Seven Years Chapter 11.
AN: No, don't own the IP. Cue half-forgotten statement about copyright law.
"Merula?"
Merula jerked up at the question as her heart leapt into her throat. Nobody talked in the library, and certainly nobody at Hogwarts called her by her real name.
The exception to the rule, as it so happened, was Harry Potter, the closest thing she had to a friend, especially since Blaise had gone back to ignoring her. But why was it that she couldn't see Potter?
"Potter," Merula muttered, glancing around the quiet, otherwise unoccupied table, wondering where the voice of Potter was coming from. "What do you want?"
"I just have a question," Potter said as he suddenly appeared next to her, almost causing Merula to scream. "Does the name Nicholas Flamel mean anything to you?"
"Nicholas Flamel," Merula repeated the words slowly as she tried to maintain a neutral face, even though she wanted to hex Potter for scaring her. "No, I don't think I've ever heard that name before."
Potter looked disappointed, as if Merula was supposed to be a walking library. "I see. Well, thanks anyways."
"Is there a reason you wanted to ask me?" Merula asked as she stood up from her seat, the floating head of Potter distracting her from her book. "And where did you hear of this Flamel anyway?"
Potter looked uncomfortable for a moment before he continued in a very quiet voice. "It has something to do with the monster we saw."
"The night with Draco?" Merula felt her jaw drop.
"Not so loud!" Potter sounded nervous as he glanced around them. "I'll explain somewhere else."
"The unused classroom then," Merula muttered. "Nobody is going to be there."
Potter gave the library a quick glance before he raised his arms, revealing his body under a glimmering invisibility cloak.
Merula took a deep breath as she dove under the cloak, and felt satisfaction when she couldn't see her arms or legs with the cloak covering them. She was liking being invisible already.
It was a lot nicer to walk under the cloak, Merula decided as she walked with Potter down hallways that she usually avoided. For the first time at Hogwarts, she could walk past other students she didn't like and not get dirty looks.
She wondered who had gotten Potter the cloak. Almost certainly the Weasley twins. They were the only ones who loved wreaking havoc enough to come up with such an idea. And yet the cloak was soft and warm, and of significantly better quality than what Merula expected a Weasley to make.
But the warmth only extended so far, because Merula felt immense disappointment when Potter folded the cloak into his arms once they reached the abandoned classroom. Almost immediately, Merula wanted to wear the cloak again, to enjoy the freedom to walk across the halls of Hogwarts without dirty looks from the others.
But first things first. Potter's mysterious man. Or could it be a woman?
"So why do you need me?" Merula asked again, pausing for a moment before she continued. "And where did you get that cloak?"
Potter shook his head. "Christmas present, but I'm not sure from whom. All I got was a note saying it belonged to my father."
Merula let out a slow breath as she thought of her own father, the face in the mirror she so badly wanted to know more about. The old photos of the Slytherin teams of the past only told her so much.
And yet Merula couldn't help but be disappointed yet happy at the same time. She was happy for The Boy Who Lived, because if what the note he mentioned was real, then for maybe the first time in his life, the other orphan at Hogwarts received something priceless. A memento of a long-gone parent.
But Merula was disappointed. Disappointed because of the fact that she would never be able to convince Potter to let the cloak out of his sight. She certainly wouldn't give it up if she was in his shoes, not if it was the only thing that tied her to her parents.
"What about this Nicholas Flamel?" Merula forced herself to stop thinking of the cloak and back to the topic at hand. "Why are you mentioning him?"
"Do you remember the night we went into the Forbidden Corridor?" Potter asked.
"I- we almost got eaten," Merula grumbled at the memory of the two-headed monster. "And I got a few months of scrubbing cauldrons out of it. So yes, what about it?"
"The dog we ran into is called Fluffy-"
Merula laughed at that. The two-headed giant dog. Named Fluffy. She had almost been eaten by Fluffy. "Fluffy?"
"I talked to Hagrid," Potter continued, shaking his head slowly as he joined her in laughing. "He said that Fluffy was guarding something that only Dumbledore and Flamel knew about. But he didn't say anything more."
Merula raised an eyebrow. "And why are you so interested in becoming food?"
"I think someone is trying to steal that something," Potter said at last, now more serious than before. "But I'm not sure what, or who. Think about it. Why go though all this much trouble to keep something hidden?"
Potter did have a point, Merula concluded, nodding to herself, even as she wondered why whoever was keeping the mystery item on hand didn't dump it at Gringotts. "Have you considered checking the library?"
Potter nodded. "I checked even the restricted section over the break, but I didn't find anything apart from a screaming book. Hermione hasn't had much luck either."
"Unfortunate," Merula admitted, wondering if Lucius would be interested in Potter's wild theory about someone trying to steal things. It wasn't impossible, Merula had to admit. After all, Lucius mentioned one day that some idiot had tried to break into Gringotts.
But the thought of her adoptive father brought another idea to mind. Lucius had also sent both her and Draco over with the book that he expected them to read. Perhaps there would be something on Nicholas Flamel inside there? The book was far more detailed than any textbook she had at school, after all.
"Potter," Merula muttered, noticing when he looked up at her. "I think there's something I have that might help you."
"What is it?" Potter sounded intrigued.
"A book," Merula replied. "For Christmas Father bought me and Draco a really interesting book."
"A book?" Potter asked. "I thought you would want something else, like a broomstick."
"I asked for painting supplies," Merula said after a long pause. "There's not a broomstick in the world that could replace my mother's."
Potter's face fell at that. "I'm sorry."
Merula sighed as she suppressed the sudden wave of anger she felt at the memory of Draco breaking her mother's broom. "It's not your fault, Potter. Draco's the one who broke it."
Potter didn't say anything to that, and Merula took the chance to continue. "I'll have to look into the book to see if Nicholas Flamel is mentioned anywhere, but if he really is important, he should be there somewhere."
"Could I borrow your book?" Potter asked. "If there is something on Flamel?"
Merula let out a slow breath. "I would have to check. I haven't read the whole book yet."
"Could you do that for me?" Potter continued, his eyes bright. "I think it's really important, and I'd rather not risk running into another screaming book."
Merula let out a long, slow sigh. "Fine. But only on one condition."
"What is it?" Potter asked, something resembling surprise on his face. "A-"
"Just a favour," Merula replied. "In exchange for me checking my book."
Potter's face turned. "A favour?"
"I won't ask for too much," Merula promised, thinking of Lucius' request to befriend Potter. "I want something done to Draco before the year ends. Something I don't want to be associated with."
Potter's lips turned into a grin. "Something done to Draco?"
"I've hated Draco since I've gotten to know him," Merula grumbled. "And I'm not exactly willing to forgive him yet."
Potter didn't say anything, but Merula took the chance to turn to the door. "I'll bring the book here, but I can't promise you that this Flamel person is in it. If I do that, could I get you to promise to go after Draco?"
"Alright," Potter said with a nod, a moment before he disappeared under his cloak once more, leaving the proverbial Quaffle in her hands.
When Merula turned the corner, the thought of the kind of revenge she could pull on Draco caused her to smile. All she had to do was check her book.
The prospect of having Potter commit sweet revenge on Draco while simultaneously completing her adoptive father's request caused her to run faster than she had since arriving at Hogwarts, to the point where she was out of breath when she gasped out the password to the section of wall that led to the common room. The prospect of killing two birds with one easily obtained stone did that to her.
To her annoyance as she reached the bottom of the stairs, Blaise was in the common room, playing what she assumed was some form of chess. Worse still, even before she reached the bottom of the staircase, he was staring right at her, as if his game was forgotten. Just her luck for Blaise to take a sudden interest at the worst time.
Merula clenched her teeth as she glared back at Blaise, but a second later he turned back to his game, as if he had forgotten her.
Merula shut the door behind her when she entered her bunk wing. If nothing else, the closed door meant she had a warning in case one of the other girls got a funny idea. To her relief, the room was otherwise unoccupied, with the other idiots she bunked with off doing idiot things.
The book was still where she had left it, with a simple green ribbon acting as a bookmark, though Merula doubted she really needed it. Still, she flipped the book over to the back cover, dismissing page after page as she tried to find the page starting in F.
Then she found Flamel's name, with a series of page numbers associated with it. Well, Potter was going to be happy with that. And Mudblood too, if Potter slipped up and let the book out of her sight.
And yet Merula couldn't help but let a slow smile spread to her face. Already ideas rushed to her mind. A Singing Troll for Valentine's Day, maybe an ambush of Draco in a dark parody of what happened to the Gryffindor whose name she couldn't quite remember. There were so many possibilities that Merula giggled to herself.
But first, Merula knew that she had to get the book to Potter first. Only then could she negotiate on the terms of humiliating Draco.
So she gathered up the book and turned back to the door, striding over and opening the door.
Only to find Blaise waiting for her by the staircase, one of those fake smiles on his face.
"Snyde," Blaise began, his smooth voice grating Merula's nerves, his too-white teeth making Merula want to punch him. "You seem busy."
"Blaise," Merula muttered as she stepped out of the room, shutting the door behind her. "Go back to your game."
"It's already done," Blaise replied with a chuckle. "Unless you want to test your skills against me?"
Merula scoffed. "I don't have time for games. Now, if you would excuse me, I have somewhere to be."
"You seem awfully busy," Blaise replied with a nod. "Why is that? It's not like I've ever seen you rush before. Where are you going?"
"Shut it," Merula growled as she tried to step around Blaise. "I don't have to explain myself to you."
"Maybe not," Blaise replied, taking a step up to the stairs. "But without an answer I'll have to find out for myself."
Merula let out a slow hiss. "What is it that you want?"
"To know things," Blaise replied with a smirk. "We're both Slytherins after all."
"That's Ravenclaw," Merula pointed out.
"Yes," Blaise conceded. "But Ravenclaw wants to know just for the sake of knowing. But us? Well, you know."
Merula grimaced as Blaise trailed off with an exaggerated shrug, suddenly wishing she had Potter's cloak to escape with.
"Don't make me hex you," Merula grumbled, glancing to the mostly deserted common room.
"You wouldn't." Blaise said, jerking his head to the few occupied tables and chairs behind them. "There are witnesses. I've chosen to intercept you here for a reason, after all."
Merula said nothing to that. Was letting Blaise in on her agreement worth getting him to go away? A large part of her wanted to throw the book at Blaise and storm off, but another part of her told her to think of the long term. Keeping good terms with Potter could pay off in the long run, while also keeping Lucius happy. Perhaps Potter could come to rely on her rather than the Mudblood. And to do that, she needed to give Potter a swift answer, preferably without Blaise potentially finding out her agreement against Draco.
But how would she get a swift answer to Potter without Blaise noticing? He wasn't exactly slow at running, and she had to be discrete, lest Draco find out and send a letter to her-
A letter. The thought brought a crashing wave of realization to Merula. She could send Potter an owl letter. That was something Blaise couldn't intercept, not unless he got to Potter before he could open the letter. It was discrete too. It wasn't like Draco was going to attack Cloak.
The thought caused a smile to spread across her face, and when Merula looked up to Blaise again, he had stopped smiling, which made it all the sweeter.
"Fine then," Merula smirked, taunting Blaise by nodding at the stairs. "Come with me. It doesn't matter if you figure things out."
Blaise said nothing, but Merula turned to the stairs, humming a tune to herself, hoping it would drive Blaise insane.
Blaise followed, his steps slow and steady behind her, not speaking.
"Keeping up?" Merula sneered as she reached the top of the stairs.
"So, how did things with Draco go?" Blaise asked, his tone civil, as if he wasn't stalking her. "After we left your house, I mean."
"Draco's grumpy now," Merula replied as she turned back to the stairs that would lead to the now-empty classroom. "And I intend to drink in every ounce of his misery."
"Since when did you become a Dementor?" Blaise's voice was smooth, though Merula could hear the amusement in his voice.
"Does it matter?" Merula shot back, surprised at the comparison. "I don't like Draco, and the fact I have to watch over him is rather annoying."
"Why do you have to watch him?"
"Father has found Draco's grades to be too low." Merula sneered, turning to the first set of stairs that would bring her back to Potter. "If you want to know more, ask Draco himself."
"Draco has tried oh-so-hard to get his position back these days," Blaise said, his voice faster and a little louder than before, the veil of faux-sophistication coming apart before her eyes. "He's repeatedly claimed to several of my… followers that his father is going to do nasty things to them if they don't go back to him."
"I'll keep that in mind," Merula muttered. "Because that's not something he's supposed to be focused on."
"What if we had another alliance?" Blaise asked. "You keep Draco… occupied, and I-"
"No," Merula grumbled. "Draco's stupid enough that just a few lessons a day make it unbearable to remain around him. I'm not going beyond that just so he stops bothering you."
"I could make it worth your while," Blaise offered.
"With that?" Merula growled. "Chocolate Frogs?"
"If that's what you want."
"No," Merula said as they reached the end of the first flight of stairs. "What I want isn't something you can provide me."
"Do tell," Blaise said, his voice still silky smooth. "You might be surprised."
"The mirror," Merula replied. "Remember it?"
Blaise paused for a moment, long enough for Merula to turn back around.
"What about it?" Blaise asked, his voice suddenly strained, one of his hands tightening around the guardrail so hard that Merula watched his knuckles change several shades paler.
"Guess," Merula snarled as she continued up the stairs.
"You want me to steal it?" Blaise asked as Merula reached the top of the stairs.
Merula resisted the urge to laugh. A mental image of Blaise trying to carry the great mirror on his back played through her head. It would be nice to have the mirror back, but Merula was a realist. The mirror was gone, probably shoved into a vault at Gringotts.
"Snyde?"
"No," Merula replied, shaking her head. "The mirror is gone."
"The mirror is gone?" Blaise asked. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"What did you see in the mirror?"
"The same thing you did," Blaise said, his eyes narrowed. "Everybody in our year."
"That's not what I saw," Merula replied as she turned around. "Regardless, the mirror isn't there anymore."
"The mirror isn't there anymore?" Blaise asked.
"No," Merula replied in her most flippant voice. "Seems like Peeves got to it."
Blaise shrugged. "Shame."
"Correct," Merula said, drawing out her next sentence. "Unless you can find this mirror for me, then we have nothing to discuss."
Blaise said nothing as Merula continued to walk up the stairs. Merula didn't expect him to. Blaise was smart. Hopefully smart enough to understand her idea was a fool's errand.
"Show me the mirror," Blaise said. "I want to see for myself."
Merula shrugged as she continued to climb the stairs, reaching the floor with the mirror a few short minutes later.
"Come on now!" Merula called out, louder than she needed to. If Blaise was going to come to the room, she had to give Potter advance warning. "Blaise, are you an old man? You're slower than the two idiots that follow Draco around."
"Coming," Blaise muttered. "Why are you so loud?"
"I don't know," Merula snorted. "Maybe I'm working with Peeves to scare you."
Blaise didn't say anything as he entered the room, though he let out a sigh as he scanned the room. Was he… relieved? "So it's gone. There's nothing here"
"Told you so," Merula replied, walking in and settling the book on an empty desk. It was good that Potter had made himself scarce, lest Blaise figure out more than she was comfortable with. "There's nothing here."
Blaise didn't reply to that as he walked over to where the mirror was, his face smoothed back into its standard half-smile. "So it is."
"Anyhow," Merula said with a shrug. "I'm going to work on a letter now."
"That's all?" Blaise asked, an eyebrow raised. "A letter?"
"Correct," Merula smirked. "And when you're not looking, I'm sending it over to Cloak."
Blaise narrowed his eyes. "But you would have to write something in the letter."
"I would," Merula conceded. "But even if you were to learn the full content of my letter, it wouldn't tell you who I was sending it to, nor the context to why I was sending the letter in the first place."
"You're really serious about hiding this, aren't you?"
"Would you expect anything less?" Merula asked. "I would expect that you, out of all our class would understand that some things are too important to let others see."
Blaise said nothing as he turned away from Merula, pausing for a long minute before he turned back around. "Alright, so long as you promise that this has nothing to do with our… previous agreement."
Merula blinked. "With Draco?"
"Must I spell it out?" Blaise sighed, rolling his eyes as he crossed his arms. "I've spent the last few months tearing our housemates away from Draco."
"And you want me to promise that I won't try to get Draco back on top of Slytherin," Merula muttered, wondering why Blaise was being so petty. "Fine. This letter is meant for someone in Gryffindor anyways."
"Gryffindor?" Blaise muttered. "Who in Gryffindor would come to you for anything?"
"I have the second best grades in our class," Merula pointed out. "And there are things that Granger won't understand about Wizarding society, no matter how many books she eats."
Blaise paused for a moment, but he nodded. "Very well. In that case, I have a new deal for you."
Merula paused as she turned back. "What is it?"
"Make sure Draco stays out of my way, and I'll get the others to avoid you."
"Deal," Merula said without hesitation. "Shake on it?"
Blaise nodded slowly as he walked up to her, giving Merula a firm handshake before he headed out of the room.
"So, Potter," Merula said to the "empty" room. "I think he's gone."
"Are you sure?" Potter's voice came from behind her, from one of the room's corners.
Merula walked over to the door, checking the hallway beyond. Nothing.
"All clear." Merula said to the allegedly empty room. "Glad Blaise didn't see you. He would have used it against me if he did."
Potter appeared a moment later, dusting off his clothes before he walked over to the desk where she deposited the book. "Is the ribbon where-"
"No," Merula replied, flipping the book open to the page with the bookmark. "That was where I was reading earlier. Flamel is about three chapters later."
"I shouldn't take too long," Potter said as Merula flipped over to the glossary, tapping the line where she had found his name. "I might even be finished by tomorrow."
"That's fine," Merula replied. "Potter, just promise me one thing?"
"Huh?"
"Make sure Granger doesn't get her hands on the book," Merula said. "If she does, I doubt I'll ever get it back."
"Oh," Potter said, nodding quickly before he glanced around the room, pausing for another minute before he spoke. "Could I ask you about Draco?"
"What about him?" Merula scoffed, her arms crossed. "Unless you mean that you want to do something nasty to him soon."
Potter swallowed. "Draco cursed Neville earlier. He used the Leg-Locker."
"Who?" The name Potter mentioned wasn't one she remembered.
"You don't remember him?" Potter sounded surprised.
"I don't remember anyone named Nev-" Merula started, doing her best to remember anyone she associated with the name. "Longbottom?"
Potter sighed. "I'm not sure what's worse, Draco cursing him or you forgetting his name. Again."
"All I remember of him is that he had a Rememball and he leaves a mess in Potions," Merula grumbled. "I'll let Father know about it."
"Will that do anything?" Potter asked.
Merula paused for a moment as she weighed the options in her mind, then she nodded. "Father is furious with his grades, so he's tasked me with keeping watch over Draco. He would be not amused if Draco was caught attacking another student."
Merula decided against telling Potter that Lucius would have been more angry with Draco being caught rather than actually going after Longbottom. Merula didn't think Lucius would care to learn that Draco attacked Longbottom.
"What did Blaise mean by Draco not being on top of Slytherin?"
Merula blinked at the question. "Oh that. It's some stupid thing about who all of Slytherin's idiots follow. It's not something I care enough to pay attention to."
"Did something change over the break?" Potter asked again. "Given what Draco's done, he doesn't seem that much different than before."
Merula paused at the question, wondering how much she should tell Potter. "Draco's not been able to play with his friends much since Christmas. Father was furious that his grades were so low, and I think that everyone who came to our Christmas supper noticed."
"And Blaise took over your grade."
"Not all of them," Merula said, taking a moment to gather her thoughts. "Crabbe and Goyle have known Draco for too long, and I'm sure there are some people in our year that have enough of a brain to avoid the confrontation, but yes, most of the gullible ones are following Blaise now. Now that you mention it, it might be best to avoid getting between them."
"Do you think they'll do anything if Ron hexes Draco? Like what happened to Neville, but in reverse?"
Merula grimaced before she shook her head. "They'll go after Ron because he's not a Slytherin and he's what they would call a blood traitor, but when it comes down between Draco and Blaise, they'll side with Blaise."
"Is there anything we could do to Draco?" Potter asked.
Merula considered the idea for a moment as options came and went inside her head. If Draco was going to fight Blaise, then perhaps it would be redundant to get Potter to do something nasty. In which case, perhaps the favour Potter now owed her could be held over, maybe even to next year.
But to do that, she had to choose her words carefully, to make it seem like Potter was getting a better deal than what she was truly offering. "I think it's better to let Blaise do it instead. Draco isn't going to be out in the open very often, but if I find out he's going after Longbottom again, I'll let you know so you can catch him in the act."
"Is that all we can do?" Potter asked, his voice disappointed. "I would have thought you wanted to do something to him."
"I do," Merula replied. "But it's better to leave that to Blaise. If you did do something, all of Slytherin is going to be after you for it."
"But if it's between Blaise and Draco…" Merula let the sentence fade away, watching Potter. "No outside intervention, none of your House Points at risk."
Potter's eyes narrowed for a moment, and Merula felt worried at that, but then Potter nodded. "And how long should I wait for something like this?"
"If I know Draco, he's going to start something that'll get Father involved." Merula replied, thinking of the countless times she had heard him whine. "All we have to do is wait. It could be a day, could be a week, maybe even a few months."
"And then what?" Potter asked.
Merula paused at the question. "I think we hold back on getting Draco, at least until all this blows over with Blaise. Then perhaps we can… start something. Maybe restart the fight between the two of them. We can talk then."
Potter nodded as he turned away. "I think I'll head back early. Once I finish Quidditch training this weekend, I think I should have the book finished."
Merula nodded. "Just remember to keep it out of Granger's hands. I still want that book back before the year is over."
Potter chuckled at that as he turned to leave, his cloak now turning his body invisible, leaving only his floating head.
"And Potter?" Merula added as Potter took another step to the door, now fully invisible. There was a slight shift in the air, but nothing Merula could see. Yet she still spoke. "Good luck with the match. Try not to eat the Snitch again, would you?"
She heard Potter laugh at that as he left the room, shutting the door behind him, leaving her alone in the empty room.
Perhaps, Merula decided, it would be a good time to tattle on Draco.
AN: Chapter 11 is complete. Review and whatnot.
Next chapter: Second last to first year.
Thanks to chocolateowl for beta reading.
