Greetings fellow wizards and witches,

With the new Fantastic beast's movie coming ever closer, I started playing the game Hogwarts mystery and found myself enjoying the story (not the energy system) and knowing myself I began to delve the internet for fanfics for in between the pauses of spending energy. The character of Merula got my attention and was quick to join the ship and began to read fanfics. Feeling inspired I began to write my own story.

Speaking of this story, I first thought of a one-shot but at the end of this story I found myself setting it up for potential follow up chapters. How many chapters? I have no idea yet.

I must quickly mention this; this story isn't my other project I teased in my other story (The choices we make). That story is still in what I would call pre-production, I am still working out the details, but the general idea is set. However, due to SWTOR's recent bad updates I have decided to put those two stories on hold as I am going to wait out how 6.0 is going to handle things. (probably bad)

I hope you will enjoy this story, it is a Merula x Male Player character. His name is Connor Mattias Thatcher. He has white skin colour, dark blonde hair that is a bit messy with grey eyes.

04-07-2019

I have revised this story so that the main character (MC) is now Slytherin instead of Ravenclaw, the reason here is because it gives me more freedom and grants me a more interesting dynamic with Merula and other characters.

Subsequently I have gone back to the previous chapters to update and change parts were necessary so to fit the new change.

"Now as to this assignment you will be required to partner with a classmate here. Mister Thatcher and miss Snyde, you two will be working together on this assignment." Snape's monotone voice spoke as he stood behind his desk.

Connor couldn't hear Snape name the rest of the names being called out to work together as he looked at Merula sitting on the opposite side of their table. Not to anyone's surprise she threw him a foul scowl. Not that it felt any worse, he had gotten used to the looks and remarks he got from her.

What was a surprise to him was that it was only a scowl, back in their first and second year it would have been followed up by a remark about him and his brother or that he'll ruin Slytherin again. That and a request for a different partner to work with but since the third year their animosity had begun to cool down but now near the end of their fourth-year things where almost, dare say, cordial.

"I suppose I will have to work with my favourite cursed classmate." Merula sighed.

"Your favourite now, got any other boys in your sight Merula?" Connor retorted.

If it wasn't for the cold, he could swear he saw a blush on her cheeks. Turning his attention back to Snape as he finished name all the pairings, Connor watched as he silently rose from his seat.

"Should you fail this assignment, your winter vacation will be… extraordinarily busy." Snape words echoed throughout the classroom, allowing it to sink in. "The exams will be held after the vacation, dismissed."

With that final word, a mad scramble ensued for everyone to grab their books and personal items and heading out the class. As Connor grabbed his own things and headed to the door of the class room only to be stopped by an all too familiar violet eyed Slytherin.

"Not so fast, Thatcher." She addressed her fellow Slytherin in front of her. "As much as I dislike working together with you, we both need to pass this assignment and win the cup."

"Finally, something we can agree on." Connor said, moving past her. "Besides I want to spend at least some of my vacation with my parents."

From the corner of his eyes, Connor watched as he saw Merula tense up as she walked next to him.

A pang of guilt filled him, knowing the fact that she had no parents to go back for during any holidays and he knew she tried hard to hide that was hard on her.

"Sorry, I know that your parents –" Connor began to apologise, Merula cut him off.

"Save it, Thatcher." She snapped, increasing her pace prompting Connor to follow suit.

"Merula." He said, with a jolt they came to a stop and she turned around to face him. A mixture of hurt and anger in her eyes.

"Don't Merula me." She warned, taking out her wand and poking his chin with it.

"I'm sorry." Connor repeated, using his fingers to slowly lower her wand away from his face.

"I would hex your face if we didn't have this assignment together." Merula hissed through her teeth.

"I know." Connor stated and for a few moments the two kept their gaze.

"Let's just get this over with." Merula took a step back from him and continued her pace through the hallways.

Letting out a small shuttering breath, Connor quickly caught up to Merula. Falling into the same brisk pace as her, the two walked to their destination.

The library of Hogwarts as usual dotted with students of various years, some conversing with each other whilst others studied alone. As to him, he had taken up residence on the couch near the fireplace that softly crackled in the background. The biggest surprise was the Merula had chosen to sit next to him instead of the most far away chair that was available. That itself wasn't a problem rather her consistent shifting, he had tried to ignore it for the past hour they had spent discussing and going over their homework.

"If it wasn't for her shifting I might actually enjoy some time with her."

"Merula?" Connor spoke her name.

"What?" He didn't need to look up from his book to see the eyeroll.

"Are you nervous?" The brash question had clearly startled her, either that he asked it or that he noticed it.

"No." Came the abrupt answer. It was clear to him something was bothering her, knowing all too well that she isn't one to open up and spill her feelings. Despite this he still had to try. Looking up from his book and taking in a small breath of air, he prepared himself.

"If this is about –" He began before being cut off by Merula.

"This isn't about that." She looked up from her own book. What was surprising to Connor was that the anger in her eyes was evaporated, her posture remained rigid and her face gave no hint of emotion but despite her best efforts he could see the hurt and sadness in her eyes.

"Merula, I know what it's like to lose family. You have to open up eventually." Connor spoke quietly, trying to peel off the mask that was no doubt holding back tears.

"I can handle things myself, I am perfectly fine with that." She stated, her eyes returned to the book in her lap. No doubt in order to avoid his gaze.

"Are you?" He questioned.

Silence fell between them as he kept his gaze on her. She in turn, tried her best to control her own internal turmoil. Her grip on the book she held tightened as she kept up her own mantra, repeating it over and over again in her head. I'm fine, just ignore him. A challenge that had become more difficult in the past year, if anything her quivering lip gave it away. Keeping her eyes on the pages but unable to read them, she could see him preparing himself to say something.

"Connor, don't." It was the only thing she could manage to say.

Taking the hint, Connor leaned back into the couch. Letting out a small breath of reprieve, Merula took a few seconds to compose herself and lean back herself. Finally, able to read the text that was scribbled onto the thick pages. Snape had given them the assignment of choosing a potion to brew, that itself wasn't all to hard – she knew full well that she and Thatcher where one of the brightest students. The lesser part was they had to write an essay, from the potion's effects to its ingredients and what they themselves do.

Their choice of potion: Elixir to Induce Euphoria. Thatcher had proposed the idea, claiming it would cheer her up from her usual sense of brooding. Rolling her eyes at the memory, she continued to write down on her notebook. Glancing up at Connor, she found him he was doing the same. Raising an eyebrow at her, Merula quickly she buried her head back into copying details and information in her notebook.

"How far are you coming, hope not that these books melt your brain." She jabbed at him.

Connor tried to hide his annoyance as best he could, to her the last ten minutes never seemed to have happened. Despite it all, he could hear a hint of tiredness in her voice. He didn't doubt at all the emotions swirling inside her along with their current assignment and other adventures. The Cursed-Vaults had been a heavy toll, although neither showed the other that – not wanting to show signs that the other might use against them.

"I have written down most of the details of the potion and all the surround baggage." Connor sighed. "You?"

"Just finishing up some details about the Sopophorous bean." She answered. Merula could hear him make an acknowledging sound in the back of his throat followed by what sounded like a yawn.

Glancing at the clock hanging above hearth, she saw it was almost 7 o'clock. Just about an hour till madam Pince would close the library, this however didn't stop herself from yawning too. After all they had been studying and discussing for more than an hour and a half. Leaning back into the couch, she couldn't deny that she was tired. Another yawn came followed by another, this didn't go unnoticed by Connor.

"Getting tired?" He teased.

"Shut up." She retorted but lacking the usual bitterness.

Connor noticed it, smiling to himself as he looked to see her struggling to keep her eyes open. Deciding to keep any commentary to himself he focused back on the book he was reading. It wasn't long before he could hear Merula starting to breath slightly louder, sneaking a glance to his partner he confirmed his suspicions. She'd fallen asleep, it was an interesting sight to see. His bully and tormentor, Merula Snyde was peacefully sleeping. Unlike the person whom would constantly remind him of his brother's expulsion. Yawning himself, Connor found his own sight getting groggy from is tiredness. Relaxing back into the comfortable couch, he felt a sudden weight on his shoulders.

Looking to his left he saw Merula resting her head on his shoulders. Connor could feel sweat starting to form on his body, his heart racing on how to deal with is current situation. Waking her would be a bad idea as she would no doubt smack him in the face, letting her rest was the only option. Taking in a sharp breath to calm himself. Connor eased back, letting the tension leave his body.

Strangely enough, he found it rather comfortable as he accepted his new role as her pillow. She stirred slightly, scooting closer as she adjusted her body. Smiling to himself, Connor couldn't deny his curiosity. Carefully lifting his left arm from his book and lifting it over hear head, brushing a few loose strands behind her ear before settling it on her shoulder. Surprisingly to him was that unlike its appearance, her hair was rather soft. A bigger surprise was that she was snoring faintly, forcing himself not to laugh as it would wake her up.

It didn't take long for his own tiredness to overcome him, he wouldn't mind falling asleep like this. Pince be damned, Merula's waking up reaction be damned.

"Merula, wake up."

Merula stirred, blinking a few times before opening her eyes fully. Adjusting to the lack of light she saw she was still on the couch near the fireplace of the library. Looking to her left she could see she was inches from Connor's face, blinking once – no twice, she processed her current situation and in an instant, she was awake and pushed herself up from his body.

"Wake up, Merula."

Sending Connor a scowl as she rose from the couch, he in turn eyed her curiously.

"Did you rest well?" He asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Not anymore." She sent him a vicious look.

"So, you did enjoy it." Connor pointed out.

Merula stopped at the realisation of her slip up, quickly grabbing her items before heading off to the library exit. Connor smiled in satisfaction, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and grabbed his own stuff.

A brief jog allowed him to catch up to Merula, gaining a scornful look from madam Pince as he did. Falling once again into her brisk pace, the two exited the library and entered the long but vacated hallways of Hogwarts.

Their walk itself wasn't eventful, the few moments in between the silence where of Merula sneaking a glance at Connor whom in turn, gave her a goofy smile. It happened a few times until they neared the end of their destination, the Slytherin common room.

"Thanks for studying with me." Connor interrupted the silence.

"Please, I just want to succeed in this assignment and get rid of you." Merula shrugged, using her hand to wave it off in a dramatic gesture.

"No, I think you just like having me around as company." Connor teased, opening the door of their common room.

"In your dreams, Thatcher." Merula huffed at him.

"Yours actually." Connor corrected, glancing over his shoulder.

"Excuse me?" She snapped, stopping at the entrance of the dormitory stairs.

"What? You where the one sleeping peacefully on my shoulder, snoring a bit I might add." He recalled.

Merula's eyes widened slightly, turning her face away from his grinning face. A clear attempt to hide her blush, this only made him chuckle.

"Shut up." She hissed, turning towards the door of the female dormitories. Before she could make any headway, she felt a hand grab her own.

"Merula, wait." He said faster than he'd like. Her face turned back to look at his, her eyes flickered to his hand holding hers. Catching himself he withdrew it, a small blush creeping up his face.

"Where and when are we continuing our studies?" He asked, regaining his composure.

"I suppose tomorrow again in the library." Merula suggested, shrugging.

"Sure thing." Connor gave her a small smile. An uncertain silence fell between them, their eyes remained locked on one another and it wasn't until the chattering of nearby students broke their gaze.

I'll uhm... see you then." Connor said, giving her a nervous laugh before turning away to the stairs leading to his own dormitory, leaving things unsaid as he did.

Walking up the stairs to his dormitory, Connor headed straight to his bed. Ignoring all the praising and disapproving comments on the way up, kicking off his boots and swapping his robes for his pyjamas he let himself flop onto the bed. Looking back, he found that studying with Merula's wasn't as bad.

At least from his perspective, he would always try to talk it out but Merula kept him and pretty much everyone on armlength, always wanting to do it herself and prove she is the best. No doubt because her parents being death-eaters and in Azkaban, despite all this he knew Merula did have a softer side, today was an example.

Connor briefly mused the idea of her falling asleep on him again tomorrow in the library. Letting out a snorting sound, he brushed the thought away as he rolled onto his side and the need for sleep began to take over.

He didn't at all expect to be wrong the next day.

Hope you liked this story, if you did be sure to leave a review and tell me what you liked. If you didn't feel free to give me feedback on how to improve my writing. And if you have any story suggestions be sure to let me know.

~Fulcrum