Barnaby Lee x Reader - Year 5

Challenging Rakepick

Lana had told Merula and Tulip that she'd tell McGonagall about the notebook she found, and the writing inside of it about Rakepick and her brother. Once she arrived in the corridor, the look on McGonagall's face wasn't the kindest she'd seen, so she hurried over to her.

"This better be important. I'm extremely busy helping Gryffindors prepare for their O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s." the old witch said sternly.

"Rakepick was working with my brother before he went missing. I think she might be responsible." Lana told her.

"This is a very serious accusation, Miss Riviera..." McGonagall said.

"I found one of my brother's notebooks, talking about how they were searching for the vaults."

"And why do you believe this information is accurate?"

"Would you be surprised if Rakepick was lying?" Lana asked.

"I suppose I should hear you out at the very least..." McGonagall answered, "Tell me everything you found."

Lana explained everything to McGonagall. The cabal, the vaults, her suspicions of a possible link between Rakepick and Jacob's disappearance, everything.

"Do you believe me, Professor McGonagall?" Lana asked hopefully after a while.

"I believe you found a notebook. I can't say if it belonged to your brother, or if what's in it is true..." the old woman answered honestly, "I don't believe the Headmaster would have brought on Professor Rakepick if she was truly dangerous."

"I understand, professor..." the girl sighed, "I'll get someone to help me find undeniable proof." she finished, before she left.

Lana wanted to become stronger in duelling if she ever had to fight Rakepick. Shit was getting real now, so she had to be prepared for anything.

She walked to the Training Grounds, where she saw Merula practicing some spells on the training dummies. An idea sparked in her brain, so she approached the Slytherin girl.

"Merula?" Lana called.

"What do you want, Riviera?"

"I want you to help me train to fight Rakepick." she said confidently.

Merula just looked at her for a second, before breaking out into loud laughter. Lana was confused, glaring at her enemy in disapproval.

"That's good, Riviera. You get a bit funnier each year." Merula chuckled.

"I'm serious! Rakepick only respects strength. She won't tell me what happened with her and my brother until she sees me as her equal." the Gryffindor girl told her sternly.

"Rakepick doesn't even see Dumbledore as her equal." Merula stated.

"She'll respect me for being brave enough to challenge her. Even if I'm not powerful enough to actually beat her."

"You are such a Gryffindor..." Merula said, rolling her eyes, "Well, I'm certainly interested in seeing how this all plays out." she smirked, moving next to Lana, "Cast some of your best offensive spells, and I'll see if I notice any room for improvement."

So, Lana did just that. She fired everything she could at those dummies, from Confringo to Bombarda. Merula looked impressed every now and then, but huffed in disappointment to maintain her bad-girl act.

"Do you think I'm ready?" Lana asked after at least half an hour.

"To beat anyone in our year besides me? Yes." Merula said, earning an eye roll from Lana, "To beat Rakepick? Absolutely not." she chuckled condescendingly.