Merula groaned, cupping her head in her palms as she felt her pride swirling down the drain. It had already been an hour since she had entered the washroom, the pile of used makeup wipes strewn around the floor proving it.

She stared at herself in the mirror, inwardly cursing her horrid mess of hair. Taking a brush to it seemed to have actually made it even messier than usual. Globs of foundation were slathered all over her face, giving her the appearance of a ghoul. It was dreadfully clear the girl wasn’t used to prettying herself up.

“Meruuuuulaaa, hurry it up!” one of her roommates whined from outside. The young witch had locked herself in the room, much to the displeasure of her fellow Slytherins. Even as nervous as she currently was, Merula had no intention of letting her peers see her feminine side, especially given her…ineptitude with applying makeup. Ignoring the complaints from the door, she turned her attention away from her hair and to the light sundress she had chosen for the occasion, biting her lip as she considered it. Was it too slutty looking? Did it suit her? Hell, it’s not like she had ever dressed up in anything but her usual school robes in the five years she had been at Hogwarts, it would definitely look weird. Right?

Normally, the girl couldn’t have cared less about how she looked. What did beauty and glamor matter for the most powerful witch in Hogwarts? No, it was all just crap that took time away from practicing spells or memorizing new potions. And yet, this time was different. All thanks to a stupid letter from him. Merula sighed as thoughts of the person in question once again filled her head. Never had she imagined that the boy who had endlessly humiliated, taunted, and antagonized her in their first four years together would have ever made her feel like this. Though, admittingly, it wasn’t like she hadn’t done the same. But even despite everything she had done to him, Anon had risked his own life to save hers last year, when the pair had accidentally run into trouble in the form of several Acromantulas while trying to uncover a Cursed Vault. The giant arachnid had caught Merula off guard, rushing the disarmed witch, fangs bared. The girl had shut her eyes and screamed as she prepared to meet her end, only to feel the room temperature spike as Anon had decimated the overgrown spiders with a series of Incendios.

“And you still haven’t said ‘thank you’…”, the witch thought to herself. She hadn’t seen Anon at all since then, with summer vacation separating the two before she could find him. Merula had sworn to find him and not only thank him, but also apologize for everything now that their fifth year had begun. But before she could, a letter had come by owl from Anon himself, asking her to meet him at the astronomy tower.

Hence, the slowly increasing piles of used wipes tossed around the Slytherin washroom.

Merula glared at her reflection once more, before finally just whipping out her wand and undoing the cosmetic disaster on her face. No other choice. Even just her usual look was better than that…thing in the mirror just before. Quickly applying her signature eyeshadow, she rushed out of the bathroom, ignoring her fellow Slytherin who’s face had been the unfortunate receiver of the door, and began the trip to the meeting spot in the letter. Only a few minutes left until the listed time.

The girl practically soared up the steps leading to top of the Astronomy Tower, both wracked with excitement and nervousness at seeing her enemy-turned-crush once again. Reaching the top, she hesitated before the door, before finally advancing; and coming face to face with him.

Anon’s eyes brightened as they took in the girl. For a moment, the two stood silently, evidently unsure of how to proceed. Finally, Anon decided to break the silence.

“Glad you’re here Snyde. Ready to fight and finally settle things?”

Merula felt her mind go blank, failing to understand what she had just heard.

“W-what?” she stammered.

Anon looked at her questioningly.

“Did I forget to mention it in the letter? Oh. Anyway, I just called you out here tonight to get even for all the bullshit you’ve pulled.”

As Merula stood in shock, Anon charged her, grabbing and tossing away her wand before breaking her arm.