Seven Years, Chapter 4.

AN: None of the characters belong to me and belong to their respective owners. I can't even pretend my main character is an OC.


"So, Harry, tell me about yourself," Merula sighed as she shifted in her seat, watching the distant countryside, untamed like the forests around Malfoy Manor, go by.

The reflection of the small, thin boy paused as he placed one of the flavoured beans in his mouth, his face turning to disgust as he gagged.

"What flavour did you get?" Merula forced back a laugh as she handed him a goblet of juice, the pale boy gasping as he took a drink.

"It's spicy!" the boy gasped. "What do they put in these things?"

Merula blinked as she looked down at the beans scattered on the table. "The flavour comes from the magic. You know that right?"

The boy blinked. "I didn't know that."

Merula shook her head as she fed an owl treat to Cloak, the little bird hooting as it leapt at the treat in her hand. "You should know that. Anyone who's had the beans knows that."

"Is this spot taken?" a voice called from the door of the carriage.

Merula smiled as Cloak gobbled up the treat she had fed him before she turned to look at the newcomer's reflection in the window. And then she felt the smile slide off her face.

The boy who had entered the carriage was ugly, with a large, goofy grin that reminded her too much of Draco's dunderhead friends. And he was snacking on one of her magical beans.

And his robes! Were they... second hand? Or did the standard robe shop sell terribly mended robes?

Merula flicked her gaze back to Harry, now sitting far too close to the red-haired headache. His robes were clean, crisp, and certainly didn't have awkward stitches on the shoulders. Perhaps the plebian robe shop did, in fact, have standards.

Merula felt anger rise through her as the red-haired boy reached for another bean, obscuring her view of poor Harry. The orphan deserved better than the red-headed thief snacking on the beans scattered on the table. "The spot is-"

"Free." Harry interrupted as the thief pulled back from the table, a smattering of beans in his hands. The smile on Harry's face, oblivious to the disgustingly poor bean-stealing machine that sat next to him, made Merula wince.

"I'm Ron, Ron Weasley," the newcomer said as he snacked on another bean, disgust forming on his face as he swallowed the bean. "Yuck. Overcooked cabbage."

"I'm Harry, Harry Potter."

The names repeated themselves in Merula's head as she turned to look at the slender boy before her. The red haired bother was the son of Weasley, the reason Lucius had been so angry that night. The thief with sons going to Hogwarts. The sons that she couldn't show anything to, lest his father come to Malfoy Manor.

And the son of the heritage thief was sitting right next to the Boy Who Lived? Instead of her?

"Those are my beans," Merula snapped. In reality, she shuddered at the thought of eating the risky beans. Maybe she could dump them under Draco's bed at Hogwarts- after she got the heritage thief away from Harry Potter. "Don't touch them."

The red-haired boy chewed another bean in response, and Merula had the strongest urge to hit him with a book, though the feeling subsided slightly when he gagged on the bean. If he choked to death on the train, maybe she wouldn't have to worry about his father coming after Lucius?

"Pepper?" Harry asked the boy.

"Chili," Weasley said as he looked up at Merula. "What's your name?"

"Merula, Merula Synde," Merula replied, inching back into her seat.

Weasley blinked. "I've never heard that name before. Where are you from? America?"

For a heritage thief, Weasley was rather dull- and infuriating. She was special, coming from a pure bloodline dating back generations. And yet he had no idea who she was?

When Merula turned her eyes back to Weasley, he was sitting right next to Harry, as if he was Pug-Face throwing herself onto Draco. And somehow he looked even worse than she did having returned from the little table with his cheeks stuffed.

"Would you like to see a magic trick?" Weasley asked from beside Harry, his voice muffled by what Merula hoped were nasty tasting beans.

"What kind of magic can you do?"

Merula inched closer to the table and window before she slipped a glance up at Harry Potter, the Boy who Lived, and felt a stab of disappointment when she saw interest in his eyes.

Merula sighed as she turned to the thief sitting next to Boy Who Lived, and felt her eyes widen at the wand in his hand. "What are you going to do, Weasley?" Merula giggled at the sight of the so called wand, with its chipped wood and scuffy design. "Is that even a wand, or is that a stick you picked up on your way here?"

"This is my brother Charlie's wand!" Weasley shouted back. "And it can do magic!"

"Do what magic?" Merula barely managed to avoid laughing. "Explode?"

"Sunshine daisies butter mellow turn this stupid, fat rat yellow!" Weasley shouted, pointing his wand at a wriggling shape on his lap.

A small, yellow spark flew from the end of the wand as the small shape jumped away.

Merula couldn't control herself as she burst into laughter. "What was that supposed to do?"

"It was supposed to turn Scabbers yellow!" Weasley protested as Merula looked down at the rat hiding under the table.

"Is that thing yours?" Merula asked as she pointed her wand at the rat.

"That thing's name is Scabbers!" Weasley shouted. "And my brother Percy named him, not me!"

Merula inched closer to the scrawny, rough little rat and wrinkled her nose. "Well, it fits you."

"And what do you mean by that?" Weasley howled, far too close to her ear.

"Your family has no heritage, no history, nothing worth protecting." Merula spat back. "Just like your rat. You don't even have good taste in finding pets!"

"Says who?" Weasley spat, his face turning as red as his thin hair as tiny pieces of bean showered from his mouth.

Merula felt the laugh escape her before she could control herself, "Are you telling me that you don't know your father tries to convince the Ministry of Magic to steal and destroy wizarding heritage? Are you really saying that you're that stupid? Or are you so evil that you don't care?"

"Oh, you're one of them," the Weasley snarled back, his face turning just as ugly as his rat. "One of those pureblood prats."

"And what of it?" Merula shot back. "I don't steal precious things that don't belong to me, not like your father. I don't destroy heirlooms that are passed through families."

"My father doesn't do that!"

"Then why did he try to get the Ministry to do that then?" Merula snapped, a cold satisfaction rising in her chest as Weasley blinked, his jaw falling open, as if he finally understood what his father did. "Why else would father be so angry?"

"My father keeps enchanted items out of the hands of muggles." Weasley said to Potter. "He doesn't go after pureblood heirlooms- except for the Death Eaters."

"You're lying." Merula hissed as she stood up, her hands clenched. "Lucius isn't a Death Eater."

"You lying prat!" Weasley snapped as he turned to her. "Lucius Malfoy is your father?"

"What of it?" Merula snarled as she stepped up, staring down at his hideous little face.

"Look Harry, there's something you need to know about this girl." Weasley spluttered, his ears growing as red as his face. "Her father was a follower of You Know Who."

"He was not!" Merula shouted as she stormed towards the boy lying to Harry Potter. "You're only jealous because he has a heritage you want to steal!"

"Lucius Malfoy is a Death Eater!" Weasley shouted at her, now inches away from her face. "Nobody believes that hogwash that he was Imperiused into serving You Know Who!"

"Not only a thief but a liar too," Merula felt anger in her chest as she turned back to Harry. "And you're a suck up as well. You sat right next to him when you heard his name. Have you no shame? Does the fact that your family doesn't have a history bother you that much that you're willing to do anything to steal the history of other people?"

Weasley's mouth fell open as Merula stood up. "And what do you have to say to that?" she taunted.

"I don't steal things!" Weasley cried out. "And I don't suck up to people! Nor do I lie about being under a Forbidden Curse!"

"Of course you don't steal things. It's not like you can steal heritage from a Mudblood," Merula shot back, a smirk on her face.

"Say that word again!" Weasley hissed as he took a step back from her and Harry.

Merula ignored him as she turned back to Harry, her eyes locked onto his as she grabbed his hand. "I hope the thief didn't eat anything you wanted to eat yourself, but we can buy more when the trolley comes back- after we find another compartment."

Harry was wearing a bewildered expression, but before she could drag him away from the Weasley, a voice, far too familiar for Merula's liking, called from the door.

"Has anyone seen a toad? A boy named Neville lost it."

Merula grimaced as she turned to the door, her eyes settling on the bushy hair of the girl there. It was the Mudblood from Twfitt and Tattings. Just her luck. First a cursed Weasley lying about his father, now a filthy Mudblood. All in the same room as Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived.

"We haven't seen a toad." Weasley snapped at the girl before he turned back to Merula.

"We have," Merula said, a smile coming to her lips as she pointed to the Weasley. "In fact, you're right here."

"What?" Weasley seemed confused. "I'm not an Animagus. Even if I was, I wouldn't be a toad."

"Think about it." Merula enjoyed the words on her tongue. "If you go with her, you won't be at risk for stealing something. After all, she's a Mudblood. She has nothing worth stealing in the first place."

A laugh, even more familiar than the Mudblood, made Merula groan. First the Weasley, then a Mudblood, and now the ferret himself.

"Wow Snyde, I didn't think you could be funny, with your nose buried in a book all the time." Draco called from behind the wild mess of hair coming from the Mudblood. "Still, consorting with a Weasley? How disgusting. Lucius would be furious."

"I'm not consorting with him!" Merula shouted, having the strongest urge to hit Draco with a book. "He came here and sat down next to Harry! I'm trying to get him to leave!"

Merula saw a flicker of light in Draco's eyes as she felt her mouth go dry, her eyes darting back to the Boy Who Lived, sitting in the corner of the carriage. She had said his name.

"My name is Malfoy, Draco Malfoy," Draco said as he pushed the Mudblood aside, a hand stuck out as he reached Harry. "And you?"

Harry Potter looked at the hand for a long second as Merula felt her breath catch in her throat. Was Draco going to steal him right from under her nose?

"My name is Harry, Harry Potter." Harry offered as he sank back into his seat.

"Oi!" Weasley shouted, shoving Draco into the seats, away from Harry. "Back off will ya?"

For once, Merula agreed with Weasley, and she even smiled as Draco scrambled to his feet. Maybe he could go fight Weasley outside, and leave her alone with The Boy Who Lived.

Merula watched Draco pause as he stared down the Weasley, a smirk rising on his face in the split second of silence. "Ah, a Weasley." Draco sneered in the tone he used when laughing at something with his pathetic group of friends. "Father always tells me about how you always have more children than you can afford to feed. And, as it seems, to clothe or bathe."

Merula blinked as she turned to the stunned Weasley, and felt a slight grin spread across her face as Draco turned back to Harry.

"You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter." Draco started, in his polite voice, the voice he used when talking to adults. "You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."

Merula paused for a minute as something clicked in her head. Draco meant the stupid Weasley of course, and naturally the Mudblood he had shoved to the side… but he hated her too. Draco really was stealing the Boy Who Lived from under her nose!

Merula opened her mouth to scream at her brother as she leapt to her feet. If she could drag Draco out of the carriage before he ruined everything, maybe she could explain things to Harry Potter afterwards?

"I think I can tell who the right sort are for myself," Harry started, his eyes dead as he turned to stare into hers. "Thanks."

Draco paused as he clenched his teeth, spinning on his heel as he pushed past the Mudblood at the door, enticing yelps from the idiots in the hall.

Merula sat in her seat for a long moment, a cold, hollow feeling rising in her chest as she looked at the toes of her shoes, the haunting, empty eyes of Harry Potter boring into her mind.

A laugh snapped her out of her daze, and Merula barely recognized it was the Weasley, his reflection in the window leaping all over Harry Potter as a smouldering fire chased the cold in her chest away.

"Draco, you ruined it!" Merula shouted as she stormed out of the compartment, shoving the Mudblood out of the way as she chased after Draco. "Draco! Get back here!"

"What are you talking about?" Draco shouted back as he spun around, conveniently safely behind Goyle by the time Merula reached him. "What did I ruin? Your date with Weasley?"

"Don't play dumb," Merula hissed. "You blew it for me. I had almost convinced Potter before you arrived."

"Convinced him to do what?" Draco laughed as Goyle shoved Merula back. "Be a book eater like you?"

Merula gritted her teeth. "I was going to be friends with him. I was going to get Weasely's claws out of him. And now you blew it."

"Then go back with them," Draco sneered. "You belong together. The golden boy who can't tell who he should be friends with, the rotten Weasley, and a book lover that nobody likes. It'll be perfect!"

"I hate you, Draco," Merula hissed as she turned away. "Father will hear about this."

"What will he hear?" Draco's voice sounded amused. "That Potter is an idiot?"

"You know as well as I do that we weren't to show anything to Weasley," Merula shot back as she turned on her brother. "And now you've shown him everything!"

"What are you going on about?" Draco sounded annoyed. "Have you gone mad?"

"Weasley's father works for the ministry," Merula explained as she rolled her eyes. Did Lucius not explain the danger to Draco? "His sons will run to him and tell him everything about what you just did."

"And then what?" Draco scoffed as he turned away. "Father isn't afraid of Weasley. He's got the Ministry in his pocket. Why do you even care?"

"Because Weasley's father-"

"Draco!" Pug-Face called as she ran into him. "Did you find Harry Potter?"

Draco shrugged as he turned to Pug-Face. "He doesn't have a brain. He seems to prefer Snyde and one of the Weasleys to me. Horrible."

"What a shame," Pug-Face sneered as she glared at Merula. "Oh well, do you want to continue to play Exploding Snap?"

"Naturally." Draco smirked as he turned around. "Snyde, you could join us, if you manage to get your head out of your books that is."

Merula glared at Pug-Face for a long moment before she turned on her heel, storming away from Draco and his gang of idiots. How did she forget her things again?

The carriage was quiet when she opened the door. The Mudblood had disappeared, leaving only Potter and Weasley behind, neither of which looked her in the eye. Dread filled her body as she took the first step forward. So this was it. Draco and a slimy Weasley had turned Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, against her.

"I forgot my owl," Merula growled at her reflection in the window, unwilling to meet the eyes of Weasley as she passed. But when she climbed up, Cloak in tow, Merula slid a glance into Harry Potter's face. Perhaps he had been smarter than she feared.

He was small, with thin, underfed cheeks. But for the first time she really noticed the green of his eyes. The same eyes that glared back at her, the same eyes she saw when Draco blew it for her.

"Why are you looking at me?" Potter asked as he shifted in his seat, his body hostile as he shrunk away from her.

The tiny flicker of hope inside of her died, smothered by the cold in the depths of her was official then. Harry Potter, through the words of Weasley and her own brother, hated her.

"I'm not looking at you," Merula lied, shifting her eyes back to the window as the cold feeling returned to her. Despite the warmth in the carriage, Merula felt the cold seep into her limbs, making every step more painful than the last, especially given the image of the hateful green eyes burning within her mind. "You're not that interesting, Harry Potter."

And then Merula turned on her heel and, to her own surprise, managed to walk out of the carriage without collapsing.


The rest of the train ride had been long and quiet, with Merula finding an empty carriage to read a discarded Daily Prophet, slowly feeding Cloak treats as the hours went by.

It was evening when she stepped free of the train, taking a few, slow steps into the crisp September evening at Hogsmeade Village.

"First year students this way!" a loud voice roared as Merula glanced up. The sudden, booming voice surprised her for a moment before she recognized the tall giant, the groundskeeper at Hogwarts, or so Narcissa had told her.

Merula paused for a second as the crowd of children began to move forward, as groups of students followed the giant along into a cool, wooded area. And then she began to walk as well, following another student as she breathed in the sweet, sharp smell of pine.

"What house do you want to be in?" a voice, somewhere ahead of her, asked.

"My family has been in Ravenclaw for over three hundred years!" another voice declared. "That's where I want to go!"

"And what about you?" the first voice asked, suddenly much closer to her than she would have liked.

Merula swallowed. "My entire family has been in Slytherin."

The boy in front of her dropped his grin, a look of disgust on his face as he turned away. The crowd around him shifted and ran after him, as if to escape her.

Anger, cold and seething, roared to life inside Merula's chest, her teeth clenched as the sight of the boy's disgusted face taunted her. How dare they insult the house of her mother and father? How dare they insult the house of Lucius?

Merula opened her mouth to insult the boy, but found to her disgust that he had disappeared into the crowd of cloaks and giggling laughter. And still Merula pushed forward. Maybe if she walked faster, the day could end quicker.

It wasn't the case, for suddenly the forest path she pushed through ended, and Merula felt the breath escape her. She stood at the edge of a lake, glittering black in the late evening sun.

The scene before her was so wonderful that the hateful fire in her heart melted, and Merula found herself silent as the giant guided her into a boat, moving slowly across the black lake, with clear waters below and beautiful, majestic mountains in the distance.

It was only when she was ushered into the dark, towering castle at the other side of the lake did Merula tear her eyes away from the scenery, stepping to the side as a red-haired prefect urged them to step to a side corridor.

"When will we be allowed to enter?" a voice in their group called.

"You'll be allowed in soon," the red-haired prefect replied, his voice firm as he led the group forward into the school. "Just be patient."

"What happens when we get in?" Merula asked the older student.

"You'll be sorted in there," the red-haired prefect replied as he glanced down the hallway. "Alphabetical order. Once that's done, the start of term feast will begin."

Merula nodded as she looked down at her shoes. "And which house are you in?"

"Gryffindor," the voice of the prefect returned, and Merula felt her heart sink. "The brave and the chivalrous. The same as all my family, well, except for my youngest brother."

"What happened to him?" Merula asked, a flash of panic rising in her chest. If this prefect's brother hadn't been sorted into their family house, could it be possible that she was to break her family's own tradition?

"No, nothing happened to him," the red-haired prefect explained when she looked back up at him. "He's being sorted this year, although I haven't seen him since we left Kings Cross station."

"Where do you think he is?"

The older student shook his head. "I'm hoping the best for him, and that he doesn't end up like the twins, but I worry for him."

"The twins?" Merula asked.

"I have three younger brothers, Ronald, who is coming to Hogwarts this year, and Fred and George. They're pranksters. They do nothing but plan out ways to get at teachers here."

Merula blinked as she thought of Draco scheming. Who would he target? If he found out about the two pranksters, would he sway them to his side like he did the adults and idiots in his life?

"Come along now, the sorting ceremony is about to begin," the voice of another prefect called as Merula felt the crowd behind her shuffle forward in an excited rush. For a moment her entire world seemed to be nothing more than a set of excited children surging forward, and Merula could barely see past the tall, overweight student before her.

"Students!" a woman's voice, strong enough to silence the entire crowd with one word, called out as the crowd froze. "Welcome to Hogwarts."

Merula winced as a student next to her sneezed, the echo of the sneeze deafening as she tried her best to see past the tall student before her, to no avail. Then the crowd rushed forward again, and she was suddenly in the clear. The room she was thrust into was a bright and airy room with a tall, gilded ceiling and bright colours. Blue, red, yellow, and perhaps most beautiful of all, a deep, emerald green.

From the depths of her mind, a memory stirred to life. She had been digging through her mother's old clothes when she stumbled upon a dress of green silk, lined with silver thread. The tapestry she watched was the same, unmistakable green. She could tell, even from so far away.

"Is the song that boring?" an amused voice whispered into her ear. "You're not even looking in the direction of the hat."

Merula snapped out of her thoughts as she spun around to meet the smirking boy.

"Blaise," the boy whispered, a hand extended. "Blaise Zabani, nice to meet you."

"Merula," she whispered back, on guard. Blaise, as nice as he seemed, had Draco's charming smile. And that made her wary. "Merula Synde."

The boy nodded as the smile faded. "Wonder if this song is going to be over anytime soon. I haven't eaten since noon."

Merula blinked as she strained her ears, slightly disappointed that he didn't recognize her father's name.

"Or perhaps in Slytherin you'll make your real friends," the distant voice sang as Merula craned her neck, her eyes narrowing at the strange, worn hat upon a chair.

"That's the Sorting Hat," Blaise whispered when Merula turned back to him. "It sorts us into the houses we're going into."

Merula nodded as one of the students ran forward, her eyes turned to find Draco's silver head somewhere in the middle of the crowd.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, as the crowd thinned out, he went to Slytherin. As did the two walking lumps. As did Pug-Face. On the bright side, the Mudblood went to Gryffindor.

"Harry Potter!" the witch with the powerful voice called as the room fell silent, as every set of eyes fell upon the boy at the centre of the room, stepping forward as Weasley finally let go of the boy.

Merula looked up as the large hat almost covered Harry Potter's entire head, the silence in the room deafening as if the entire room held its breath to learn of the house of the Boy Who Lived.

And then the hat spoke.

Merula didn't even hear the word as the table to her left erupted into cheers, the sound deafening her as the cheers echoed off the walls. She was too busy staring at the Boy Who Lived. The boy who had looked at her with his green eyes filled with hate.

"Attention!" the witch at the front shouted. "Merula Snyde! Merula Snyde!"

Merula blinked as she felt a slight shove from behind, her eyes darting to Blase, his eyes serious as she turned to face the tall woman and the tattered hat.

"Sit down, Miss Snyde," the tall witch ordered as Merula sat down, her eyes closed as she felt the old hat descend on her head.

"Merula, do you prefer Snyde or Selwyn?" a voice asked.

Merula blinked in surprise as she glanced up. Had someone spoken to her?

"You might know me as the Sorting Hat," the voice in her head explained. "Do you prefer Snyde or Selwyn?"

Selwyn? Merula thought back.

"Your mother's family," the voice explained. "Her name when I sorted her was Selwyn."

Merula physically shook her head. No, Snyde please.

"Very well, Merula Snyde. A bit of a difficult choice here. You are brave, yes, but you are also quite cunning. Still yet, you have such a strong desire for knowledge. What shall we do with you?"

Merula closed her eyes again as she gave it a moment's thought. What did my family choose?

"Your family comes from a long line of Slytherin," the hat explained. "Your father, your mother, and your uncle alike. And yet you would, given the chance, become a wonderful Ravenclaw."

Merula paused at the thought of being in Ravenclaw. Perhaps, perhaps she could get away from Draco, if only for her school years.

"How very unfortunate," the hat murmured. "You are not brave enough to face your problems like a Gryffindor. You seek to avoid your problems."

For a moment, the dark memory was unlocked. Her mother, charging at the auror, wand ablaze with green light, the look on her face when he blew her back, her scream as she plunged into the darkness, her face, unmoving on the dark ground below.

"I- I'm sorry for your loss," the voice of the Sorting Hat sounded grim, almost sorrowful. "I am ready to make my choice, if you have no final objections?"

Merula barely heard the distant voice of the hat, the thought of the green dress in her mother's closet coming to mind as she sat in the chair, the velvet green that her mother had loved so much in life reflected in the silk banner hanging from the ceiling.

"Miss Snyde, are you ready for my choice?" the hat asked again.

Make my mother proud then, Merula asked the hat.

From her right, a table erupted in cheers as Merula stood up, still in a daze, walking slowly to the table as she sat down at the far end of the table, away from the crowd of students alongside her adoptive brother, Draco Malfoy.


Even as she lay in bed, her stomach filled with delicious food, Merula found that she couldn't sleep, despite, or perhaps because of, the snores of the girls around her. She was at Hogwarts, the school that her mother had met her father in. Perhaps, somewhere within its halls, she could find something to remember them by, especially given Draco's destruction of her broom. Her thoughts wandered as she lay in bed, her mind still running over her memories of the feast, the beautiful lake, Draco talking about Lucius-

The thought of Lucius brought a spike of energy to her head as Merula sat up, grabbing her shoes as she ran across the floor to the central common area. To her surprise, a pair of students were still awake, and she recognized one.

"Good evening Merula," Blaise whispered as she sat next to him, his eyes still on the set of Wizarding Chess on the table before him. "Couldn't sleep?"

"I'm here to write a letter to my father."

"Father?" Blaise sounded intrigued.

"Lucius, Lucius Malfoy," Merula whispered as she slipped on her shoes. "He adopted me after…"

"I know the story," Blaise explained as Merula felt her voice die. "I'm sorry I had to bring it up."

Merula nodded as she dipped a quill in an inkwell, watching the slender piece of paper she had brought with her. And then she began to write, the words coming slowly as she listened to Blaise play his game.

"Blaise?" Merula whispered as she sank into the chair, the letter and the game both finished, "Could I ask you something?"

"Of course," Blaise replied. "What is it that you want to ask me?"

"Will you help me if I… have a problem?" Merula whispered as they sat alone, in the corner of the Slytherin common room. "The same goes for you too, of course."

"Of course," the distant voice of Blaise replied as they fell into silence.

"Thank you," Merula whispered as she looked down at the letter she had written to Lucius. "I- I guess I'll head to bed then."

"We should do that," Blaise agreed as he stood up. "See you in the morning."

Merula nodded as she watched Blaise leave for the boys dorm, then she turned back to the room where her bed was.


AN: Chapter complete! Apologies for the late chapter. University course selections took much of this last week away.

Next chapter: First class, first duel.