Genuine and True (a Hogwarts Mystery fanfic)

2 - sworn rivals

"You really had to talk to her, Barnaby? I thought I told you to leave her to me."

I wasn't surprised to see Merula glare at me the minute I returned to the Slytherin common room, her and Ismelda looking at me as if I had swallowed a whole slug in front of them. I mean, of course she would, given that I had directly disobeyed her word. Still, it scared me.

"I had to hold her off," I retorted tiredly. "After all, you did call her a loser not worth your time."

"Just because I said so--" Merula cut herself off eventually and groaned. "What has gotten into your head lately, Barnaby?"

"Perhaps his skull is so thick, he can't get anything into his brain," Ismelda chipped in with an evil grin. "Except for that Gryffindor."

I sank on one of the couches in front of the fire, crossing my legs and completely tuning them out. It wasn't fair. It just seemed as if Merula was giving a chance one minute, then snatching it away from me the next. Why she wanted me on, I still had no idea. I gazed into the flickering flames rising high in the fireplace, bringing little warmth to the cold of the common room, as Clara's last words from the conversation came to mind.

Do you ever think she could be lying to manipulate you?

But they were all just words, were they? Whether they held meaning or not...I wasn't sure. Did that have to be up to us to decide?

"...spy on Lin, Barnaby."

"Huh?"

I had no idea they were talking to me until Ismelda gave me a rough shove on the shoulder, her eyes looking wild.

"You seriously didn't hear a single word I said?" Merula groaned again. "You're going to spy on Lin while we work out a way to find the next Cursed Vault--without Dumbledore noticing," she added pointedly. "The last thing we need is reason to get kicked out of school."

Of course she would say that. Dumbledore meant well, but the last two years saw him disciplining us over and over again for the trouble we've caused. He actually did tell us that if we messed around one more time and broke the rules, we'd be expelled.

I didn't want to cause any more trouble, but if it meant helping Merula and sticking around with her so that she could give me what she thought was "guaranteed" in the Vaults, I'd have to do as she said.

Our conversation, however, did not go unheard. Soon, our prefect, Felix Rosier, came over to us, a stern expression on his face.

"Not planning on any more trouble, aren't you?" he asked. "You remember what Dumbledore told the three of you."

"Like we're that stupid to forget," Merula retorted with a roll of her eyes. "Why would it matter to you? You won't be around for much longer anyway to babysit us." She eventually got up and motioned to Ismelda. "Come on. We have to study for Charms, anyway. Let's go."

She and Ismelda eventually left the common room, Ismelda shutting the door with a loud SLAM.

Now I wasn't going to say I was uncomfortable with Felix. Don't get me wrong, I understood what a Prefect had to do, even if it got to the point of annoyance. But today, I just wanted to be alone. The last thing I wanted was for someone to think I was experiencing vulnerability with a Gryffindor.

"Something seems to be preoccupying you more than usual, Barnaby. Want to talk about it?" Felix asked as he sat down next to me on the couch.

I shook my head automatically. Any sign of weakness was a sign of disgrace--at least, that was what my father told me.

"It had nothing to do with a Gryffindor, right?"

"H-how did you know?" I asked suddenly, surprised.

Felix shrugged offhandedly. "I've overheard the conversation. I know just about enough."

Did Felix really have to make me feel any worse about the situation I was in? Sure, Clara didn't look like she wanted me for a friendly hangout any time soon. But I still thought about the fight she put up against Merula before she looked at me with some sort of contempt. She knew how to handle herself with the right kind of people--which, I would assume, included me.

"If it's about Lin, I'm telling you, you'll be dealing with a lot of trouble," Felix told me then. "Remember how she tricked me last year, telling me the Gryffindors would be sabotaging the Slytherin Seeker at one of our Quidditch matches. I should have known better than to believe her." He clenched his fists. "Turned out she wanted the diversion so she could sneak into the common room to find something for her Muggle-born friend, Ben Copper. And nothing happened to the Slytherin Seeker at all!"

So Clara had more friends than I thought. I only nodded in acknowledgement, though, not knowing what to say.

"You remember how we had our meeting last year, how we wanted to take revenge on Gryffindor for everything they did," Felix continued. "Slytherin and Gryffindor...we never get along, Barnaby. History told us that. I thought you knew."

But if I had, why did I feel this tugging sensation in my gut every time I think about her? I wanted to banish her from my mind, but I couldn't. I couldn't find it in me somehow to hate her the same way Merula did. Even if I haven't seen her for the first two years, there was something about her...

I could feel something hot blossom over my face. Felix must have seen something then, because he sighed and shook his head in exasperation. 

"You've always been an asset to Slytherin, Barnaby, with your ambition and your blood," Felix said then. "Don't let Slytherin down by making stupid decisions. Gryffindor and Slytherin, we're sworn rivals for eternity. Don't let her get to you."

He eventually left the room as well, leaving me alone to ponder in front of the fireplace--the only source of light in this dinghy place. As I stared at the flames flickering in the hearth, I thought about what my father said, and felt shame rise within.

What even made me think that for a second, Clara was a good person? Was she really rallying up more people to help with her cause to find the Cursed Vaults to save her brother? Not to mention, she was a Gryffindor after all. And Felix had a point--Slytherins and Gryffindors never got along. Not after the fallout between the two founders on the subject of Muggle-born students.

The rivalry between the two houses...it was a sworn rivalry. As long as there were students in both houses, there would always be a war.

Could anyone really be able to change that?