Seven Years, Chapter 12.

AN: Insert standard copyright claim here.

Beta Reader: ChocolateOwl.


"Snyde,"

Blaise sounded too happy, too smug. Merula instinctively knew it was going to be a bad day. Why did Blaise have to come up with wicked ideas so close to exam season?

"What is it now?" Merula hissed through clenched teeth, arms crossed as she leaned against the cold wall of the dark hallway.

"Well," Blaise said, his hands drumming the wall next to him. "I'm afraid that both of us have… problems."

"Tell me about it," Merula shot back. "What? Forget to do Potions homework? Need my notes for an exam?"

Blaise chuckled at that, "No. I like Potions. Most of Slytherin does, as a matter of fact."

Merula rolled her eyes. Hadn't Blaise ever heard of a rhetorical question before?

"The problem is that your book has ended up in the hands of the Mudblood Granger."

Oh that wasn't good. Merula noted to herself. Now she had something else to do on her list. Namely grab the book back before anyone else noticed Granger having it. And hex Granger in the meanwhile.

Clearly Potter wasn't very good at following instructions. Perhaps she should have seen that from how badly he performed in Potions. But she would have to deal with him later. Perhaps a Howler sent via Cloak was in order.

"You don't seem very concerned about it," Blaise said. "May I ask why?"

"I'll deal with Granger later," Merula snapped back. She wasn't lying, of course. She had every intention of getting back at the Mudblood, but she first had to chew out Potter for letting the book slip from his hands. "I just need to find the Ravenclaw I lent the book to and shake him until his teeth come out."

Blaise raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. "I could steal the book back for you," he offered after a long moment.

"But?" Merula knew that Blaise had cooked up something.

Again.

"Well," he said with a slight smile. "A certain Neville-"

"Who?" Merula asked. "Neville… we had someone named Neville in the class?"

"Longbottom," Blaise muttered. "Snyde, you've been in the same class as him since the start of school. You at least should know his name."

"I know the important names in our class," Merula shot back. "Potter, Granger, you, Draco, my own. I don't need to remember the idiot's."

"And your Ravenclaw friend," Blaise said. "Tell me, what was his name?"

"Blaise," Merula said in her sweetest tone. "Don't make me hex you into next month. Now what did you want me to do to Longbottom?"

Blaise grinned. "Well, since you insisted, I'll have you know that I've acquired a fairly significant amount of Polyjuice Potion."

Merula raised an eyebrow to that. Blaise was good at Potions, as were most Slytherins, but Polyjuice was rather quite difficult to make, especially given its long brewing time. "Polyjuice? You?"

"A fifth year with a grudge against Gryffindor brewed it for us, actually." Blaise waved his hand. "I want you to get one of Draco's hairs."

"And hex Longbottom while wearing Draco's face," Merula muttered. "He gets all the blame, and you're secure for the year."

"You catch on quick," Blaise said. "And in turn, I get your book back, and I'll even throw in some support to help you shake down the Ravenclaw."

It was a tempting offer, but Merula had to mull over the idea. If her attack on Longbottom failed, or if she was knocked out halfway through, things would end very badly for her.

Besides, Lucius would not be pleased with her if Draco was suddenly in trouble. Again.

Oh, the things she had to do to keep Draco safe from all the people who wanted to get him.

"No," Merula said, shaking her head, trying desperately not to think of Draco's face if she really did pull the attack off. "I'll get the book back on my own terms."

"And how will you do that?" Blaise mocked. "Asking nicely?"

"Perhaps I will accuse Granger of stealing the book," Merula said with a shrug. "I'll figure some way to make her and the damned Ravenclaw pay for it."

When Merula looked back up at Blaise, she noticed him watching her with cold he really so offended she wasn't going to be his lapdog? "Last chance Snyde," Blaise hissed. "Are you in on it or not?"

"No," Merula snapped without hesitation. Who was Blaise to talk down to her like that? "I'm not going to tell anyone about your stupid little plan, but I'm not risking my neck if something goes wrong."

He said nothing, but he nodded before he turned his back on her. "Fine. Have a nice day, Snyde."

Merula skipped dinner, too tired from her work and too annoyed with Blaise to eat. She headed upstairs to the Owlery and sent one of her weekly reports back to Lucius before she stormed down the stairs to bed, though it was extremely early, especially by her own standards. Considering how it was dinner time, she almost smiled at the fact that she never saw another soul, living or dead, across her trip.

Merula noticed Blaise and his friends in the common room when she stormed down the stairs. One of them even waved at her. She was sure it was sarcastic, so she ignored them and headed to bed, kicking off her shoes and diving face-first into her pillow.

A minute later, she was out.


She slept well, and woke up early in the morning, and after changing into a fresh uniform and giving her snoring roommates murderous glares, she headed up to the main hall.

If she could make it to the main hall before anyone else, she might have been able to grab breakfast without meeting anyone from her year and dealing with the negative consequences of such.

Much to her delight, the hall was effectively deserted, and the Slytherin table had only a single prefect sitting there, one she recognized as the 6th year boy.

But he noticed her too, and his eyes narrowed at her as she sat down. Merula glanced around the empty hall as the prefect got up from his seat, his expression stern.

It was when he started to walk toward her that she began to fret. Had something happened the previous night?

"Miss Snyde," the prefect said as he approached, his tone cold as he stopped a few metres from her. "The headmaster wants a word with you."

Merula blinked. "The headmaster?"

"Last night there was a incident," the prefect explained. "It would appear that you had marched into the Great Hall and hexed a particularly unlucky Gryffindor. A certain Neville Longbottom."

Merula felt her jaw drop. Her? Hex Longbottom? In the open? Had she been sleepwalking?

"I-" Merula started. "I went to sleep-"

"You are not in trouble," the prefect continued, ignoring her protest. "As a matter of fact, we recovered a significant amount of spilled Polyjuice Potion from the scene, and we found that your wand had not cast any harmful spells in some time. The headmaster merely wishes to speak to you."

Merula took a deep breath. She had slept through all of that?

Then something clicked inside her head. The prefect had mentioned Polyjuice Potion.

And so did Blaise.

"Can I have breakfast first?" Merula asked, her stomach protesting since she had skipped dinner the night before. She had a feeling a meeting in the headmaster's office would take a while, and she dreaded the idea of coming back to a full hall.

"You may have it at the Headmaster's Office," the prefect said firmly. "Come along now, Miss Snyde."

Merula swallowed slowly before she got up from the table, disappointed she couldn't even smell a breakfast before having to meet with the Headmaster, but she still walked behind the prefect, up into the hallways above. It was a quiet walk, especially given the early hour, almost like the walk she had to the Owlery the previous night.

But this time was different, for she was headed to the Headmaster's Office.

"Chocolate Frogs," the prefect called as they reached the top of a final set of stairs, leading to the door swinging open.

"Ah," the voice of the headmaster called. "Felix, it's good to see you. Have a sweet?"

"No, Headmaster," the prefect said, stepping to the side. "Miss Snyde was up early."

Merula looked up to Dumbledore before she took a few quick steps into the room, her hands clasped tightly in front of her before she looked down at the floor.

"Peppermint?" Dumbledore asked.

"No, thank you," Merula said, pausing as she chose her next words carefully. "Could we… finish this quickly? I went to bed early last night and I'd like to have breakfast without dealing with too many of the other students."

"Yes, indeed," Dumbledore said, a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes. "Well Felix, thank you for your help. Please, head back to breakfast."

There was a brief exchange of goodbyes as the prefect headed out, the door shutting behind him, leaving Merula alone.

"So," Dumbledore said, his tone still friendly. "Miss Snyde."

"I was asleep-" Merula started, almost pleading.

"We are aware," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling as he ate another candy. "The student who drank the Polyjuice Potion in question made a number of obvious mistakes that made it quite obvious you were not involved."

Merula grimaced. "How so?"

"For starters," Dumbledore said. "They wore a male uniform."

Merula choked down a laugh at that, managing to replace the laugh with what she figured was a semi-believable cough. "I- I see."

"One of your housemates was also kind enough to point us in the right direction," Dumbledore continued. "The student behind the prank will be serving detention for the rest of the year."

Merula was surprised, but also a mixture of surprised and annoyed. If Blaise had been caught, then that Draco would be in a position to take back control of his army of lackeys. On the other hand, she didn't particularly care for Blaise himself. Not since he tried to get her to do his dirty work.

"Might I ask you a question?" Dumbledor asked, snapping Merula out of her thoughts.

"Uhh-" Merula started, suddenly remembering the headmaster was in the room with her. "Yes, of course, Headmaster."

"Did you know about what they intended to do?"

Merula froze in her seat, her mind going blank. The truth of the matter was that Blaise had intended for her to go after Longbottom. Not whatever lackey had gone and done the job in the end.

But she couldn't tell Professor Dumbledore that.

And yet she couldn't lie.

Lying straight up was something she had never mastered. It was easier when telling a half truth or simply omitting a small piece of information, but lying to someone's face was impossible for her. It was something she had never had a chance to develop over her life.

"I did," Merula regretted the words almost immediately. "Blaise wanted me to grab Draco's hair and hex Longbottom, but I didn't think they would move so quickly."

"Mr. Zabani?" There was something in Dumbledore's voice that rang alarm bells in Merula's head. "What did Mr. Zabani have to do with this?"

"He-" Merula started, pausing to think for a moment. "Was he not behind the prank?"

"He accused Mr. Tuttle of orchestrating the prank," Dumbledore said. "As did many other members of his house. Are you suggesting something different?"

Merula shook her head violently. "I- erm, he offered me the chance to hex Longbottom myself, but I said no."

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "And you did not think to report this to a professor?"

There wasn't anything for her to say to that. Not really. "I'm sorry."

"Fifty points from Slytherin," Dumbledore said. "And a session of detention, of course. Had you chosen to speak up, perhaps Mr. Longbottom could have avoided this rather traumatizing attack."

Merula nodded dumbly. "If possible, could I… not serve it with the others? I'd rather avoid… dealing with them."

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow as he took another candy. "There is one particular place of service, though it will be at night, at a place I don't believe you've ever gone to."

"I-" Merula started, wondering where it was that Dumbledore was talking about. "So long as I don't have to deal with the others, I'll take it."

"Very well," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Do take care of yourself, Miss Snyde. You're dismissed."


The night around her was warm, especially given the spring weather, and Merula found that she was the first person there. She had asked Barnaby Lee, the misplaced Hufflepuff, for had even provided her with a helpful little map, but hadn't mentioned that the forest, even along established paths, was somewhat difficult to traverse.

Merula had missed that particular part of orientation, having mostly tuned out the boring Ravenclaw droning on and on after she had figured out where the Quidditch Pitch was. But since there seemed to be a lack of anything apart from shadows in the forest, Merula felt confident, even though she looked over her shoulder every two minutes or so.

It was only when she heard additional voices behind her that Merula saw anything that wasn't a pesky branch or long shadow.

Potter, Mudblood, and the idiot Gryffindor Longbottom.

One person she wanted to talk to, and two more she wanted to hex into the next week.

But she only turned around and waved her wand weakly at the group behind the group got closer, she noticed that behind the trio were the two staff members she disliked the most. Flich, the Squib and Hagrid, the walking headache she was sure was drunk a significant amount of the time.

"Snyde-" Neville whispered, his wand raised. "Don-"

"Neville," the Mudblood interjected. "We've explained it to you before. "That was someone under the effects of Polyjuice Potion, not Snyde."

Merula felt a spark of amusement, though she didn't show it. Had the world ended or did the Mudblood just defend her? Was she dreaming?

"But if you weren't behind the attack." Potter's eyes were hard, as if he had realized something was off. "Why are you here?"

Merula grimaced before she shook her head. "I was going to ask you the same thing. And I want my book back."

Potter froze, and he looked over to the Mudblood before he looked back at Merula.

"We'll talk later," Merula said as she heard a distant dog barking behind her, somewhere deep within the around, Merula noticed Fang, the oversized dog that belonged to Hagrid bounce out the woods, clearly happy to see his owner and the three Gryffindors behind her.

She was fine with that. Merula never liked dogs anyways.

A moment later, Hagrid rubbed Fang behind the ears before waving off Flich. Well, that was one less annoyance for Merula to deal with.

"Harry, Hermione," Hagrid started as he stepped between Merula and the path leading into the forest. "Neville, erm-"

"Merula." So the giant didn't remember her after all. She hadn't seen him much, and it wasn't like he was teaching any of their classes.

"Right," Hagrid said, his face changing into a half dozen emotions before he settled on grim. "There's an injured unicorn in these woods."

Merula swallowed at that. She wasn't good with animals apart from Cloak. And Cloak was starting to get really heavy. If they were seriously trying to get her to treat an injured unicorn, then it was going to be a long night.

"Is there any way we can find this unicorn?" The Mudblood asked from behind them.

Hagrid nodded as he reached into his cloak, pulling out a stick.

Merula blinked at the stick as the three idiots behind her rushed forward.

"Merula," Hagrid called. "Come closer."

Merula clenched her teeth as she squeezed in between the Mudblood and the idiot Longbottom. The stick didn't look all that interesting.

Except for the end of the branch, which looked like it had been dipped in liquid silver.

"Unicorn blood," Hagrid explained. "Watch out for it. This is the second unicorn this week."

Merula felt the three idiots around her shift away, as if they had never seen blood before. But Merula was more curious about the other unicorn that Hagrid had mentioned.

But the blood on the stick didn't quite look like the real thing to Merula. It was dry, as if it was some long-dried paint rather than warm, flowing lifeblood. The thought of fresh blood brought up dark memories, but she forced herself to forget, at least before she remembered the pale face of her mother.

But it was too late, and a shiver ran down her spine, and Merula had to tune out the world to get her shivering body under control again, even though she could still hear Hagrid's voice, though she could not make out any clear words until she heard her name.

"Merula," Hagrid's voice cut though her nightmare, and the lantern held a few centimetres from her face blinded her for a brief second. "You and Neville will search with Fang. Harry and Hermione, you'll be with me. Send up sparks if you find anything."

Merula frowned at the suggestion as she took the lantern and held it a safe distance away from her face. Her and the dog with the boy who thought she had hexed him just a few days prior? If that wasn't a disaster waiting to happen, then she wasn't really sure what was.

But it was too late to switch, especially since Potter, Mudblood, and Hagrid had moved on into the depths of the forest, and Merula was stuck with the idiot Longbottom.

"So," Merula sighed. "Let's get this over with. The sooner we find the unicorn, the sooner we can get back to Hogwarts."

"Where you can hex me again?"

"Oh for Merlin-" Merula grumbled, turning to glare at the idiot. "What part of Polyjuice Potion do you not understand?"

The idiot Gryffindor took a step back, his wand pointed at her, though she noticed him shaking like a leaf.

"For the very last time," Merula hissed with exaggerated patience. "I did not hex you, Longbottom. Someone grabbed a strand of my hair, mixed it with Polyjuice, and then hexed you. I slept through the whole thing."

The idiot Gryffindor didn't say anything to that, and Merula threw up her hands in disgust before she stormed off into the forest. "Come on Fang. Let's find this unicorn so we can all get back to Hogwarts."

The dog followed dutifully, but the idiot Gryffindor did not, his lantern hovering still in the night behind her. So much for being the house of courage.

"Longbottom!" Merula called. "If you don't catch up, I'm leaving you behind!"

The lantern did not move, and Merula suddenly wished she did hex Longbottom. Maybe then it would have spared her the trouble of having to drag him through the dark, chilly forest.

"Let's go, boy," Merula murmured to Fang, trying to picture him as a bigger, louder version of her owl. "Sooner we find this unicorn, sooner we can go somewhere warm." Fang seemed fairly receptive to that, but Merula took one last look back at the cowardly Gryffindor idiot back where she had left him.

Just in time to catch a stream of red sparks fly into the sky.

That was… odd. Merula decided.

"Longbottom!" Merula called out. "We haven't found anything yet!"

But to Merula's surprise when she returned to the clearing with the shivering, huddled form of Longbottom, there was indeed something rustling through the bushes. But it was only Hagrid, and Merula sighed as she glared at Longbottom, just barely resisting the urge to hex him.

"Sorry," Merula muttered to Hagrid. "He wasn't willing to move from the spot. He still thinks I hexed him."

Hagrid sighed as he shook his head before he called somewhere into the bushes behind him. "Harry!"

A moment later, Potter popped through the bushes, and Merula took the opportunity to rub her eyes. "Sorry Potter. False alarm. Longbottom refused to search with me."

There was a moment of silence before Potter spoke up. "Then I'll go with you."

Merula raised an eyebrow. "Potter?"

"If that's alright with you, Hagrid?" Potter said as he turned over to Hagrid and the idiot Longbottom.

"Alright," Hagrid grumbled. "Go with Fang, but remember to be careful."

Potter didn't say anything to that, but Merula was glad to get away from Longbottom. Even if it meant running into a dark forest with Harry Potter and a big dog. It wasn't until the first fork in the woods that either of them spoke.

"So," Merula muttered as she glanced around the two twisting paths, both of them leading deeper into the forest. "Didn't I say to never let Granger get her hands on my book?"

Potter winced. "Sorry."

Merula sighed as she squinted into the darkness of one of the paths, finding nothing but shadow beyond the light of her lantern. "It's fine, so long as I get the book back by the end of the year. I don't want Granger setting the book on fire before giving it back to me."

They fell into silence again as Merula raised her lantern, squinting into the darkness.

"Hey Merula?" Potter's voice asked.

"What is it?" Merula turned around, taking a step closer to Potter.

"Why are you here anyways?" Potter asked. "If you weren't involved with-"

"I was," Merula grimaced. "Blaise came to me. He offered to let me be the one to hit Longbottom. I said no."

"Why?"

Merula sighed. "Part of it was because Blaise wanted me to take Draco's hair. But Father specifically requested that I keep Draco out of trouble, so I said no."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Potter sounded angry. "We could have stopped the attack-"

"How was I supposed to know that Blaise was going to attack the very same night?" Merula shot back, suddenly furious with Potter. "Could you watch over Longbottom for a week? Two?"

Potter didn't answer that, and Merula allowed herself a small measure of satisfaction. But that also brought up another question. "Potter," Merula suddenly found herself curious. "What did you do to get detention?"

Potter watched her for a moment before he let out a deep breath. "That's not important."

"Tell me," Merula sighed.

"Hagrid won a dragon's egg," Potter explained.

Merula raised an eyebrow. "He won a what?"

"Dragon's egg," Potter repeated, though Merula had a hard time trying to avoid laughing in Potter's face.

"And you got detention for your part in whatever you did with him," Merula grumbled. "Alright then Potter, whatever you say."

"Well," Potter said. "Neville just forgot the password to the Fat Lady and fell asleep outside, but that's not really important."

"Longbottom and his Remembrall," Merula muttered as she turned away from Potter. "Alright then, let's find this unicorn so we can go somewhere warm."

"Merula," Potter's voice was firm, yet hesitant. "We- well, Ron, Hermione and I discovered something that I think you should know."

That was interesting. "And what would that be, Potter?"

Potter took a deep breath. "I need to know if you can keep a secret. Not a word to anyone until we have proof."

The comment caught Merula off guard, but a sense of curiosity overwhelmed whatever suspicion she had. "Potter, if there's something I need to know, then just spit it out."

Potter grimaced and looked around the dark forest, as if Hagrid or Longbottom were going to burst out of a bush. "Do you promise not to tell anyone?"

"Yes." Merula felt a spike of irritation run through her. "Who would I even tell? Draco? Blaise?"

Potter took a deep breath before he spoke. "We confirmed it with Hagrid. The thing under that trapdoor is the Philosopher's Stone."

Merula narrowed her eyes as her mind drew a blank. Unless she was going to grab Draco's copy of the book when she got back, there was no way to find out just what this Philosopher's Stone was.

"It's supposed to be this stone that allows the holder to turn anything to gold," Potter said. "We think Snape is trying to steal it."

Merula raised an eyebrow. That was an… interesting accusation.

"Why?" Merula asked. "Why would Professor Snape steal it?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Potter asked. "He wants to sell it for a lot of money."

Merula watched Potter for a long second, waiting for him to laugh and mock the look on her face. Then she realized Potter was serious.

"Potter." Merula tried to stifle her giggles, but couldn't. The mental image of Professor Snape sneaking around, trying to steal a rock was too much for Merula. "Why in Merlin's beard would he do that?"

"You don't believe me." Potter sounded angry, with his arms crossed across his chest.

Merula sighed and closed her eyes, her laughter replaced with sudden irritation at the dumb Gryffindor before her. "Let me tell you a little story then, Potter."

Potter didn't move an inch, but Merula was sure she still had his attention.

"Father really wanted to send me and Draco to Durmstang," Merula said. "He said that the school had better professors in almost all subjects. But he still sent us to Hogwarts. Do you know why Potter?"

Potter still stood before her, his face unchanged.

"Because Snape was hired as Potions Master here," Merula replied. "Father said that he had never met someone so talented at Potions as Snape."

"So?"

Merula rolled her eyes. "If Professor Snape wanted to make money, why doesn't he open an apothecary? Why does he not write potions books like Lockhart does fiction? Why does he spend his time at Hogwarts teaching idiots like Long- Crabbe and Goyle?"

Potter didn't have an answer to that, but Merula never got the time to continue, for a sudden noise caught their attention. The noise was loud enough to stop Merula mid-thought. It sounded like a heavy branch snapping somewhere nearby. Followed by heavy footsteps.

And then there was the unmistakable smell of fresh blood wafting through the air.

Merula set down her lantern, watching Potter do the same. Something in the air had changed, and Merula shivered as Potter took tiny, inching steps forward toward the noise, following the slow, deliberate steps of Fang.

As much as Merula despised the idea of rushing into danger, she found the idea of being left alone in the forest even more disturbing, so she followed Potter, head down and eyes darting around the dark forest.

They found a trail of blood on a side trail, and the broken branch, covered in a sort of liquid silver that made Merula want to lose her supper, though the smell of blood alone threatened to do that.

But still Merula willed herself to go on, to think of anything else that wasn't the assault on her senses.

It was a mistake. One that Merula regretted almost immediately, for her memories returned in full force, and they were far worse than the silvery blood.

She was back at home, in Snyde Manor, as a little girl.

The night her mother had fallen to her death.

Merula hadn't remembered much from that night, but a new layer of nightmare came for her.

The scent of blood had overtaken her. It was in the air. No matter where she turned, the stench haunted her like a wraith.

She fell to her knees, trying so desperately to force the nightmare from her mind as she clutched at her head.

And then a hand seized her own.

Merula wanted to scream, but her voice died before it could leave her throat.

Then a warm pair of arms wrapped around her shoulders, and Merula's eyes flew open again.

She wasn't at Snyde Manor anymore, but in the equally dark forest at Hogwarts.

But this time, unlike the rough arms that had dragged her from her home, the arms around her brought her panicked heart back from the brink, and Merula buried her face in Potter's warm shoulder.

He had embraced her, his arms tight around her shoulders, a warm, breathing blanket that brought her ragged breaths in line.

"Potter?" Merula whispered.

"It's about them, isn't it?" Potter's voice whispered back. "It's alright. You're safe here."

"Yes," the admission came freely as Merula felt a sense of genuine gratitude. "Thank you Potter."

Potter took a deep breath as they stood, following Fang once more, and avoiding the sight of blood along the rough path. But Merula realized she could ignore the blood any longer when the path opened to a clearing. One with crisp moonlight shining down.

Nor could she ignore the scene of horror on the little clearing.

The unicorn was dead. It had been cut open.

And yet, it wasn't the worst sight burned into her mind.

That belonged to the figure hacking into the dead unicorn.

The figure was dressed in black, and it had a large knife in hand. A knife that threw flickers of silvery blood onto the grass of the clearing.

The scene made Merula sick to her stomach as Hagrid's words came back to haunt her.

This is the second unicorn this week. Hagrid had said.

Merula found her wand and pulled it free with shaky hands, glancing over to Potter. He still remained in place, his face stunned.

So it came down to her. Merula realized. Potter had saved her from her nightmare along the path. Now it was her turn to return the favour.

Merula turned back to look at the figure cutting away at the dead unicorn.

And met the eyes of the leering face staring back at her.


AN: Chapter complete!

Read, Review, yada yada.

Next chapter: Ballet shoes are bad for kicking.