Chapter Text
"Hey, mudblood!"
The words sank in with bittersweet familiarity. I turned to face her, sneering.
"Oh, hi Merula," I replied with faux irritation.
Before me stood the unconventionally beautiful Merula Snyde, an exceptionally powerful Slytherin witch and the deepest desire of my heart. Her frizzy locks cascaded down her face in natural zigzagged curls. She held her hands on her hips, wand slotted comfortably between her index and middle fingers.
She stared back at me with brilliant intensity, sweeping her unkempt bangs from her forehead. Her sweet lips curled into a fanged snarl, not unlike that of an angry feline.
"Don't you 'oh, hi Merula' me! It's a privilege for me to even speak to you!" she hissed, earning an eye roll from me. As droves of classmates strode past, not even the usually curious Hufflepuffs offered a passing glance. Everyone simply kept their eyes ahead of them, shuffling stacks of parchment or pretending to read a book. This was a daily, almost ritualistic occurrence in Hogwarts. Our rivalry had lost its charm as it became more and more common for us to incessantly harass one another.
Every time she laid her glistening magenta eyes on me, I could expect a torrent of sharp insults to be shot my way as if they were arrows. Not that I cared as much as I should. Any interaction with her was enough to brighten my day, no matter how cruel my friends felt her words were. A fair few of them would cut deep, but something in my heart kept telling me that she didn't mean it.
"Get to the point," I told her, glaring at her as I walked down the hall towards my common room.
"Well, I just..." she began, shoving her hands into the pockets of her robe and walking beside me. A gentle pink glow adorned her cheeks.
"I hadn't seen you all day, and I'd be remiss if I didn't remind you that I did better than you on yesterday's transfigurations exam. That's all." I turned to face her, my blank, half-interested expression growing into a smirk. I slicked my hair back and gave my best attempt at a suave tone.
"So you missed me?" I inquired cockily, winking at her. She gritted her teeth and shoved me into a young Ravenclaw carrying a stack of parchment.
"Of course I didn't miss you, you insufferable dolt! Your mere existence makes me feel ill!" she huffed, storming on towards the stairs with a drumroll of thunderous footsteps. I picked myself up and helped the younger student gather up his dropped work.
The little Ravenclaw looked up at me. I could see the sadness in his eyes, and I hated it. This kid seemed like the empathetic type. He felt for me, but I couldn't let on. Not for him. Not for anyone. That ate me up inside.
"Why on Earth do you put up with her?" he inquired, his face scrunched with thought.
I placed the stack of papers in his hands, shrugging my shoulders. "I do a lot of mad things for a lot of mad people." As I walked away, I cursed internally at myself. I could feel the warmth in my cheeks, and I was certain everyone could see it.