Days Gone (Y4 - Pt. 2)

Anon's eyes were first drawn to the unflattering image of his longtime rival, dead center on the front page of the Daily Prophet. A familiar sight he had witnessed firsthand multiple times during his stay at Hogwarts, now only filled him with a sense of unease. Rita Skeeter had chosen to show Merula at her lowest - clutching her side and wincing in pain, her eyes darting about in a mix of despair and anger. Below the moving image, the caption read "Snyde after losing her duel with fellow student, Anon Ymous."

"Oof, that's not the face you want to show the wizarding world." Charlie quipped, his eyes caught up on the same spot as Anon's. Meanwhile, Rowan's eyes quickly darted back and forth over the page, reading silently.

"Wait, if that's something about Merula, could ya read it out loud?" Somehow managing a full sentence through a full mouth, Barnaby suddenly expressed interest in the article he had previously discarded.

Though it took a moment to grab his attention, Rowan eventually responded, "I... yeah, sure Barnaby." Letting out a heavy sigh, disappointed that he would have to restart the article from the beginning, Rowan began reading aloud to his companions.

"Merula Snyde, a gifted student at Hogwarts, with a troubling disposition and an alarming family past."

'Not a good start,' Anon thought to himself. In spite of this, as Rowan continued, Rita was fairly kind to her subject. Her "remarkable talent, especially with Potions," - praise lavished upon Merula by Snape - and her skill as a duelist, relative to most other students, were major focuses of the first page. Though, Anon noted that Rita claimed that she had picked out Merula herself, when in reality, he had nominated the witch for the honor during their third year.

"Just like I told you, she's bad, but she's not ALL bad." Charlie beamed as he reminded Anon of his own first interaction with the confrontational girl.

Anon's unease waned. Despite the intensity of his rivalry and the anger she caused him to feel at times, she had seemed to genuinely desire being praised on the front page of the Prophet. At the time, his nomination had come from a belief that it would get Merula off his back, but as time passed, he began to think it could smooth out her rough edges.

"Y'know, that's a real dumb title if all they're gonna do is talk about how good she is at stuff." Barnaby's attention had turned away from his plate, enthralled by the article and Rowan's reading voice.

"Could you hold on just a minute, Barnaby? Look, it says here 'More, on page 3.'" Rowan pointed out the tiny print to his muscled friend.

"Oh. Well, what are you waiting for, brainiac? Keep going. I want to know how it ends."

Rowan pursed his lips and sighed at the boy across the table, "You do know that it's not a storybook, right? It's not like there's gonna be - Forget it." He gave up on lecturing, and turned to the designated page, reading on.

"However," Rowan's pronunciation of the word brought feelings of happiness and celebration to Anon, which completely disarmed him for what followed. "Miss Snyde's life is one spent in shadows: those of her parents, and those of her schoolmates."

Silence. Aside from Rowan's voice and the ringing in his ears, Anon was deaf to the giggling, chattering, and shuffling around him. Within that single line, his world shrank, as he realized exactly where the rest of the article was headed.

"For those who do not recognize the Snyde name, the young witch's parents were among the many Death Eaters captured and arrested following You-Know-Who's downfall. As members of the Dark Lord's army, the couple were guilty of a great number of crimes against muggles and fellow wizards alike. Though she may have been too young to understand, her upbringing was no doubt one engulfed in the dark practices of her family's associates.

As was the fate of all arrested Death Eaters, her parents were imprisoned in the remote island fortress, Azkaban, where they currently serve their life sentences. Merula was only 8 at the time of their arrests, but one must ask: was she already affected by their evil inclinations? Those Hogwarts students who claimed to be victims of her bullying (under promises of anonymity) would agree with this thought."

There it was. What had previously been known only to Anon and his close allies, and remained a faint rumor amongst the other students, was now public knowledge. The entirety of Hogwarts, and the wizarding world at large, now possessed damning knowledge of the "most powerful witch in Hogwarts." He understood the source of the various jeers and frightened gasps he had heard just before reading the article.

Anon scanned the Great Hall, noticing a number of students had finished their meals, no doubt eager to spread the article like wildfire.

"I don't understand, how did she find that out? I specifically held back on saying anything about Merula's parents when Rita asked." Anon was despondent, clenching his fists in frustration. His plan to get his rival off his back had backfired, sure; but, why was he feeling so strongly in reaction to this secret getting out?

Rowan looked away from the paper, taking a quick sip of juice before addressing his friend. "You had to have known. She's a journalist. They find information no one wants to part with, reading between the lines, or prodding at any lead they can."

"What's the big deal? You guys knew my parents were Death Eaters, and you still let me hang out with you." Barnaby's confusion highlighted his naiveté, "I wouldn't mind if everyone knew about them, what's that got to do with me, y'know?"

His three friends were stuck searching for an answer to this for a few moments, before Anon finally piped up, "You know how everyone treats me for what Jacob did? The professors and even other students? Maybe it's the same with her parents?" He was unsure of himself, not completely buying into his own explanation, but the words caused him to become lost in thought, before Rowan continued reading.

"Looks like the next part is about you," Rowan gave a nervous chuckle before shakily transitioning into his reading voice. "While her parents hold sway over her past, her current position in the hierarchy of Hogwarts is equally troubled. Fellow student and longtime rival, Anon Ymous has, according to many accounts, been a thorn in Miss Snyde's side since she enrolled. Starting in their first year, the two have butted heads constantly, with unconfirmed rumors of their rule-breaking duels. Those who claim to have witnessed such events, explained that Merula had been constantly humiliated by Mr. Ymous, but relentlessly challenged him nonetheless.

Could this behavior be a sign that she is destined to follow in her parent's footsteps? Or perhaps she sees this as a way to distance herself from her parents' activities? Whatever the case may be, this reporter believes Merula Snyde is certainly one witch that the wizarding world should keep its eye on in the coming years."

A collective exhale came from the group, aside from Barnaby, who was still bewildered at how tense the atmosphere had become. Rowan set the paper down and looked over to Anon, trying to gauge his friend's reaction.

"Why the hell did she have to mention me? Does she want me dead?" Anon's pent up frustration boiled over as his white knuckles slammed the table. "I'm such an idiot! I shouldn't have even talked to that witch. I knew there was something up about her." He began shaking, but it wasn't clear whether it was due to fear or anger.

"Maybe she won't read it. Why would she blame you, even if she did read the article?" Rowan knew how foolish he sounded, but did his best to calm his friend down.

"'Won't read it'? I'll bet she was looking forward to this, and even if she didn't, do you think everyone's going to keep mum about it? The whole school's just going to stay silent after finding out her parents were confirmed Death Eaters? And who was the one who nominated her for the story?"

"You were!" Barnaby joined in the conversation, excited to remind his friend of his good deed.

"Thanks, Barnaby! You're real swell!" His head shook with each exaggerated, sarcastic syllable.

Barnaby only smiled proudly.

"They're just trying to help, Anon. Besides, what good is panicking going to do?" Charlie began trying to defuse his troubled friend. "Handle this like every other challenge you have up to this point, and you'll get through it. Trust me." His best attempt at providing moral support did little to address his own worries about how ugly this could get.

Anon closed his eyes, shook his head, and let out a deep breath. "Look, I'm sorry. I just can't see ending well. I don't know what she's going to do, so the only thing I can hope for is to avoid her for as long as possible." He eyed his friends, finding earnest support in each of them. "Thanks guys, I'm sure I'll get through this with you all at my side."

"We're here for you." Rowan trailed off, clearly thinking of something, before he continued with a look of anguish on his face, "I don't want to kill the vibe, but you do remember what today is, right?"

Anon pondered for a moment, before the same anguish spread across his face. "...It's a double-header. Potions and Flying." He let his head fall to the table, shaking the plates and silverware slightly upon impact. "I'm done for."

---

After Anon and his friends finished up their breakfast conversation, along with plans for Anon to avoid Merula for the rest of his life, they finally decided to disperse and head off to their first classes for the day.

In the end, none of Anon's strategies would keep him away from her in their shared classes, unless he wanted to fail them and drop out entirely. As he considered this, and began the long plank walk to Potions, a screech emanated through the halls.

Some sort of banshee-mandrake hybrid, he thought. He wished. But no, he recognized the owner of the voice, and recognized that its source was closing in.

"YMOUS!!!"