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You weren't entirely sure how it had happened. One second, you were chatting to Penny and Ben in the near-empty great hall about an upcoming assignment in Potions, and the next, well...
"Snape always has it out for me. I'm literally in his house, I don't understand-" You had been saying to Penny, who was nodding sympathetically, when you heard someone yell.
"Stupefy!" The voice echos around the hall, followed by the sparking sounds of the charm and the thump of the victim falling to the floor. You quickly turn your head and see Merula, sitting up and wincing in pain. And you see Rowan, their wand pointed directly at the unarmed girl. You share a worried glance at Penny and Ben before the three of you rush over.
"-and you don't have the right to be lying and telling anyone anything about (Y/N) or their life!" You catch the end of Rowan's sentence as you approach, your breath getting caught in your throat. Had Merula been spreading rumours about you again? You thought that you'd both moved passed that after the night you spent talking with each other in the Slytherin common room until the early hours of the morning. Well, maybe a little bit more than talking.
"Rowan!" You call as soon as you're close enough for your best friend to hear you. They turn towards you and sigh, before turning back to Merula, their wand still pointed at her.
"She's spreading lies about you again, (Y/N). She said that you spent the night together in the common room. She said... she said that you love her" Rowan broke off into laughter at the idea. You felt your heart crawl into your throat as your cheeks flushed. You glanced at Merula and fought to keep a straight face when you saw how flushed her cheeks were too. You swallowed roughly, gently placing your hand on Rowan's shoulder.
"Why don't we go somewhere more private to talk?" You said quietly, trying not to draw more attention to the situation. Rowan just continued to laugh.
"I wasn't spreading anything. I only told Ismelda because she's my friend-" Merula spoke up, flinching back when Rowan stopped laughing and glared at her.
"Silencio!" They yelled, the charm hitting Merula, who flinched again. If you weren't mistaken, there was a glimpse of fear in her eyes.
"No one was talking to you... Death Eater!" Rowan said, almost hesitantly. Their eyes shone with panic for a split second before hardening again as he glared at Merula. Merula's eyes shone too, but with unshed tears. You knew that she was sensitive about anything to do with the dark lord and her parents. You gripped Rowan's shoulder harshly.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" You hissed. They turned to you and had the audacity to look surprised at your reaction.
"What? She's spreading lies about you and you expect me to just sit back and let her? You always told me it was better to stand up for my friends than let things slide, what's different here?" They asked, their wand now by their side. You could feel everyone's gaze on you and decided it was now or never.
"Because she isn't lying!" You yelled, before sighing deeply. Rowan's eyes widened for a moment before they furrow their eyebrows.
"You're lying" They said, a dark look on their face. You don't trust your voice, so you just shake your head. They jab their wand under your jaw, but you can feel it shaking in their hand.
"Expelliarmus" You heard Penny mutter and Rowan's wand goes sliding along the floor of the great hall. They watch it slide before turning back to you, glaring.
"You... and her?" They hissed, glancing at Merula before looking back at you. You still don't trust your voice, so you just nod.
"Out of everyone. You choose her? The same girl who bullies Ben and constantly tries to one-up you and who always mentions your brother being missing and always said how you were bound to end up just like him? The same girl who's parents worked for You-Know-Who and are locked up in Azkaban, where she's bound to follow? Her?" Their tone is accusatory and you see red. You tug your wand out of your sleeve, pointing it at them.
"Everte Statum!" You yelled and Rowan goes flying back, crashing into the wall. You heard Penny gasp behind you and you heard Ben whisper your name, but you don't care at this point. Rowan went too far. You return your wand in your sleeve before walking over to their crumpled form.
"Don't talk to me again unless it's a fucking apology" You growled, before storming off, gently dragging Merula with you. She puts up no resistance and you don't mention the tears pooling in her eyes as you mutter a counter-spell, allowing her to speak again.
You don't stop until you end up in the Slytherin common room. It's empty, which would normally surprise you, but it's the middle of the day and most people are in class. By some form of dumb luck, most of your friend group has study lessons after lunch and you're positive that Professor Binns won't notice that the two of you are missing. You sigh deeply, closing your eyes and gently tugging your hair from frustration. Soft hands gently take your hands back down from your hair and you open your eyes to see Merula, standing mere inches from you.
You pull her into a tight embrace, frowning slightly when she tenses. You almost let go, when she relaxes and holds onto you just as tight, hiding her face in your shoulder. You stay like that for a while. Neither her grip nor yours loosened.
Eventually, you do pull away. Merula doesn't lift her head and you go to ask her if she's okay, but she cuts you off.
"I'm sorry" She whispered, voice cracking slightly. You furrow your eyebrows in confusion.
"Why?" Is all you can ask in response. You don't understand why she's sorry when it should be Rowan who was apologising.
"If I hadn't said anything to Ismelda and they hadn't heard me... everything would be fine. You'd still be friends and we'd still be hidden and-" She stopped, drawing in a shaky breath. You sighed softly before cupping her cheek and gently tipping her head up to face you.
"Listen to me. Things are gonna be fine. Rowan went too fucking far, they should never have said anything about your family life. And, yeah, you used to be kinda bad to us, but you've changed so much from the person you were in first year. If I could go back and tell my first-year self to be nicer, especially to you, then I think so much would've changed. And... just because we're out now, it doesn't mean anything has to change. I'll still love you and I doubt anyone is gonna say a bad word about us if they know who we are. The most powerful witches at Hogwarts" You spoke, your voice barely above a whisper. Your heart skipped a beat when Merula smiled slightly once you finished talking.
"I love you too, you know" She whispered back to you, placing her hand on top of the one you had resting on her cheek. You couldn't help but smile. That was a sentence that you'd wanted to hear for years and now, finally, you could hear it whenever you wanted. You kissed her lips gently and you knew. Things would be okay.