The sky was a dark grey, as if a giant ink bottle had been spilled. After a painfully boring morning of Ancient Runes, Anon was feeling restless. Staring at symbols for so long had left him itching for an activity that didn't give him a headache. According to his timetable, up next would be his first Care of Magical Creatures class of the year, despite the fact it was currently December. Anon didn't really remember why they'd essentially had a free period in this lesson for the last three months, but he vaguely remembered Dumbledore mentioning something about 'bones get brittle after being shattered too many times' so he figured there was probably a good reason.

Anon really would have thought Dumbledore could have found a substitute teacher to at least teach them *something* for the last four months, but he seemed more intent on coming up with increasingly stupid reasons to let Slytherin win the house cup. Last year he'd given Anon 100 points for having the courage to sit next to Merula, who had looked torn between wanting to murder him and wanting to hug him, and the year before that he'd been given 100 points simply for sitting with Ben at the start of the feast. His exact words had been 'Displaying inter-house unity'. Anon wasn't entirely sure what the point of the house cup was when Dumbledore was clearly picking favourites, but the prefects seemed really invested in it so he hadn't bothered saying anything.

When Anon finally made it to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, he found his friends already waiting for him. Rowan seemed to be bouncing on the balls of his feet in excitement, while Ben seemed to be struggling to fight the impulse to run screaming back to the castle. Since this would not be out of the ordinary for Ben, Anon didn't particularly pay any attention to the Gryffindor.

Arriving beside Rowan, Anon saw that Professor Kettleburn still hadn't arrived.
"Are we sure he's actually going to show up this time?" The class had already been through this scenario twice in the last three months, with each time being cut short by a new incident. Last time, Kettleburn had apparently been halfway to the forest when he'd tripped and broken his arm against a particularly sharp rock.

Before Rowan could respond with what was likely an exhaustive list of reasons Kettleburn could or couldn't show up, a sharp voice that Anon knew all too well cut through the air.
"If you'd paid any attention to the notice in the common room this morning, Idiot, you'd know that Professor Kettleburn is back in the hospital wing. They're saying he's lost an eye this time."

Anon turned to look at the new arrival. Standing before him was the girl known in the Slytherin common rooms as the 'Slytherin Ice Queen'. Brown hair with a patch of brighter, almost ginger hair, striking violet eyes and bushy eyebrows, Merula Snyde crossed her arms and glared at him. "What the hell are you looking at, Ymous?"

"I see you're right on time, Snyde. I'm incredibly sorry that I was too busy talking to my friends to check the notice board today, but at least you're here to set me straight. What would I do without you?" Anon drawled, noting the very slight tinge in Merula's cheeks when he mentioned his friends with a slight pang of guilt. Over the years, he and Merula had mellowed from attempting to kill each other to simply insulting each other every chance they got, but he knew she still struggled to make friends, especially after the fiasco in their third year where he'd turned both Barnaby and Ismelda against her while rubbing the fact he was stealing her friends away in her face.

"Alrigh', everyone! Yeh remember yer textbooks?" The friendly tone of the half-giant gameskeeper cut through the thick atmosphere generated by Anon's slightly-more-insulting-than-intended remark. "Today we'll be coverin' Hippogriffs, so come on over and let's get started." Anon and Merula broke their intense glaring match to see Hagrid waving them over. He was standing next to a large winged creature with piercing yellow eyes, that Anon recognized from his textbook as a Hippogriff.

"Now, the trick with Hippogriffs is that they're very proud creatures. Yeh can't jus' wander over to a Hippogriff or he'll scratch yer eyes out. Yeh gotta treat them with respect." While Hagrid explained how to demonstrate proper respect to a Hippogriff through bowing and maintaining eye contact, Rowan leaned over to whisper to Anon.

"So, when are you and Merula finally going to get over this rivalry and kiss already?" Anon let out a slight gasp and quickly slapped Rowan in the back of the head, ignoring the voice in the back of his head that said how good of an idea that was.

"Miss Snyde, could yeh come 'ere please?" Anon looked up away from Rowan's smug face to see Merula stepping forward from the rest of the class. "I'd like yeh to try bowin' to my frien' here, see if he'll even let yeh ride him. Make sure yeh maintain eye contact and don't get back up until he bows back."

With a "Yes, Sir", Merula stepped forward , stared right at the Hippogriff and bowed. The Hippogriff stared back.

"Is something wrong?" Anon whispered to Rowan.

"I'm not sure...usually they shouldn't wait this long to bow back." Rowan whispered back, frowning as he took in the scene.

Anon began to edge forward, being careful not to get too close, lest he spur the Hippogriff into attacking. From closer up, he could see Merula starting to get nervous, beads of sweat beginning to drip down her face. Despite this, she didn't blink or look away from the beast.

Just then, Anon felt a drop of rain hit his head. The sky that had been threatening to open up since he had woken up, was finally about to let loose. Anon quickly focused his gaze back on Merula, for he had a sinking feeling that things were about to go ugly, very fast.

A raindrop landed on Merula's head, and she broke eye contact. In a second, the Hippogriff's demeanor changed from cautious to furious. With a stamp of it's hoof on the muddy ground, it began to charge toward Merula. "BACK, GET BACK!" Anon heard Hagrid yell, but he could see that no one would be able to reach Merula before the Hippogriff did.

No one, that is, but him.

"This may be the stupidest decision I've ever made." Anon thought to himself, as he began to charge toward Merula, who had only taken a step back in fright.

"Anon, what are you- DEH!" Merula managed to get out before Anon barged into her and sent her sprawling to the floor, right out of the Hippogriff's path...and putting himself right into it.

The last thing Anon heard before the searing pain of a Hippogriff tearing through his body like it was paper hit him was Merula screaming his name.

Anon had been in the hospital wing more than enough times to recognise the smell without opening his eyes. Searching for the cursed vaults and sharing a cauldron with Merula for five years had seen to that.

Merula...

Anon wasn't sure what he'd been thinking. He and Merula had been at odds since their first year, but as time had gone on the insults had turned from genuine dislike to almost playful banter. Anon had been pushing away all the intrusive thought in his head about his feelings toward the auburn-haired witch, but lying here in the hospital wing, he was finally forced to confront the possibility that he actually...liked her.

Opening his eyes, the first thing Anon saw was a multitude of Get-Well cards on the bedside table. He tried to shift himself into a sitting position to get a better look, but found himself unable. Looking down, he saw that his upper body had been stuck to the bed through some sort of healing spell, while his lower body was held in place, not by a spell, but by a sleeping girl.

Anon's eyes widened as he realised that Merula Snyde, the self-proclaimed 'Greatest Witch in Hogwarts' was currently slumped over his legs, sleeping away. Looking closer, he could see that her face was red and her ever present eyeshadow had been replaced with actual bags under her eyes. She looked as if she hadn't slept for days. Had she...been crying? Over him?

At the slight shifting of Anon’s legs, she stirred.

"A-anon?"

Anon let his head fall back onto the pillow, staring up at the ceiling of the hospital wing. "Hey Merula. Come to gloat?"

Merula shot up, a blush tinting her already red face. "N-no, I wanted to see how you were! It wouldn't do for the greatest witch in Hogwarts to not show her gratitude."

Anon let out a slight laugh, followed by a groan when he felt pain racking his body. "I would have thought you'd be happy. I can't exactly search for the vaults like this, can I?"

Merula was silent for a moment, before letting out a sniffle. "You really think I wanted you hurt? I-it was horrible..." When Merula looked back up, there were fresh tears sliding down her face. "By the time Hagrid got the hippogriff off you, you were barely breathing. There was so much blood..."

Silence fell across the hospital wing once more. Anon took the opportunity to try and better see what damage had been done to him. He figured the fact he couldn't feel anything above his waist wasn't a good sign.

"Why did you do it?" Anon snapped his gaze back to Merula, seeing that the Slytherin girl was suddenly more interested in her hands than looking at him.

"Do what?" Anon frowned, unsure what she was asking.

"Save me, idiot! The greatest witch in Hogwarts didn't need your help!"

"I...didn't want to see you get hurt."

"Wh-what? Why the hell would you care, weirdo?"

"Do I need a reason?"

"Of course! No one would do something like that without a motive!"

Anon sighed and closed his eyes, letting his head fall back to the pillow. He hadn't wanted to tell Merula how he really felt, but she clearly wasn't going to let him off without a good answer. "I hate this..."

Merula's next words got caught in her throat.

"Hate what?"

"This...this situation we're in. This antagonism. I don't want this. I want to be your friend." Anon looked over to Merula, only to see her with her head down, and her body shaking. He was surprised to hear quiet sobs coming from the girl that was usually so angry and outspoken.

"I hate you...You took everything from me. You humiliated me, you constantly show me up in class, you stole my friends away and rubbed it in my face!"

Anon's words died in his throat as he thought about what she had said. He had been so cruel to her. He had constantly belittled her, he had rubbed every victory in her face and he had even nearly told Rita Skeeter about her parents.

"Merula...I...I don't want this to go on.  Anon had thought a lot about Merula over the last few days. He'd watched as she pushed everyone else away to focus on her sole objective of finding the vaults and taking their power. He'd compared it to himself, sharing his plans with Rowan, working with Penny, Ben, Tonks and Bill. It was no wonder she seemed to have such a rough time at Hogwarts, unlike him, she had no one to rely on. "You don't need to hold yourself away like this. Just because Barnaby and Ismelda are my friends now doesn't mean they can't be yours too."

"You'd get sick of me... You'd push me away and I'd be all alone again." Merula still wouldn't look at him.

'You push others away because you don't want to be hurt...' Anon knew he needed to get through to her before she could rationalize the entire situation away. "Merula. Look at me."

Merula finally looked at him, her eyes shining with tears.

"I'd never push you away. I don't abandon my friends." Merula still didn't look fully convinced, but she was starting to come around to the idea. Anon paused for a moment, taking in the sight of the girl who had claimed to hate him so many times crying over his half paralysed body. "Beautiful eyes..."

"Merula blinked, looking away quickly. Anon still caught the signs of a blush in her cheeks. "Wh-what the hell are you talking about now, Ymous?"

"I've never really noticed before. You have beautiful eyes, Merula. I hate seeing them filled with anger and sadness."

Merula just looked confused and almost tired now. She had been fighting with her feelings ever since Anon had been admitted to the hospital wing. "I'll...try. It wouldn't be smart to turn down so many potential allies." Anon could still see the blush in her cheeks, but he could also see the faint hints of a smile. He smiled, before letting his head fall back to the pillow.

On the other side of the hospital wing, a disillusioned professor Snape finally allowed himself to relax. This had been one of his more foolish ideas, but five years of attempting to get these two together had taken its toll. The Aguimenti charm had required careful aim, and Snape had been very close to intervening when the Hippogriff had started attacking Anon, but it had seemingly paid off.

'If they don't get together after this, they're never going to.' Snape thought to himself, as he slipped out the door.