DIsplaced - Part 4

Merula had to return to the common room defeated, she had looked everywhere for the dial thing, but she couldn't find it. She was slightly afraid of telling Anon about it. The boy scared her.  She meekly walked up to the boy and looked down on the floor, trying to avoid looking him in the eyes.

"Well?" Anon asked impatiently.
"I-I Couldn't... Find it..." Merula said fidgetting her hands nervously.
Anon was just about to start yelling at the girl to go back and look closer. but he stopped himself, when he noticed the girl's scared bodylanguage. It went against every instinct he had about the girl. This wasn't Merula, he wasn't sure what this was. It was timid and weak, and seemed to need someone to latch on for protection.
"Feh... Okay, fine." Anon said trying his best to cover his annoyance. "Forget the dial for now, we need to catch Penny before she goes into her common room."
"O-oh, she's not coming here?" Merula asked.
"You idi..." Anon started, but collected himself. "...She's a hufflepuff, why else would we check with her if you knew something about hufflepuff?"
"I-I don't know." Merula said startled.
"Okay, just calm down, let's go meet Penny." Anon tried to sound calming, but came off as too demanding and not at all friendly.
"ROWAN!" Anon shouted and made Merula jump out of fright.
"Coming, coming..." Rowan shouted from the boy's dorms.
"Let's get a move on, I'd like to get this done today, so we have more time to plan for tomorrow." Anon said impatiently.
He and Rowan walked to the door.
Merula stayed back a bit holding her hand out out of habit, but realized the boy wouldn't take it and just ran after him.

Merula stayed quiet , they were apparently going to find Penny in library. She never seemed like a person who would spend much time studying.
"Merula." Anon said without stopping.
"Y-yes, Anon?"
"I'll tell you this one more time, if this was all just a prank, you better come clean now. Before we waste any more time on this." Anon said trying to sound calm and collected, but his annoyance and anger came trough anyway.
Merula felt terrible, she never expected Anon of all people to doubt her word like this.
"I'm sorry, I am not trying to pull a prank on you..." She said trying her hardest not to start crying out of loneliness and abandonment.
"Alright, fine. Penny will be the judge of your story. if she's convinced we'll find out a way to ask the sorting hat."
"Just asking Penny isn't enough?" The girl asked and wiped her eyes.
"You're too resourceful, you could've just found out all those secrets. And getting in the hufflepuff common room doesn't sound like it's too difficult for you to find out about."
"O-oh..." The girl said stil sad, but a bit confused about the odd praise.
"Alright, she's there..." Anon said and turned towards Merula. "If this really isn't a prank, you will have to behave."
Merula nodded quickly, she was actually terrified to talk to Penny, but she was more afraid of Anon.

Rowan had went in ahead of Merula and Anon and was sitting next to Penny.
"So, you found her. All disoriented like the rumors. What did you do to the poor girl?" Penny asked Anon.
"This isn't my doing, Penny." Anon said annoyed.
"It does sound like you botched an obliviate on her."
"Anon would never Obliviate me..." Merula said trying to avoid Penny's gaze.
"Imperius then?" Penny asked and looked at Merula curiously.
"Stop joking around, Penny, I haven't done anything to her that would cause this." Anon said angrily.
"What do you need me for?" Penny asked. "Rowan told me you needed help with her."
"Merula is convinced she's actually a hufflepuff, and she got trough the hufflepuff door.  Do you know something only a real hufflepuff would know?
"I heard about her opening the secret door, but she never got in the common room..." Penny said looking at Merula, who was trying her best to not draw any attention. "But that in itself proves nothing, because Hufflepuff basement is the least secure in Hogwarts."
"Oh, what is the password then?" Anon asked curiusly.
"You actually think I would tell you?" Penny said annoyed.
Anon just sighed disapponted.
"Fine, I have a few ideas, come here Merula." Penny said and pointed at the chair next to her.  and turned to the slytherin sitting next to her. "go away, Rowan."
Rowan looked a bit pissed and went to Anon, who was pushing the scared Merula towards Penny.
"You think this is going to work, Anon?" he asked.
"Nope." Anon said quickly and watched at Penny whispering to scared looking Merula. "Atleast not in a way that will prove anything."
"Why did we bother coming then?"
"Because if it was obvious Merula is lying, we wont have to go with my actual plan. I am not in a position to get scolded by Dumbledore. I repeatedly ignored him telling me not to get into vaults, he might  just expel me on the spot."
"You really think Dumbledore would do that?" Rowan asked worried.
"I don't know, I have given up on trying to discern his motivations, when's the last time he's made any sort of sense to you?"
"...Right." Rowan said unconvinced.
"Well, sooner or later someone is going to notice something was wrong. "
"What if she's telling the truth?" Rowan asked
"Let's assume she's telling the truth and she actually has all the memories of being a hufflepuff, and she can convince Penny that she actually is hufflepuff. Imagine what would it be like to wake up in a completely alien world, where your memories aren't aligned with reality? Penny saying obliviate sounds reasonable, but can you think of anything that can implant that specific memories, not just memories but a whole different personality?"
"This is getting heavy." Rowan said finally.
"I really genuinely wish she is pranking us." Anon said worried. "...What am I going to do if she isn't?"
Rowan was quiet, he couldn't shake the picture he had in his head of Anon being sentenced to life in Azkaban.
"Well no point speculating it, we have a way to find out the truth." Anon said and looked at the two girls. "Penny! Does she seem like she's telling the truth?"

Anon and Rowan finally sat down at the table where the two girls had been chattering amongst themselves.
Merula was still looking scared of being in Penny's presence and a lot confused.
"Well?" Anon asked.
"She has done her homework." Penny finally said. "She knows a lot about Hufflepuffs, including activities and stuff we keep from other houses."
"Like what?" Rowan asked
"You do know what secret means, Khanna?"
"Yeah, Rowan, you fucking moron." Anon said. "No but seriously though, what secrets?"
"She knows the gist of what has been going on during last few years in Hufflepuff, however some key details were wrong." Penny ignoring the inquisitive slytherin boys.
"Key details like what?"
"Hufflepuff didn't win the house cup last year." Penny said.
"O-oh, it was because of Anon." Merula said and smiled at Anon.
The boy felt uneasy, even with everything going on, she still smiled at him. He turned his eyes away from her.
"She's convinced you're a hufflepuff, Anon." Penny said.
"Well, that's it then... I'm going to sleep." Anon said quickly.
"Not so fast." Penny said. "I'm not finished."
"What, this is completely outlandish, you know I'm a slytherin."
"Describe him, Merula." Penny said. "Your Anon."
Merula looked down. "Anon... he's a kind hearted person, who always stood up for me. He didn't like to fight, but would protect me, when P... eh... When I was bullied, by slytherins." Merula stopped and smiled. "He would always hold my hand when we walked the castle, and made me feel safe. Whenever I was sad, he kept me close. He is my best friend... And I love him."
Anon went numb and felt distant. he listened to  when Penny told Merula to describe what that boy looked like. The description matched him, with some differences. Merula described in loving detail about the boy's eyes and how soft his hugs were. That she had been trying to keep him well fed, so he wouldn't get too skinny. Everything the girl described sounded like it could match him, except for one key factor.  That boy... whoever it was, That anon, he wasn't him.
"She is a hufflepuff" Penny said finally. "And she genuinely loves... Her Anon."
"Thank you, Penny." Rowan finally said. "That's all we needed to hear."
"What are you going to do now?" Penny asked.
"I'm going to slap Anon a few times and try to get him out of his terrified shock, and then we will go to sleep." Rowan said looking at his friend, who was staring blankly trying to comprehend the situation. "Tomorrow we're going to try to get to sorting hat."
"Sorting hat, why?"
"Anon believes the sorting hat can, once and for all, prove whether or not she was actually sorted into Hufflepuff, or if her memories have been tampered with."
"That makes sense, but I am not sure that is necessary. Don't you trust my evaluation?" Penny said slightly annoyed.
"We need to be absolutely sure." Rowan finally said.

Rowan felt uncomfortable  leading Anon and Merula back to Slytherin dungeons, the two were being quiet. Anon was deep in thought re-evaluating this situation and Merula was homesick to a place that didn't exist. This situation started to feel so unbelieveably fucked up, that even Rowan started to think he might be having a nightmare.  Seeing his friend and... Merula... Like this was horrifying. Anon wasn't helping either, would it have killed the boy to even try to console Merula. Rowan turned to look at Anon and realized he was scared, maybe he really thought he was going to be sent to Azkaban for messing with the poor girl's head.

The trio sat down at common room table again.
"Alright, I believe you, Merula" Anon said finally.
"O-oh, good!" Merula said slightly happier. "What are we going to do now?"
"We'll continue with the original plan, you and I will duel infront of Dumbledore's office and get sent in, Rowan will cause a distraction and we will get our hands on the sorting hat."
"Sounds simple on paper, but what if they send you to Snape?" Rowan asked.
"We'll just have to make it spectacular enough..." Anon said. "Just not too spectacular, or We will get expelled."
"I... Uh... I've never dueled." Merula said quietly.
"Speak up, Merula, I'm used  to you shouting every word at me." Anon said slightly annoyed, but still glad she spoke like a normal person for one... Well A normal timid person.
"I don't know how to duel."
"Y-you've never dueled with... I mean... Rowan, I am confused." Anon said finally. "How would you describe this?"
"Maybe the dial made her personality and memories go 360?" Rowan asked scratching his head.
"You mean 180... Also this seems a bit more nuanced than just complete flip..." Anon said looking at Rowan annoyed.
"W-what, but I've always been like this... Anon always protected me, so I never had to fight..."
"Just do what he... I..." Anon rubbed his temples. "Just throw spells at me, I will make it seem legit... Just throw flipendo at me repeatedly, that's what you used to do anyway."
"I don't know flipendo" Merula admitted.
"Point your wand at me and say flipendo. I'll jump around... Jeez, it will be a miracle if Dumbledore will actually take this seriously... Oh well... worries for tomorrow."
"Yeah, well, we'll see how it goes." Rowan said and yawned.
"Wait here, Rowan, I'll see Merula to her dorm, in case she forgot which door it was." Anon said and got up.
"O-oh uh, thank you..." Merula said and blushed. She was happy that Anon showed her kindness, she had missed the feeling.
The boy led Merula by her shoulders into a stairwell leading up to a row of doors, it was nothing like she was used to from her gentle Anon.
"Look, Merula..." Anon started. "I feel kinda responsible for this situation... It's unfair that you have to suffer with this dissonance. But I promise you, I will make it right."
Merula just closed her eyes and imagined her Anon was infront of her, she was dying for a good nights kiss. But when she opened her eyes, she saw this Anon in front of her. A slytherin boy, with bad manners, completely famished and with his hair unkempt. she used to brush Anon's hair every morning while humming gently, but this Anon would snap at her if she tried. But this Anon was all she had right now.
"I am not giving you a kiss." Anon said suddenly.
"W-what, I wasn't..." Merula said flustered. she wouldn't have kissed this Anon. Such ill tempered mean person would only give bad dreams.
"I am not fully convinced this is just a simple personality alteration, and even if it was. it would be wrong." Anon said coldly. "But there is another possibility, but I wont get your hopes up. I will however do everything I can to make this right."
The girl just turned around slightly sad, she hadn't gone to bed without a kiss from her Anon for years. She looked around  trying to remember which door it was.
"fourth door from the stairs." Anon said to her from the stairs. "Oh and... Good night... Merula." He said awkwardly.  And went back to Rowan who had fallen asleep on the table.

Anon hit the table with his fist, waking Rowan up.
"Ah, fuck, what..." Rowan said groggily. "Why did I have to stay here? I am tired."
"We need to think of a contingency plan." Anon said.
"What for?" Rowan asked rubbing his eyes.
"Several things..." Anon said. "Chief of which is, if the Hat says she was sorted to slytherin."
"Well, what are we going to do then?"
"Take her to Madam Pomfrey and I will turn myself in to Dumbledore, They will likely find the Dial and try to turn her normal if it's possible or If there is such a thing anymore."
"What do you mean?"
"What if it is a personality changer, what if Merula we knew vanished when she used the Dial, and this Merula took her place... Which Merula deserves to live?" Anon asked seriously.
"Anon, this is messed up." Rowan said. "I don't want to think about something like this before bed."
"I will have all the time in the world to contemplate on that in Azkaban. If that happens, make sure she gets trough Hogwarts without trouble."
"What if the hat says she was a hufflepuff from the start?" Rowan asked, trying not to think of his friend leaving Merula as his responsibility.
"Well, then this whole ordeal turned a lot more complicated and we really need to find that dial."
"I didn't think this thing could get more complicated." Rowan said. "I don't think you will be sent to Azkaban for it though."
"Stop being naive, Rowan, how is this any different to what Lestranges did to Longbottoms?"
Rowan tried to argue with the boy, but he could sadly see some parallels. Messing with someone's head was pretty heinous as far as magical crimes go...