Seven Years 28.
Breakfast, as it turned out, consisted of a large plate of scrambled eggs, sausage links, and a generous serving of toast, all of which were devoured almost as soon as the plates touched the table.
"Easy there," Jenny's dad said, raising a hand to stop Tiffany from stuffing an entire piece of toast into her mouth. "While I'm sure Jin is happy with your praise, I would politely ask that you chew your food."
Merula frowned through a bite of sausage, then looked over to the strangest elf she had ever seen. It was, oddly enough, dressed in actual clothes rather than the rags Dobby or all the other elves she had known tended to wear.
And the food was actually excellent. Dobby's cooking was bland at best and worthy of being stuffed into the oven at worst. Perhaps permanently, even if it meant the Malfoys had to find a new House Elf somewhere.
"Jin," Mr. Myers called, snapping his fingers at the House Elf. "There's someone I would like you to meet."
The House Elf paused, and for the first time Merula met its eyes, but then the House Elf turned back to the food being cooked.
"Jin, do you recognize Miss Snyde?" Mr. Myers asked.
"No sir," The House Elf replied, not even looking at Merula. "I do not recognize her."
"Odd," Jenny said. "Jin, are you certain?"
The House Elf paused again, and his big eyes focused on her one more time before he shook his head. "I do not recognize Miss… Snyde."
Merula looked over to Mr. Myers in confusion, who had a small grimace on his face. "Jin…"
"Jin served Master Snyde," The House Elf cut in. "Master Snyde gave Jin his hat."
Merula spun her head around and looked at the little House Elf, so fast that she almost fell out of her chair.
"And by Master, you mean Magnus Snyde, yes?" Mr. Myers continued.
The House Elf almost looked offended by the question, but he nodded. "Master Snyde had Jin cook and clean his house for eight years."
"Eight years," Merula muttered. "And he… doesn't recognize me."
"No," Jin said.
Merula looked over to Mr. Myers again, equal parts confused and angry. She had been brought in, to a house she did not know, just to be spat at by the strangest House Elf in England and called an impostor? Merula had to fight the urge to grab the elf and shake the truth out of it.
"Jin, your work is done." Mr. Myers said evenly, and a second later Merula heard the House Elf poof away, safe from her wrath, at least for the time being. "Now Merula, I expected as much from Jin, and perhaps you'll hear me out before pouting like that."
Merula stopped pouting, her face flaming hot at being caught red-handed, or perhaps that was red-faced, at doing something she should never have been caught doing.
"Jin worked for Magnus Snyde between the years of 1918 and 1926," Mr. Myers said. "Or, at least, that is what he has insisted to me over the years."
"And what does that mean?" Merula asked, not understanding.
"Merula," Mr. Myers said finally. "What about the House of Snyde have you learned so far?"
"Dark wizard House," Deborah said, cutting in. "Had a habit of kidnapping Muggle kids, or so the rumours go. And oh, their founder invented Inferni. Creepy Dark Wizard."
Merula nodded, trying to find anything of substance to add. "And… I'm descended from them.."
Mr. Myers paused, then he nodded, then he bit his lip.
"Merula," he said finally, "The topic of the Snyde family has always been fascinating to me, for it is a story with many twists and turns, legends and myths. I hope today you'll be satisfied with just the facts that I have on hand. Tales and rumours can wait for another day."
Merula glanced at her roommates and Jenny, then she nodded back at Mr. Myers.
"The House of Snyde, as you might have already known, was descended from a certain Ragnar Snyde, who made a large fortune in his day as a mercenary and raider." Mr. Myers said at last. "But after his death fighting British wizards, his family… went into decline, some eight hundred years of it."
Merula winced. Eight hundred years was a long time. She was surprised that there were even Snydes still alive after all the decline.
"And where does Sialis Snyde come into this?" Merula asked, recalling the name of the mystery woman from the previous day.
Mr. Myers paused and took a sip of his coffee. "House Snyde, however it kept its strength over the centuries, gave birth to two generational geniuses in the latter half of the nineteenth century. One was Magnus Snyde, and the other his elder sister, Corone."
Merula perked up at the mention of Magnus. The infamous Magnus Snyde, Head Auror of Norway. Now the story was getting good, surely.
"Corone and Magnus…" Mr. Myers paused. "They made a vast fortune at the turn of the century. None of it ethical, and I doubt much of it was legal, but the coffers of House Snyde were flooded with gold, both Wizarding and Muggle in origin."
Merula swallowed, suddenly confused. "And he was made Head Auror?"
Mr. Myers paused again, and he drummed his fingers on the table. "As I understand it, Magnus and Corone did not explicitly break the law, especially not after their positions were… secured in the spring of 1915."
Mr. Myers trailed off after that, and Merula noticed he glanced over at Tiffany and Deborah, both of whom seemed enraptured by the story.
"After that," Mr. Myers continued, his voice almost pained. "Magnus and Corone both settled into what could be described as retirement. Both had children, Corone openly, and Magnus… less so."
Merula blinked, not understanding.
"After 1915 Magnus and Corone were believed to have divided the wealth of House Snyde along Muggle and Wizarding lines" Mr. Myers explained, rubbing his head and taking a sip of his coffee. "Magnus, for instance, took control of their Muggle operations, and, if Muggle tax records are correct, he made a vast fortune in America. Apart from that, we know little of this era. Even the birth of his daughter Sialis, who you had asked for, was a secret until the autumn of 1928, when she went to Hogwarts."
Merula mulled over the words, but suddenly, a comparison formed inside her head. Wealthy, highly secretive, and powerful beyond belief? Was Mr. Myers talking about Magnus Snyde or Lucius?
She thought of the Weasley's so-called "Muggle Protection Act", which sought out heritage that Merula hadn't even known existed to be cast into the fires of destruction. Did Magnus face a similar threat during his lifetime that he had to shield his family from? The secrecy suddenly made sense. Especially if Magnus had made his fortune by Muggle means.
But even if the secrecy could have been explained, it still left a question hovering in the air, one that grew more pressing with every minute that Merula thought of it.
"How did he become Head Auror?" Merula asked, the question spilling from her lips.
"Pardon?" The question was obviously a surprise.
"I-" Merula winced at the look of surprise on the man's face. "I mean how did Magnus become Head Auror? Of Norway out of all places. You said that he made his money in America and his daughter went to Hogwarts and yet…"
Mr. Myers paused, then he glanced over across the table, at Merula's roommates and Jenny. "I believe that information should have been public. Did you not tell Merula?"
Merula turned her head around to her roommates, and she saw Deborah flinch her eyes away before she cleared her throat.
"We haven't reached the Global War in class yet," Deborah shrugged, licking her lips as she spoke and drumming her hands on the table. "And it was Joseph Trent who mentioned him to Merula. And Trent was really bad at history."
"Ah," Mr. Myers paused, long enough for Merula to stare at him for what felt like a full minute. She was about to ask him to continue again when he broke the silence, his voice very low and his words slow and measured. "Merula, I will say nothing more, for it is not my place to tell you. That right, and the burdens of it, belong to Mr. Trent."
"Someone say my name?" a familiar voice came from the hallway behind Mr. Myers.
"He's obviously talking about me, Pip." A second, much less familiar voice said, clearly amused. "Who would be talking about you?"
"Your girlfriend-" the first voice, that Merula recognized as Joseph Trent managed before a loud yelp and several throats drowned him in laughter.
"Speak of the Devil," Deborah muttered, rising from her seat. "Both of the Trents?"
Merula got up with the rest of the table, and she turned the corner to the foyer in time to see Joseph Trent frantically swatting at an older, even taller man who was rubbing his fist into his hair, half laughing, half screaming what might have been obscenities in Greek. Not that Merula recognized the language.
"For the love of Merlin!" Clarice Murk shouted as she strode from the crowd of spectators behind the two men, physically pushing the two laughing men apart. "How much Firewhiskey have you both downed? And Merula is standing right there! Watch your language!"
Merula gave an awkward little wave as both of the men looked up, and she noticed Joseph Trent wince and look sheepish, while the other man ran a hand through his non-existent hair.
Clarice paused and gave Merula a little wink before she brought a knee up between no-hair's legs, a second before his face turned pale and he hit the ground with a heavy thud, unmoving and silent except a pitiful groan or two.
"The Muggle method," Tiffany observed from behind Merula, a measure of pity in her voice. "See where A.J. learned to fight now, Merula?"
As if on cue, A.J. climbed through the crowd, giving the man on the ground a slow and dirty look before turning over to Mr. Myers. "Hope we're not interrupting anything."
"No," Mr. Myers said, pausing for a moment before tilting his head. "I was told that you were all in a meeting."
"Well not all of us were," Joseph said, pausing as he looked down at the man on the ground. "Some of the Circle couldn't make it and all, but it's just that…"
"We wanted to talk to Merula," an Asian girl with bright red hair, pushing her way past Joseph and Clarice before her eyes met Merula's own. "I'm guessing you-"
"Tulip," Clarice snapped, stepping forward and placing a hand on the red-haired girl's shoulder. "Work can come later. At least introduce yourself, won't you?"
"Ah," the girl said, managing a little wave, but still remaining upbeat and cheerful despite the admonishment and the hand on her shoulder. "I'm Tulip Karasu."
Merula decided she most certainly did not like Tulip Karasu. She had one Tiffany in her life already.
"Come on Tulip," an Asian man with a wide crocodile smile said, popping up from behind Clarice, giving Merula a big smile as he did. "Stop scaring the kid. Also, hi sis."
"I will gut you and feed you to the Selkies," Deborah hissed, pointing a butter knife at the man.
"Selkies have standards," Clarice muttered.
The man's crocodile grin dropped from his face, and he staggered away, hand on his chest as he fell dramatically against the wall, slumping to the ground. "I am slain!"
"Good," Deborah muttered. "When's the funeral? Hold on, forget a funeral, just find me a shovel."
A.J. groaned as she brought her head against the nearest wall. "Merula, the clown on the ground is Jae. As in, Blue Jay, but spell it with an E rather than a Y."
Merula looked at the two men on the ground and asked the first question that came to mind. "Which clown are we talking about?"
Joseph exploded into badly stifled giggles and A.J. looked up with sudden pride in her eyes. Even Clarice, watching the scene with a bored expression, cracked a small smile.
"It doesn't matter," A third girl, this one with pink hair as wild as A.J., cut in. "We're just here for a few questions. Once we're done we'll be on our way. And oh, I'm Tonks."
Merula paused, then frowned, suddenly annoyed she had to remember a half dozen new names in as many minutes. "For me? Is this about-"
"The Heir," A.J. muttered, her tone having turned grim. "Not about your father."
"Oh," Merula turned to the hallway, counting still a half dozen more individuals who hadn't had the chance to introduce themselves yet, as well as a few faces she did recognize, Barnaby and Ismelda among them. "I- um. Is there somewhere we can go-"
"My private library is always available," Mr. Myers said, clapping his hands together as A.J. nudged Merula along. "Jenny, would you be so kind as to lead them there?"
Merula allowed herself to fall behind the main pack of A.J.'s friends, trying her hardest to find time alone, is only a minute, to figure out what was going on,
But just when Merula pulled back, just out of reach of the main body, she promptly collided with a wall behind her. And then the wall grunted.
Merula looked up, just as A.J. paused, and she was staring up at a lean, handsome face, and judging from A.J.'s gasp, someone related to the mysterious Circle of Khanna.
"Bill?" A.J.'s voice was a hiss. "What- what are you doing here? I thought you were in Egypt…"
The tall, handsome man paused, then he shook his head. "Gringotts gave me a day off. I want to surprise my parents, but this is something important that needs to be solved. And Dotty told me you all had left for the Myers house."
"Merula," A.J. turned over and grabbed Merula away from the tall, handsome giant. "This is Bill Weasley."
Merula almost collapsed at the words. Bill… Weasley? The same Weasley that she had been fighting for the last year? The same Weasley behind the Muggle Protection Act?
"Merula," Bill said, his voice a little tight, the recognition visible in his eyes. "I… well, I'm sure my father would rather-"
"Please don't," Merula gritted her teeth. "I can stand being hated but I really don't appreciate being lied to."
Bill trailed off, and Merula spun around and hurried away, back into the rear of the pack of strangers, the question she had for A.J. as dead as Dobby was once she had him to herself for an hour.
Still, it was a relatively short walk into the Myers library, a tall, circular room with soft, gentle lighting and dark wooden shelves containing hundreds, maybe thousands of books. If not for the interrogation that the Circle of Khanna seemed to be dragging her into, Merula might have loved the room, but it seemed awfully crushing, like a prison.
Slowly, the members of the Circle took up positions around the room, a few transfiguring seats out of assorted stationery the room had lying around while others crammed into regal looking sofas and ottomans.
Merula herself remained standing, waiting for the inevitable as A.J. and the eldest of the Weasleys stepped through the door, the tall, handsome man enticing a gasp of shock from the assembled room.
"Blimey," a voice muttered. "How incompetent have we gotten that Bill Weasley could sneak up on us?"
There was a burst of awkward laughter with the words as Bill transfigured a desk into a chair before sitting down close to the door, leaving Merula with more than enough opportunities to watch the Weasley from a distance.
She chose to sit on a staircase that led up into a row of bookcases, one of three that the library had. It certainly wasn't comfortable, but Merula was on edge, and she knew enough of the Weasley clan to not trust them.
"So," a voice broke through the heavy silence that had fallen when the last of the awkward laughter had died. "Circle of Khanna meeting, shall we begin?"
"We should," Joseph Trent's voice came from Merula's right, though she didn't turn from the Weasley to check his exact position in the room. "Bill's probably very busy, and we don't want to hold him up."
Merula gritted her teeth at the friendly mention of the Weasley clan. She had thought better of Joseph Trent, who had seen her firsthand at St. Mungos, as a direct result of the enforcement of the damned "Muggle Protection Act".
"So, A.J., what's this Heir of Slytherin problem you have at Hogwarts? Did you poke around one of the Vaults again?"
"Jae, keep this up and it won't be Debs who turns you into a three course Selkie dinner." A.J. shot back. "And no, I have nothing to do with this. And yet.."
"What?" Merula wasn't sure who asked the question, but she was alert and attentive.
"What happened to the victims so far is… disturbingly similar to what happened when the Sunken Vault was tampered with."
There was a gasp around the room, and Merula noticed several witches and wizards sat up straighter.
"There have been two human victims so far." A.J. said, drumming her fingers on her legs as she spoke. "Both of them being muggle-born Gryffindors."
"The third and final living victim is Filch's cat." Clarice added. "And if my sources at Hogwarts are telling the truth, they've also harmed a ghost somehow?"
Merula didn't know that last part, and even A.J. shrugged. "I only listened to the parts about petrified students. The Baron is fine, if you must ask."
"We're getting off topic," Bill Weasley interjected. "Let's say for example that we do have a Muggle hater in Hogwarts with a knack for petrifying students. Who is it? Because we need to find who it is before anyone else gets hurt."
"Could be anyone," Jenny said after a moment of silence before turning her gaze over the room. "Speaking of Muggle-"
"Miss Myers," Bill said firmly, raising a hand and silencing Jenny. "If A.J. was the Heir of Slytherin, she would have petrified most this room already. I have full confidence that she is not our culprit."
"I can vouch for A.J. too," Tiffany said, raising a hand. "Debs and I can vouch for her not being at the scene of the crime, of any of them, as a matter of fact."
There was a burst of loud conversation that seemed to devolve into an argument, but Merula wasn't listening. To her surprise, it had been something Bill Weasley had said that got her thinking, and even as she tried to form her thoughts into a coherent sentence, the seed that Bill Weasley of all people had planted continued to grow, until only a single word managed to break out of her lips.
"Voldemort!" Merula hissed, the connection suddenly becoming oh so clear.
The room fell silent around Merula, and she winced when she realized the entire room was staring at her, some fifteen sets of eyes.
"What do you mean by that?" Bill asked finally, having risen from his chair and was now taking a single step toward Merula..
Merula swallowed, remembering the face on the back of Quirrell's head. The leering face of Voldemort brought almost a sense of clarity to her thoughts, as did the look of cold, terrifying determination on Bill Weasley's face.
"Quirrell acted alone last year," Merula whispered, remembering the empty halls that Merula had snuck through the last night of her first year. There had been no guardian, human or otherwise, that had tried to stop her or any of the Gryffindor trio. Only Quirrell. And Voldemort attached to his head. "If the Heir was at Hogwarts last year, why didn't he help Quirrell?"
There was a gasp somewhere along the room, then another, and then followed by a long trail of whispers and hurried, hushed conversations, far too many for Merula to keep up with.
"Enough!" Bill Weasley brought the room to attention again, his voice still even, yet spoken with such authority that the entire room fell silent again. "Barnaby, Joseph, can you confirm that Voldemort was at Hogwarts last year?"
There was silence again, and Merula tore her eyes away from Bill just in time to see Barnaby clear his throat. "Headmaster Dumbledore said that he had been defeated again, and that he was… with Quirrell."
Bill nodded as he continued to pace, with every set of eyes in the room still on him. "If we can assume that the Heir of Slytherin had the same goals as Voldemort, then the only logical conclusion is that they were not at Hogwarts last year when Voldemort made his move."
"Then who does that leave-" Merula heard Joseph Trent's voice suddenly cut out mid-sentence.
"Lockhart!" Merula wasn't sure who had shouted the name, but looking around the room the whole Circle of Khanna had stiffened.
"Lockhart tried to wipe our memories last time," Joseph snarled, jumping to his feet, his arms outstretched, as if he was giving a lecture in class. "And now he returns to Hogwarts at the same time as this Heir of Slytherin shows up?"
"Lockhart?" It was Clarice who had spoken up. "He was sorted into Ravenclaw, and not a very bright one from what I heard. I can see him do something immensely stupid, but not something murderous!"
"Then who else fits the description?" Joseph spun around to face Clarice. " Who else joined Hogwarts this year? A bunch of first years? Last I checked there were no transfers to Hogwarts since our senior year. Has Peeves gone off the deep end?"
"When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." A red haired boy chirped loudly, attracting the gaze of half the room in the process.
"Thank you Colin," Joseph grumbled, the anger in his voice having been replaced with an irritated deadpan. "Moved on to Sherlock Holmes, have we?"
"Colin is right," Clarice said, shaking her head as she continued, rising to her feet as well, as if to counter Joseph in every way possible. "If Lockhart was indeed the Heir of Slytherin, then why did he not fight alongside the Death Eaters in the First War? He was in school during the War, wasn't he?"
Merula glanced over to Joseph, who now stood frozen in place, his arms having suddenly dropped to his sides.
"If it was Lockhart, then why now?" Clarice continued, pointing an accusatory finger at Joseph Trent.
"Fame," Joseph wasn't done fighting yet, and there was fire in his eyes when Merula next saw them. "He- he's always been searching for that. He erases the memories of the two students who got attacked. Let them be healed by potion or whatever it is Dumbledore is planning, and claim credit as the hero for driving away the fake Heir of Slytherin. Hell, he might even break the DADA curse in the process."
The room fell silent again, and Merula noticed that even Clarice nodded before she turned around over to Jenny. "You're a Prefect, aren't you?"
Jenny paused, then she nodded. "What about it?"
"You remember who we are, don't you?"
Again, Jenny nodded, though Merula noticed she seemed visibly frightened.
"We'll need you to keep your eyes on Lockhart. Work with Beatrice. We'll explain everything to her when we get the chance." Clarice said, walking around the library as she spoke, pacing slowly. "A.J., you too. We need to make sure Lockhart- if he really is the Heir as we suspect, claims no more victims."
"What do you want us to do?" A.J. asked.
"Just be wary of the miserable crumpet," Clarice replied. "Make sure Slytherin does-"
"Most of the girls in Hogwarts adore the bastard," A.J. cut in. "And half of the boys too. That idea's dead as Merlin."
Clarice bit her lip. "We still need to try. Bill, can you send a message to your brothers to keep an eye out for Lockhart?"
"That I can do," Bill replied with a nod, pausing for a moment, having sat back down sometime during the heated argument. "I know that the twins can keep a secret, but should I tell Percy the specifics of this discussion?"
Merula grimaced at the claustrophobic silence that fell, but she waited, along with the rest of the Circle, for an answer.
"Not Percy," Clarice said at last, shaking her head. "He's one of us, but he's far too… lawful. And given Lockhart hasn't openly gone Rakepick, we can't rely on him to keep a necessary secret."
"And what of Ron and Gin-"
"They're too young," Clarice said, shaking her head before making eye contact with Merula. "And knowing that Ron rushed off to fight Voldemort last year alone… well, I don't believe fortune will favour him this time."
"That's fair," Bill said, pausing to look down at his watch. "I think this meeting has gone long enough. Thank you all for coming."
There was a long silence after that, with more than a few of the Circle apparating away, perhaps satisfied with the proceedings. Merula however, could see A.J. approach Bill, and she could see his lips moving, and an open hand gestured toward her.
Merula was about to stand up and leave, content to ask A.J. what the Weasley was saying about her at a later date, but then a voice came from behind her, one that came so quickly and suddenly that she almost jumped out of her skin.
"Might I suggest one last thing before we wrap up?" The voice, one of a woman Merula hadn't heard before, asked.
"Chiara," Bill said, pausing for a moment as Merula spun around to face the witch that had almost given her a heart attack, following her as she moved closer to Bill and most of the remaining Circle members. "What is it that you need?"
"Hogwarts is brewing a Mandrake potion to revive the petrified students, right?" The blonde girl asked, her hands fidgeting nervously as she glanced around the dozen or so witches and wizards still left.
"Yes," Jenny confirmed with a nod. "What about it?"
"What if we make our own?" Chiara asked, a question that seemed to attract the attention of all of the remaining witches and wizards. "We can get the ingredients, and if we can get to a victim before Lockhart can erase their memories, then maybe we can end this threat early?"
"That's a good plan," Joseph said, pausing for a moment to look around the room before turning to Clarice. "Clarice, can I trust you to brew the potion? It'll take some extra attention-"
"Not a problem," Clarice nodded, raising both hands to stop the Auror in training. "It'll take less than a month, once I can get enough Mandrake, that is."
"If Mandrake is the missing ingredient, then we should all keep an eye out for it whenever we're visiting an apothecary." Jacob, the wizard with almost no hair, added. "Can we agree on that?"
For a moment, Merula heard a murmuring of agreement, and then silence again as Bill raised his hand.
"Then it's settled. In the meantime, let's all enjoy our holiday, because starting tomorrow we'll be bringing Lockhart to justice."
AN: Isn't irony lovely? The Circle of Khanna, the Vault Gang and defeater of Rakepick gets tricked by a 11 year old and a book.
With the introduction of most of the Circle of Khanna (or at least the primary members in relation to the Cursed Vaults), I'm planning on having some relatively large... changes to Harry Potter's story. As Voldemort has found out, you don't make a dangerous enemy and somehow make it out unscathed.
AN 2: Sialis Snyde is a renamed canonical character (not an OC!). Feel free to guess their true identity in the comments section.
