Rainbows (A Hogwarts Mystery Story)

BONUS: Merula POV

I have seen that fear only one other time in my life.

It was when I was a young girl, still believing in childhood innocence--or what I thought was childhood innocence, before two loud bangs on the front door shook me out of my reverie. By then, I had a good amount of spells in my arsenal, and I was counting down the days until I could finally enter Hogwarts as a star student. With all the knowledge in me, I felt powerful. I always had my mother to rely on, and I thought it would continue through my school years.

Oh, how wrong I was.

I wouldn't forget the fear in my mother's eyes as she pleaded for the Aurors to set her free, that she was an innocent soul who had nothing to do with You-Know-Who's Death Eater clan. I heard the screams tearing through my mother's throat as they clapped the handcuffs on her wrists and dragged her out of the house. I could see tears spilling down her ashen cheeks, screaming my name over and over until her voice was sucked into the vortex of their quick Apparition. It was only later when I realized that my father had been taken away too--my father, who only left the house for a few minutes to get us groceries so we could make a delicious dinner that night.

My aunt was kind, but she would never be able to replace my mum. It was injustice that got my mother arrested, took her away from me. With her disappearance came the stripping of the power I thought I would always have. The only thing I could retain were the spells she once taught me, and the memories of all the songs she sang to me every night. Resentment coursed through my veins like hot, thick blood, and when it came down to every student who tried to cross me, I would strike them down without another thought.

I couldn't let them see the real me. I claimed to be powerful, but inside, I felt weak.

But now I saw that wolf glaring at Lin like she was fresh meat. I never felt anything for Lin, especially given her brother's tainted reputation, and she was probably the last person I would have asked for help. She always acted like she was the hero of everything, and it honestly made me want to puke. Clearly, she couldn't save everyone in the school to save her family's name. If she did, she'd be a legend--at least, compared to me.

I scoffed for a moment, shaking my head in absolute disbelief at Lin's sudden lack of confidence. "Really? You've duelled ice knights and You-Know-Who, but you couldn't take down a wolf?" I asked her incredulously.

Lin turned around and glared right back at me, her hand reaching inside her robes for her wand. "Enemies can't always be enchantments and figments of imagination," she said indignantly. "At some point, you have to snap back to reality."

Right. Like this was an illusion, and I was really still in bed, dreaming it all.

Before I could retort, the wolf suddenly pounced with an aggressive snarl, and its claws sank into Lin's shoulders, pushing her down on her back into the snow. She shouted in surprise and shock as she fell back, the wolf now standing over her like she was his next prey, and I could see that she was trapped. Her wand arm was pinned to her torso, still wrapped over her body in the midst of drawing her wand.

"Merula!" she cried. "Help me!"

The fear in her eyes was too much for me to bear. It was like seeing my mother all over again, helpless in the grip of the scary adversary. I should have left Lin there to fend herself off. What made me follow her, I had no idea--but if she died, would I be liable for it? My legs were paralyzed in fear, and my brain was jarred. I wouldn't admit it out loud, but I had no idea what to do.

Quickly, I cast the first spell that came to mind, raising my wand in the air as a shower of red sparks flew into the white clouds.

Seconds later, I heard loud thundering of feet as a giant man blundered over, a big crossbow in hand, followed by an equally large bloodhound dog with slobbering spit all over its muzzle.

"Back!" Hagrid roared. "Get back!"

It took me a second to realize that he was talking to me, and I stepped back in fear as Hagrid picked up the wolf like a sack of potatoes and whirled it around in his hands. I quickly ran towards Lin and hauled her back, hand on her arm, as I saw him toss the wolf back into the forest, its body flying over the snow in a graceful arc. My wand was at the ready almost instantly; just as the wolf looked about ready to throw itself back into the fray, I screamed, "Flipendo!"

That was enough to send the wolf running back into the forest, its tail tucked between its legs.

"Are you okay, Clara?" I heard Hagrid ask her, gently picking her up and putting her on her feet. "It didn't scratch you bad, did it?"

Lin shook her head, her eyes wide in shock. "I...I think I'm fine." She checked her arms and shoulders, sighing a breath of relief. Then she glanced over at me. "You were the one who cast Vermilious, right?"

I nodded slowly, unsure of how Lin would have the heart to address me without sounding hostile for once. "Yeah...I did. If that wolf got you, I didn't want to be responsible for your death."

"It wasn't a werewolf, was it?" Lin asked Hagrid then, looking up at him again.

"Hard to say from this distance," Hagrid responded, squinting at the forest. "It may have been a stray wolf, or one of Greyback's pack. If that's the case, then I'd advise you to stay away from the forest until we're sure that the wolves could be cleared away." He then looked at the both of us gravely. "You best run off to class, you two. I'll put a word in to the Headmaster about this."

He then trudged up to the castle, the black bloodhound trotting at his heels. I glanced up at his retreating figure for a moment, my eyes stinging from the cold winds blowing in my face. Then I heard Lin clear her throat, and I turned to her.

"I normally wouldn't...show this much gratitude to someone I had my doubts about," she said. "But you really saved me back there. Otherwise, I would have ended up wolf chow." She then smiled--a small genuine smile that I never saw her give me before. "Thank you, Merula."

I wasn't a fan of mush, either, come to think of it--but at least Lin was being sincere. Of course, she had all the reason to hate me before. After all, I was the one who trapped her in the Devil's Snare in first year. I did raise up the debate of her true intentions among the student population. Seeing her now, though, with an actual thank you in mind...sometimes it made me feel like I didn't deserve any of her friendliness and kindness. Even for a Gryffindor, she wasn't all that stupid.

"Yeah, well." I shrugged. "You're welcome, I guess. Now let's get to class--Professor Kettleburn would start wondering what's taking us."

It seemed that the rest of the class didn't have much to worry about, though I did notice that most of our classmates ran over to Lin, mixtures of relief and fear evident in their eyes. As I noticed Barnaby embrace her like he'd never see her again, I suddenly remembered something that drew her to the forest in the first place--a scream rising through the trees.

I heard it too--and even now, it still reverberated through my mind and memory. I could still feel the chill settling within my heart, all strength sapping away.

Would Lin still change her mind about teaching me the Patronus Charm? And if so...what would it take for me to redeem myself as more than the witch with a bad past?