepuff, Nina Hymndust as if her very life depended upon it. Whenever she spotted them, she either went the opposite way, or stayed hidden. Anybody spotting her would notice a look of guilt present on her features, when Nina and Liss were in the area.

Melissa's sad tale comes to an end with a sad parting.

Due to the attacks on the school, Mel was taken back to America.

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