#luthersnyde

It had been a long day. A lot of Matthew’s most physical classes had all coalesced on his timetable, and so had spent the day doing Quidditch Practice, Care of Magical Creatures, Potions, and even had time to stop a gargoyle that had broken free from one of the school’s roofs. Suffice to say, he felt shattered. Having just returned the gargoyle to its spot, he went to climb back down before feeling a wave of exhaustion crash into him and drive him forward, forcing him down onto the tiled roof. He sighed, and leant his head back. The sky was that very light shade of blue it goes before going into the yellows and oranges, and the few clouds that circled overhead were tinted pink in the glow of the setting sun.

He must have spent a few minutes simply lying there, letting his body ache itself out and admiring the view. He watched as the sun sank lower, and the crowds of students below were enveloped in the growing shadows of the castle. It wasn’t long, however, before he heard a window below him open, and a grunt as someone else climbed up to the roof. Matthew felt another wave of exhaustion getting ready to hit him before it all seemed to dissipate at once as he saw Merula’s messy hair appear, followed by the rest of her.

“Neat spot you’ve found, Luther…hell of a climb getting up here, though…” she wheezed, lying down next to him and catching her breath. “I’m guessing that’s the gargoyle everyone was talking about?”

She pointed over to the stone statue on the far edge of the roof, which rolled its eyes and started to shuffle away, muttering something about “teenagers”. Matthew nodded in return. “Yeah, that’s him. I think Peeves must have talked him into it or something. He’s probably learnt his lesson now, though. Hopefully, hah…” he trailed off, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Sorry, I’m just, um…”

Merula turned on her side and looked at him. “I know. You’re overworking yourself. This happened last year, remember? You’d drained yourself of energy and I had to be you for the day.”

Matthew smiled. “Yeah, you were pretty good at it. The only bit you struggled with was doing it quietly.”

“I was…I was fairly quiet!”

“You burst into a room and yelled out “It’s Merula o’clock!”, I really don’t think you can say that-”

Merula shoved him playfully, her cheeks going pink. “Oh…hush. I still did well. You want me to have another go?”

“I…I think I’ll be alright, but thank you.” Matthew said, now turning on his side to look at her. The sun’s rays were falling upon her face, illuminating her brown hair as if it were an orange and golden flame. “I wouldn’t mind working with you, though.”

“Charmer.” Merula chuckled, “But I nonetheless accept. As long as…well. I suppose we’d have to be careful about how we do it.”

Matthew nodded. They already didn’t want any of the students knowing about the two of them, and certainly not the staff. “I think we could pass it off as us still being in denial. They’ve caught us being a lot closer and-”

“That’s not what I meant.” Merula said, bluntly. “Look…you’ve spent the last three years here trying to “make up” for your first two. I’ve seen you go through it each time, and now we’re…well, whatever we are…I’m going to be nudging you an awful lot more than I already was.”

Matthew nodded, his face still red, and not just from the setting sun. When she wasn’t trying to provoke him, she could read him like an open book. “Y-You’re right, um…I guess trying to do absolutely everything isn’t a complete solution to doing nothing. I guess I’m just…afraid of going back to that.”

“You won’t.” Merula promised, placing her hand on his shoulder. “Because…you never were there. I mean, sure, maybe at the very beginning when you sulked in Ravenclaw Tower all the time, but trust me when I say that just by being around, you seem to make other people feel better…” she said, her smile more genuine than Matthew had ever seen it, “...I should know.”

Matthew suddenly felt immobilised, only able to blink and open and close his mouth once or twice. Merula had stumbled upon a weakness of his: the inability to accept a compliment. “I…I, um, you, you really mean, but that’s, um-”

She simply laughed, in that way she sometimes did where her nose wrinkled and her head tilted back, a soft pink covering her cheeks and nose. “I mean it. It’s why it pisses me off seeing you forced to work like this because nobody else can be arsed.”

Matthew tilted his head. He knew where Merula was coming from, but to him, at least, his friends did more than enough for him. “...You know…I could say the same thing about you.”

“What?”

“Well, I think you’ve had just as much influence on this place as I have. You’ve pushed people to get better, and you’ve grown in response to it.”

“Well, maybe, but…I never meant to-”

“Neither did I. But you did. You never stay still, and that’s why I try to keep up with you…because being on pace with you is a feeling like nothing else.”

She blinked. She would have said, if asked, that she was shielding her eyes from the setting sun, and not that she was trying to cover the red across her face. It seemed that they shared a weakness, despite all their differences. She briefly leant over the roof, and seeing that nobody was around, removed the hand from her face and placed it on his other shoulder. “Nobody does it like us, do they? We’re like the knights of this castle.”

Matthew leant forward a little, not needing Legilimency to know what Merula had in mind. He watched as the sky around them became a fiery orange, as on the other side of the horizon the dark blue of the night began to creep in. “I always saw myself more as a caretaker, but knight sounds a lot cooler.” he admitted, smiling softly.

“It certainly does.” she said, leaning even closer. “If anyone catches us, I’m hexing them off the roof.” she whispered, her eyes beginning to close.

“Fair enough.” Matthew whispered back, before closing his own eyes, seeing only a fiery gold as their lips found each other. His arms moved to her shoulders as one of her hands slowly moved up into his long brown hair. The exhaustion that had previously covered his body had faded, and he suddenly felt a great deal more energised as the two leant further into their kiss. Matthew wasn’t sure how long they spent up there, but when he opened his eyes again the sky was visibly darker, and the face of the woman he admired was now illuminated by the final few embers of the sun before it dipped below the horizon. But to Matthew, she still looked radiant as ever.

“We’ll have to remember this place. It seems like a nice, quiet spot, especially now we’ve scared the gargoyles off.” Merula observed, her hand still running through Matthew’s hair. “You feeling better now, Matthew?”

Matthew pushed himself up from the roof, that same flustered smile still on his face. No matter how many times they found themselves alone like this, Matthew still couldn’t quite believe that Merula had trusted this side of her to him, and him alone. “Definitely. Ready to go and grab dinner?”

The night was still and serene as a figure made its way through the winding corridors of Hogwarts. The only sound that could be heard was the rhythm of ticks from the clock tower as the silent figure manoeuvred across a set of stairs, having memorised exactly how they operated and knowing when they were going to try something new. It wasn’t until he arrived just outside the Great Hall that Matthew Luther started to hear something else. He tiptoed forward and saw a light coming from up another staircase. His eyes widened as he remembered that it had just gone midnight, and that made it…

“Tonks’ birthday…” he muttered, sliding down the wall and putting his head in his hands. Of course she would be having a party in the morning and at night.

“Oh, so that’s what it is.” said a voice just above Matthew’s head. He turned around and saw that two of the large stone knights were leaning forward to look at him. He’d noticed the two of them before, seemingly a lot more active than their fellow guards stationed across the wall.

“We were wondering, you see.” the second knight said. “Well, I was wondering what it was. He was wondering if it was an open invite.”

“It’s a perfectly reasonable question.” the first knight retorted. “Makes sense too, considering that awful caretaker is on holiday. Are you going?”

Matthew winced. He and Tonks had talked about it a few days before, and she told him that Penny wanted to throw her a party, and while he didn’t have to show up, she thought he might have a good time. He definitely wanted to, but there was always that part of him that told him he couldn’t.

The two knights looked at each other as Matthew deliberated in his head. Finally, one of them seemed to get an idea. “Oh! Didn’t we see that Slytherin girl head up there earlier?”

Matthew looked up instantly. If the knights had expressions, they would have been smirking triumphantly. “Well, we did, yes…” the second knight explained, “she said she would be going to investigate those Vaults, but from the sounds of things she’d been dragged into the celebrations.”

The music continued as the three stood there in silence. Matthew did trust Merula’s self-control, at least to an extent. However, he knew firsthand what it was like to be forced into socialising like that. He probably knew her better than most others at the school, save perhaps Ismelda, and knew that if being dragged there would make him irritable, it would make Merula furious. He’d spent a lot of time thinking about her recently, come to think of it.

“...Ok. I know what I’m doing…ish. Accio Tonks’ Present!” There was a whooshing noise that echoed through the school as a neatly wrapped gift flew into the room and dropped into Matthew’s hands. “Right, I’ll be off, then. Have fun, um…holding your weapons? I suppose?” He opened his mouth once or twice more, before turning to leave.

“You too!” the first knight called out.

“Glad we could help!” the second knight said, before turning to whisper to the other. As Matthew left, he gathered something about “being too stubborn” and “why can’t you keep still until we’re called upon”. Smiling slightly, he pushed the hair out of his face, adjusted his clothes, and started to climb the stairs leading up to the music.

From the looks of things, Penny and Tonks had decided to “borrow” one of the third floor classrooms. As Matthew approached one of the things he feared the very most, he held onto two things to ground him: that he had wrapped Tonks’ present already, and that they were playing muggle music.

As Matthew made it to the top of the stairs (remembering to leap over the disappearing step as he did so) he saw a few people hovering at the door as they were slowly let in by Penny. He took a breath, waited for the stomachache to pass, and walked up to her.

“Matt!” Penny said, smiling brightly. “Oh my gosh! I wondered if you’d show up! I really hoped you would! Tonks is just over there! Let me know if you need anything, ‘kay?”

Matthew smiled and nodded wordlessly. He vaguely wondered how Penny managed to be so energetic and enthusiastic past midnight as he walked into the room, taking in the scene. He then had to stop taking in the scene as he was getting very overwhelmed very quickly. He kept making slow steps towards Tonks, his eyes darting around to see pockets of students, dancing or talking. 

Then, leaning against the wall a few feet away, was Merula. She was wearing a red flannel shirt over a black t-shirt with some kind of ritual circle design on it, with black denim jeans leading down to her combat boots. She hadn’t noticed him just yet, and Matthew considered going over to her quietly when-

“WOTCHER, MATT!” Tonks yelled, pulling Matthew into a hug. Matthew opened his eyes to see Merula look up. They locked eyes for a moment before Tonks pulled away, smiling up at him. “Aw, thanks for coming, mate! I really do appreciate it.”

He was able to smile quite easily when he was around Tonks. He supposed it was the fact that she’d always been fine with how he was and never tried to push him on it, in return he’d always been fine with her unpredictable nature, and was totally fine with being a spectator/enabler/active participant in whatever she had planned.

“It’s no problem, really.” Matthew said, finally. “Happy Birthday, Tonks. Here, I, um…I hope you like this.”

Tonks’ eyes widened as she grabbed the present and ripped it open. A huge grin formed across her face as she pulled from the wrapping paper a muggle chemistry set. “Oh, wow! Matt, this is amazing! Do you have any idea how more varied my pranks can get now?!”

Matthew simply shrugged. “I look forward to seeing them in action. Glad you like it, um…”

“Oh, I do, I do!” Tonks reassured him. “Now, come on and join the party! The Weasleys are here, Jae’s handling the food, and…” Tonks eyed Merula, who had returned to leaning against the wall. “A certain someone who might need your help getting into the swing of things.”

Matthew suddenly went bright pink as he processed what Tonks was saying. “Y-You, um, you mean, I, but…” he paused and took a breath. “Tonks, I stink at partying. You and I both know this.”

“Yes, it’s your greatest character flaw, I know.” Tonks said, placing a hand on his shoulder and chuckling. “But I can’t have Merula sitting out on something like this. I want everyone to have a good time. Besides…you and I both know why I’m asking you to do this.”

Matthew somehow went even more pink. “Y-” he began, before swiftly being interrupted.

“Ah-ah! No denial! That’s not gonna work anymore!” Tonks declared, before leaning in to whisper. “I’ve seen you two wandering about together at night. Why do you think I decided to host a party at this hour?”

Matthew’s eyes went wide. “...Ok. I’ll…I’ll go talk to her.” he muttered, before forcing himself to put one foot in front of the other. His eyes immediately fixed onto Merula. He watched as she sighed in that moody way only she could do, leaning back against the wall once more, her messy brown and orange hair spreading out behind her. A surge of determination filled him at that moment; he was going to talk to her and he didn’t care who saw them.

He took one final step forward and cleared his throat. “Hey, um-” he began, pausing as Merula jumped from him announcing his presence.

“...Blimey, Luther, you really do sneak up on people…” she said, a smile starting to form on her face in spite of herself. “A-Anyway, what is it? Need to talk about the vaults, or…?”

Matthew leant up against the wall with her. “Actually, I just wanted to talk. It’s not like anyone can hear us.” He said, pointing up at the sound of music.

Merula shrugged. “Fair enough…I kind of wanted to talk to you too.”

Matthew shuffled against the wall. “I’m…guessing you weren’t expecting this party to be happening?”

Merula chuckled. “No, I rely on you to know what’s happening. You’re always involved one way or another.” she clicked her tongue. “Wish I’d brought her a present, even if it was a pot of stinksap.”

He suddenly found it very difficult to look away from her. Amongst the light and noise of the party, he could somehow hear and see her perfectly, her pink eyes shining in the dim light. He’d always thought that sort of thing was hyperbole of what liking someone was like, but he supposed not. Either that, or his brain was trying to prevent a sensory overload.

“I, um…I didn’t know either. I was only out tonight because I wanted to see you.” he admitted, for once completely uncaring whether or not he was speaking too loud.

Merula suddenly looked rather flustered. “Well, here I am, ah…sorry, I just…I’m just flattered. You came to a party just for me?”

Matthew made a squeaky noise that translated to “well…yeah”. “You and Tonks, obviously. It’s her 17th, after all, so it’s kind of important in this world.”

“And not in the muggle world?”

“Well, only for driving a car, everything else is on the 16th or 18th.”

“That still sounds pretty important, Luther.”

“Well sure, but compared to some of the other stuff, it’s nowhere near…”

Another song came on, a good one, and soon there was a lot more dancing going on. Matthew scanned the room and caught Tonks’ eye, who pointed to him and Merula before turning to Tulip and bringing her to the dance floor. So this was her plan, he thought to himself, before turning to Merula. “So, um…”

“You know this song?” Merula asked, shuffling closer.

“Nope.” Matthew admitted. “Being here at Hogwarts means if a new song comes out I can’t exactly find it until I head to Hogsmeade.”

“Fair. Sounds like a muggle one.”

“How come?”

“...Because it’s good.” Merula said, smirking in that way she always did. Matthew blinked once or twice. They really had come a long way together. He remembered getting her to at least listen to muggle music in fourth year, and the debate/struggle/duel that followed. And he knew that, when alone, they could dance together, free from what everyone else expected of them.

“...I have an idea.” Matthew thought aloud.

“For what?” “For how we can dance. Wait here.”

Merula watched as Matthew stepped away and dodged past the dancers, stopping by Tonks and tapping her on the shoulder. She nodded, and Matthew headed for the door, stepping past Penny, who was distracted while talking to someone else. Merula wondered just what Matthew could have up his sleeve; she first wondered if he would use Tonks’ Metamorphmagus powers, but then realised he’d need to be one too. Then, above the music, Merula could make out two sets of large footprints making their way up the stairs.

“Mind the disappearing one!” She heard Matthew say, before he ran forward and pushed open the door. She craned her neck to see him, and suddenly felt herself growing bright pink as she admired the way he smiled at the partygoers, ready to amaze (and hopefully distract) them. Before she could wonder how, she watched as two stone knights lumbered into the room behind him, one with a shield and one with a sword. There was silence, before the knight with the sword said, “We heard there was a party here!”

All it took was Tonks to yell back “YOU HEARD RIGHT, MATES!” and the party was back in full swing, everyone having their eyes on the knights as suggestions were thrown out for what moves to try. Matthew made his way back round to Merula, wiping the sweat from his brow.

“You know, I’ve never said this in public, but you’re absolutely brilliant, you know that?” she said, marvelling at the totally distracted crowd. “Side note, can I pass this off as my present to Tonks?”

Matthew looked at her as if she was the cloudless sky outside, which for years had dared him to venture into the night. They had danced around each other for years now, unsure what to call themselves, and part of him now dared to hope that they would be ready for what came next sooner rather than later. “I don’t see why not.” He replied, holding out a hand to her, “Shall we, then?”

Merula smirked again (though failed to hide her growing blush) and took his hand. “How could I refuse?”

It seemed like a perfectly ordinary evening as the students of Hogwarts filed into the Great Hall. They’d been called in earlier than usual for some sort of special assembly. Amongst the crowd, within the Slytherins, a girl with bright pink eyes and messy brown and orange hair looked across the room.

“Looks like it’s only the fourth-years.” she said, raising an eyebrow. “Wonder what this is about?”

Ismelda, who looked on with her usual lack of enthusiasm, shrugged. “No idea. Probably something dull like a new room we’re not allowed into.”

Barnaby had his eyes on the back of the room. “Oh, there’s something under the cloth! Maybe it’ll be….a cake?”

Merula looked across at him. “Barnaby, I don’t think it’ll be a cake. The cloth would get icing on it.”

“Oh yeah.” Barnaby said, frowning. “What do you think it is, then?”

Merula had to get up on her tiptoes, but she saw what Barnaby was talking about. “Hmm…some kind of trophy? Maybe we’ll have a new inter-house competition! I’ll get to kick Luther’s arse again!”

“Doesn’t he kick your arse all of the time?” Ismelda pointed out, flicking the hair in front of her eye.

“It’s…” Merula hissed, clenching her fists. “It’s 50/50. We’re rivals, damn it! I get just as many wins as he does!”

“Maybe.” Ismelda shrugged. “But he doesn’t care about it like you do. So that means he gets an extra win.”

“Oh, are you guys talking about Matthew?” Barnaby asked, innocently. “He’s over there if you want to say hi!”

As the fourth-years sat down, Merula was unable to stop herself from turning to Ravenclaw. Sure enough, sitting at their table a few seats down was Matthew Luther, spinning his silver bracelet around on his wrist. There was a moment when he looked up at her, but Merula scowled and looked away.

“Whatever this is…I’m going to beat him!” she muttered under her breath. 

A few minutes passed, and Professor Dumbledore stepped into the middle of the room, as Filch dragged the cloth-covered object over. “Welcome, fourth-years!” Dumbledore’s voice boomed, “welcome to a very special moment in your magical journeys. As you know, our society has enjoyed relative tranquillity outside of the occasional dark wizard. The reason for this is that everyone knows that the person they end up closest with is the most perfect one for them.”

Merula had only been half-listening when she realised just what Dumbledore had been saying. This didn’t sound like “inter-house competition” talk.

“This part of our world has been kept secret from all of you until now, and I ask that you do not discuss it with anyone in the lower three years. There will be severe punishments if this happens. Do I make myself clear?”

The whole room nodded, muttering to each other. Merula also noticed Matthew clutching his stomach. He always did that when he was stressed. She’d always found it odd how someone so capable at magic could have such an adorable habit. No, no, nott adorable, maybe…silly. Yes, silly. She definitely didn’t think it was cute or anything like that.

“So!” Dumbledore brought his hands together before reaching for the cloth. “Behold the secret to your happiness. The Mirror of the Soul!”

Dumbledore pulled the cloth away, and there stood a luxurious mirror, the glass held aloft by what looked like silver branches complete with leaves. There was a loud “oooo” as people craned their necks to see more properly.

“One by one, you will come up and gaze into the mirror.” Dumbledore explained. “You will then get to see your soulmate. From there, you will have free time for the next two weeks to find and get to know your soulmate even better. Following this, you will be given new timetables for your lessons together.”

Merula blinked once or twice. She wasn’t sure she’d heard him right. Soulmates? The thought enveloped her head so quickly she barely realised that she’d got up into the queue of fourth years, all excitedly chattering to each other about who their soulmate might be. Barnaby ended up near Matthew in the queue, and Merula could only watch as Barnaby excitedly began to talk with him. Looking at them standing like this, Merula hadn’t realised just how tall Matthew was until now. Even though he was slouching, he was still more or less at the same eye level as Barnaby. A vague curiosity about what he’d look like standing upright appeared in her head for a moment.

Once the line had been formed, the soul-reading began. One by one, each student went up, stared into the mirror, and stepped away with a significantly changed expression, be it surprise, relief, heartbreak, or anything else. Merula had to cover her mouth to laugh as she watched Penny walk away with an incredible look of confusion on her face. The K’s passed into the L’s as Jae walked away happy and Chiara walked away incredibly flustered, and didn’t miss the look they gave each other. By the time they’d reached the L’s Merula had barely started thinking about who she wanted her soulmate to be. She’d honestly never even given it much thought, never exactly subscribing to fate or destiny (unless of course it was her destiny, that being one of greatness).

Having gone just before Chiara, Barnaby jogged back down the line to Merula. “That was so cool! I never even expected it! Oo, Matthew’s next.”

Matthew slowly made his way up to the mirror, taking deep breaths as he did so. Merula scoffed. “Look at him…who’d he reckon his soulmate would be? Lobosca? Tonks?”

Barnaby’s smile turned into a frown. “Actually, um…he didn’t think he had one.”

“What?” Merula asked aloud. “But he’s…” she paused and fumed for a moment, before turning back to Barnaby. “What’s with him?! Why can’t he see how popular he is? How much people just love him! Why on earth would he think he couldn’t have a soulmate?”

Barnaby shrugged. “You know how indecisive he gets. This might help him, though.” He pointed out, before moving towards the others. 

Merula turned her attention back to Matthew. He’d been staring into the mirror for a while, the glow of the glass illuminating his face, his green eyes focused on whatever he was seeing. It must have been important, as Merula noticed his tongue slightly stuck out in concentration. He always seemed to do that right before coming up with another of his brilliant plans, often thwarting her own. She didn’t mind, though. She liked the challenge, especially from someone like him…a thought which she wasn’t going to fully process at that moment.

Eventually, Matthew pulled away from the mirror, his eyes wide. He didn’t seem to have a stomach ache anymore, and simply walked down with the other Ravenclaws who had been soul-read. Merula tried to keep her face still as she realised what she’d been hoping for. The Ms-Ss passed by in mere seconds from her perspective. Before she knew it, it was her turn.

She huffed, and strutted over to the mirror, making a show of how totally beneath her she found all of this. She rested her hands on the silver and gazed into the mirror. She felt herself lean forward, her face passing through the glass, and suddenly she was somewhere new. Refusing to let this sort of thing get to her, she swam through the clouds, trying to find something or someone.

Giving up, she yelled out “Hey! Anyone there?! Isn’t someone supposed to be telling me who my soulmate is?!” But there was nothing.

A deep fear arose within her. Did she even have a soulmate? Could anyone, feasibly, realistically, want to spend their life with her in it more than anyone else? The thought made her feel very afraid as the clouds around her began to grow dark. She’d be alone, wouldn’t she? She’d done it to herself after all, it was how she wanted it…but it wasn’t so simple, she realised. This was more than being a lonely heart, dreaming of romance. She had become a lonely soul, desperate for any human connection. And no one would give it to her, right?

The answer to that question appeared embarrassingly quickly. She knew the one person who might possibly understand how she felt. Who knew loneliness. Who knew how it could make you throw your life away for no good reason. Who knew how tricky it was to rebuild everything, but also knew how important doing so was. The clouds had parted.

Before she knew it, she was back in the Great Hall. She wasn’t sure how long it had been, but she turned to try and voice her thoughts.

“...Oh…” was all that emerged from her mouth. She walked away from the mirror, back across the line, and sat down. She turned, and found that she had sat next to him.

He looked over at her. You okay? His expression read.

No point denying it, is there? Her expression replied. I suppose you’re stuck with me.

Matthew’s eyes widened and he pointed to himself. No, no! You’re stuck with me.

Merula simply rolled her eyes. Fine, we’re stuck together, then. Not much different from how we were anyway. Matthew couldn’t help but laugh at that. Merula smiled as well, her eyes fixing on the open door. You know, with everyone stuck on the soul-reading, we could just leave.

Matthew considered this. As long as you don’t think we’ll get caught…

Who could keep up with us? Merula held out her hand, and Matthew took it. They turned to run, out the door, out the school, and away…

***

Merula found herself in her bed. She opened and closed her eyes a few times, before her eyes widened. She twisted around and planted her face into her pillow, cringing at herself.

This isn’t fair. I thought I wanted to be alone, but then that Smartarse showed up and now…now I’m having dreams where I’m his…

“No.”

“It’ll be fun-”

“Not for me it won’t-”

“You don’t know that-”

“Yes I do!” Matthew snapped, before immediately following up with “...Sorry. Didn’t mean to yell. It just…stresses me out, ok?”

It was Friday morning, and the last of the students were filing into the Great Hall for breakfast. Already at Ravenclaw table enjoying some toast were Andre Egwu, Rowan Khanna, Corey Hayden (who had hopped over from Gryffindor table) and Matthew Luther, who was nervously twirling a fork in his right hand, as silver as the bracelet on his wrist.

“There’s no need to apologise, Matt.” Rowan reassured him, “We get that this sort of thing isn’t what you’re used to-”

“But we think you ought to do it anyway.” interrupted Corey. “It’s a Blind Date, after all. It’s just for one night, and it’s not like it means anything.”

“I know that,” Matthew said, “it’s just…I’m not good at those sorts of things, yknow?”

 “Which is why you need practice.” Andre pointed out. “Again, it’s just one night, it doesn’t mean anything, it’s just…it’d be nice to see you put yourself out there, Curse-Breaker.”

“Yeah, and Andre’s been planning this for months.” Corey reminded the table, “You’ve got to be there, you’re the Hero of Hogwarts!”

“I…I…” Matthew squirmed in his seat. “Fine. I’ll go. I’ll…ok.”

“As long as you’re sure, Matt.” Rowan said, smiling.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you’re well dressed for tonight.” Andre said cheerfully. “Just try to enjoy yourself!” “Easier said than done.” Matthew said under his breath. He finished his breakfast (as much as he could with his nervous stomach ache) and started to leave the Great Hall, wondering how on earth his day could get worse. Then, as he got to the great golden door, he found himself face to face with Merula Snyde.

 “Oh. Luther. What do you want?!” Merula snarled, clutching her satchel.

“...You…you’ve come up to me.” Matthew pointed out. Merula blinked, before shaking her head furiously.

“Nevermind! What were you smartarses talking about?!” she demanded, gesturing to the Ravenclaw table.

“Oh…um, it’s nothing, it’s ah, you know…” Matthew stammered, hoping that Corey wouldn’t say anything. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to be going his way.

“Andre’s organised a Blind Date event tonight!” Corey declared, some of the other students looking around and gossiping. Matthew waved them down and turned back to Merula.

“Ok, so why do you care?” Merula asked, “it’s not like you’re the one-” she paused looking at Matthew’s face. She covered her mouth, but burst into laughter anyway.

“...Yeah, I know, I know…” Matthew sighed, as Merula cackled.

“You!? A blind date!? You?!” she laughed, clutching her stomach, “Oh, Merlin, that is….good luck, mate.” After a few seconds of more laughter, she sighed and pushed the hair out of her face.

 “Thanks, Merula.” Matthew muttered. “I guess you’re not taking part, then?”

“Are you kidding me? Of course not.” Merula replied. “No way anyone’s pressuring me into doing something stupid like that.”

“Yeah, and if you did there’d be a tiny chance of us ending up on a date-” Matthew thought out loud. “Um. I mean. Um.”

“Y-Yeah, uh, that’d be. Um. You know, er…” Merula stuttered, both her and Matthew’s cheeks now going shades of red and pink. They were broken out of their flustering by Andre, who tapped Matthew on the shoulder.

“Come on, Curse-Breaker. We have to get you ready for tonight. See you around, Merula!” Andre said, flipping his scarf back and leaving the Great Hall. Matthew gave Merula a small wave as he left with the other Ravenclaws. Merula stood there for a moment, running her hands up and down her satchel’s straps.

 ***

That night, Matthew nervously pulled at his red shirt’s collar and tightened his bracelet  as he stared at himself in the mirror. The outfit Andre had picked out for him, red shirt with black jeans (Andre had noticed that smart-casual worked well for Matt) was indeed fairly stylish, definitely better than what he usually wore, but he was still incredibly nervous. What was his date going to say when she found out that he very much didn’t want to be there? What were other people going to say? How was he going to make a good first impression to someone who hadn’t met him before? Who wasn’t used to his nervousness and stuttering? What would Merula say? What would-

“Curse-Breaker! It’s time!” Andre called. Matthew’s stomach was still hurting as he went down into the Common Room.

“Looking good, Matt!” said Rowan, offering a thumbs-up and a smile.

“Thanks, Ro.” Matthew replied sheepishly. “Aren’t you going?” “I would, but I’ve really got to get this homework done and an early night’s sleep.”

“But Rowan, tomorrow’s Saturday.” Matthew pointed out.

“And?”

 Before Matthew could say anything else, it was time to go. He followed Andre out of Ravenclaw Tower, still clutching his stomach, just as he’d done for the last twelve or so hours. Andre led him down to the Great Hall, where the four long tables had been replaced with more than a dozen tables, each with two chairs by them. Already, other people taking part (who presumably actually wanted to be there) were starting to sit down.

“Right, Curse-Breaker, you’re on table number 6.” Andre said, pointing at a table on the left side of the hall. “Your blind date will be there soon!”

Matthew nodded, moved to the table with a golden “6” on it and sat down. His nervousness, as always, had developed into full-blown fear. Someone was about to come up to the table expecting someone who wanted to be here. What was wrong with him? Why had he taken the place of someone who might have actually enjoyed social events? All in all, Matthew hadn’t really considered the possibility that his Blind Date would be someone he knew. His luck had been so abysmal lately, he had assumed he’d be grouped with someone who was in the year above or below. But it was at that moment that someone Matthew knew started walking towards table 6. It was probably, but not definitely, the last person Matthew expected to see here.

 “Tonks?!" exclaimed Matthew, as a girl with short pink hair rocked up to the table in a yellow suit, smiling brilliantly.

“Wotcher, Matt!” she yelled, despite being 5 feet away from him, “Surprised to see you here!” “F-Feeling’s mutual.” Matthew said, as Tonks said down with more force than was needed. “I thought you said you weren’t really, um, interested in…dating and…stuff.”

“Yeah…but I also thought this’d be a laugh.” Tonks pointed out. “You look nice!”

“Thanks…” Matthew said, pushing the hair out of his face, “Andre put it together for me. You look great too, by the way.”

“Yeah, I do. Andre says I'm one of the few lucky people who can pull off yellow.” Tonks said, proudly. Matthew nodded, the knots in his stomach untying themselves. Relief settled into him. Tonks was his friend, not a complete stranger, and now Matthew might actually be able to enjoy tonight.

 “So, how come you’re here doing this?” Tonks asked, leaning back on her chair, “I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s great that you’re here, but, ah…”

“It’s not my scene, yeah.” Matthew said, nodding. “Yeah, it um…well, Corey and Andre, they…they really wanted me to do it, so…”

Tonks frowned. “Blimey, no wonder you looked so tense.” Matthew squirmed as he saw her smile fade. “I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t have done it, I should have let someone else take my place, I-”

“What are you talking about?” Tonks asked, staring at him with a curious look on her face, her hair going a bright blue, “You don’t have to apologise for anything. I saw Corey over there with you this morning. I don’t see him around here.”

Matthew looked around. She was right, Corey was nowhere to be seen. Neither is Merula, he noticed.

 “Look, Matt, um, you’ve got a good head on your shoulders and all,” Tonks said, “but sometimes I worry about you. And it’s nothing you’ve done,” she added, seeing that he was about to start apologising again. “I just…I dunno. I just want to make sure you can actually enjoy going out and socialising, instead of it being a chore.”

Matthew nodded. “I guess you’re right. And…maybe I was a little too pessimistic about the whole thing…”

“Can’t say I blame you, though.” Tonks said, her smile returning. “I mean, you’re the Hero of Hogwarts, aren’t you? Rumours do swirl about your love life.”

“They do?” Matthew said incredulously. “I mean…do you…um…”

Tonks snorted and chuckled, in that way she always did. “Yeah, I’ve heard a few things. Like, ah, you and Chiara…”

“That,” said Matthew, pausing for emphasis, “is…ok, we had one kiss, but we’re just friends now, and we’re both happy with that.”

 “Glad to hear it.” said Tonks, smiling. “And of course…there’s the whole thing regarding your rival.”

Matthew’s cheeks went pink. He knew exactly who she was talking about. “That’s…ok,  that’s…”

“Cause you had that one accidental kiss ‘cos of that changeling, right?” Tonks asked. Matthew was once again squirming in his seat.

“Um…yeah…but that’s…well it’s um…” Matthew paused, looked around, and leant forward across the table. Tonks did the same, increasing the size of her ears.

“We…might have had another accidental kiss.” “I’m sorry what-” “Look, before you say anything-” “Another one?!” Tonks said, dumbfounded. “How do you have two accidental kisses? That’s crackers! How’d this one happen?” she asked.

“Well, it was in the forest.” Matthew explained. “We talked to Torvus, found out about how he knew Jacob, he picked a fight with me, I got hit with an arrow, Merula helped tend to the wound, the Centaurs started stampeding, she got pushed back and…uh…yeah.”

 Tonks blinked. “That’s…quite a story, mate. I’d say you were lying, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard you lie.”

Matthew shrugged. “Yeah, I dunno. Whenever I try to lie, I mostly burst out laughing.”

Tonks smirked. “Mind if I put that to the test?”

Matthew blinked. He didn’t feel that afraid anymore. “Not at all.” he replied, deciding to simply ride this wave of confidence until it petered out.

“Alright then, Matt: Do you like Merula?” “Um…” Matthew began, a smile already forming across his face. “Of course. She’s my friend, in a way.”

Tonks sighed. “Matt…you know that’s not what I meant.”

Matt was having to bite his lip. “Well I…you know…”

“Go on. Try saying the words ‘I don’t have a crush on Merula.’”

Matthew took a deep breath. “I don’t have a-”

He got that far before he started heaving with laughter.

 “Knew it!” said Tonks, confidently.

“Ok…fine…it’s entirely possible.” Matthew admitted. “Happy now?”

“Ecstatic.” Tonks said, grinning.

Matthew sighed again. “What about you? Anyone you’ve…got your eye on?”

Tonks shrugged. “Eh, dunno. I’ve been hanging out with Tulip a lot, but it’s very professional. Pranks only.”

“Gotcha.” Matthew nodded, “I knew you two would become fast friends.”

“Stroke of genius, that was.” Tonks said, “Ugh, what a day that was. Seeing those Boggarts, that weird wandless magic…wild…”

“You were pretty good down there too, y'know. You were incredibly quick on the draw with Riddikulus. I guess that’s why you’re so fun to duel.”

“Thanks, mate.” Tonks said, her hair going slightly red. “That’s…really, really nice of you to say.”

 It was around half ten in the evening that things started to wrap up, and Matthew and Tonks left the Great Hall, Matthew nodding to Andre. As they left, they also saw Corey near Andre. They saw Matthew and waved.

“Looks like you had fun after all!” they yelled. 

Matthew sighed. “Looks like someone can’t take their own advice.”

“No need to be like that, Matt, we all know you need help not hiding up in Ravenclaw Tower!”

Tonks looked from Matthew to Corey. Then, from within her blazer’s pocket she pulled out a Dungbomb, removed the pin, and promptly chucked it at Corey.

“Run!” she hissed, taking Matthew’s wrist, her hand touching the silver bracelet, and leading him down the staircases. They heard the poof and the hiss of gas and knew that it had worked.

“You were carrying a Dungbomb the whole time?” Matthew asked, looking at the stink cloud above them. “I always have one just in case!” Tonks replied, cheerfully.

 In a few minutes’ time, they had made it to just outside Hufflepuff House. They were both breathing heavily, but had massive grins on their faces.

“...thanks a bunch for that, Tonks.” Matthew panted, trying to catch his breath. “You and Tulip really are two of a kind.”

“And I didn’t know you could be such a snarker.” Tonks said, her hair switching between orange and red. “Merula would be proud.”

They looked at the door to the Hufflepuff Common Room, surrounded by barrels. Tonks yawned, looking for the right barrel.

“Umm,” Matthew began, “Tonight’s been…really fun. I don’t think I’ve laughed that hard in ages.”

“Yeah! Tonight was wicked!” Tonks said, “And uh, I’ll keep my lips sealed about your second kiss with The Most Surly Witch at Hogwarts.”

 Matthew chuckled, looking at Tonks. Her hair had gone a mix of orange and red, which worked with her yellow suit to give the sense of a warm fire. “Really, though. Thank you, Tonks. I don’t think I would have enjoyed tonight if it was anyone but you.”

 Tonks moved away from the barrels, and over to Matthew. She gave him a toothy grin, before standing up on her tiptoes and kissing Matthew on his cheek. “Matt, you’re too sweet.” She said, winking, before knocking five times on a barrel and heading into Hufflepuff House. He held his hand up to his cheek, which was now pink along with the rest of his face, as he began the trek back to Ravenclaw Tower. On the way, he walked past the Slytherin Dungeons, outside of which stood Merula and Ismelda Murk. “I see that you had fun tonight.” Merula said bitterly. “Guess you got your stomach in a twist for nothing. As always.”

“Hello to you too, Merula.” said Matthew, offering a small wave. “You too, Ismelda.”

Ismelda grunted in return. Merula scoffed.

Matthew cleared his throat. “So-”

“It’s none of your business, but for your information, we’re waiting up for Lee. He had no qualms going into a blind date.”

 Matthew nodded. “See you around then, ‘rula. I’ll try to get your broom back to you by the end of the week, ok?”

As Matthew opened the door to Zonko’s, a high pitched laugh rang out. Why Bilton couldn’t just have a normal doorbell was beyond him. Tulip and Tonks didn’t seem to mind as much, however, and were quickly among the shelves picking out new pranking items. He should have been keeping an eye on the two; as a Ravenclaw Prefect it was his job to make sure that they didn’t buy anything too against the rules. However, he noticed that by a shelf of games of Exploding Snap was his secret-ish girlfriend Merula Snyde. Smiling, he crept up behind a pile of Fanged Frisbees. “I know you’re there, Luther.” Merula sighed, “Your head’s poking above the boxes.”

Matthew went pink, and waddled out from behind the pile of pranks sheepishly.

“Guess I don’t know my own height.” Matthew shrugged. “What are you up to?”

 Merula gestured to the pranking items in her hands. “Preparing in advance.” “For what?” “Counter-pranks.” Merula explained, “If I get April Fool’d, whoever was stupid enough to try me is going to have to watch their back.”

“Fair enough.” Matthew said, stepping slightly closer. Did you…want to go to Honeydukes?”

Merula smiled. “Ah, of course. Finally past Lent, and you can’t wait to feast on chocolate again.” “And the Easter Eggs are probably on sale.” Matthew pointed out.

“Oh, great thinking! We’ll be able to get loads!!”

“Exactly! Need any help with that stuff?” “I just wanted- oh come on!!”

 At that moment, a flock of chattering plastic teeth burst from the shelf, pushing Merula back over some Fanged Frisbees piled up nearby. Matthew was able to catch her before she completely fell into a stack of Nose-Biting Teacups, causing both of them to go slightly pink around the cheeks.

“Ohh..that stupid, stupid…” Merula fumed, dusting herself down, as the song of laughter rang out.

“Oh, it’s just a little joke, young lady!” boomed the voice of the shop’s owner, Bilton Bilmes, “You should have seen your face! Hilarious! Alright, don’t go anywhere, you’re going to need to clean that mess up.”

Matthew preemptively put his hand on Merula’s shoulder, and as she stared back at him, he shook his head. He wasn’t worth jinxing. “Mr Bilmes,” Matthew began, “Isn’t it a little unfair to make her do the cleaning considering it was your prank?”

 Bilton twirled his moustache for a moment. “Well, this is a prank shop. Seemingly your friend there can’t take a joke, so a little more time in here should help with that! Haha!!”

“Lucky! I’ve always wanted to work at Zonko’s!” Tulip exclaimed, before being shushed by Tonks.

“You’re still welcome to buy items,” Bilton said, puffing his chest, “How about a love potion, young lady? Good fun, these. You could use one!”

Matthew scowled, before pointing his wand at the mess Bilton’s prank had made. “Reparo.” he said through gritted teeth, restoring the stacks of jokes to their former state. “Come on, Merula.”

“Come again next time you need a smile, little sour drops!” Bilton boomed, Merula performing a Muggle action with her fingers that Matthew had taught her as they left.

“Well…that stunk. And I’m not talking about the Dungbomb I dropped.” Merula said bitterly. “What now? Buy a load of chocolate to try and forget about all this?”

 Matthew stared at the window of Honeydukes, noticing the stack of leftover Easter Eggs that were on sale. Then, down the alley next to it, he saw Jae Kim, seemingly busy with his smuggling work. “Sod that.” Matthew spat, “Bilton thinks the pranking victim should clean up the mess? Let’s see how far that theory goes.”

Merula stared at him, slightly perplexed, slightly intrigued. “I don’t know where this energy comes from, Luther, but…it’s not, well, it’s not a bad thing.”

Matthew shrugged. “I just, yknow, um…uhhh…I guess I figured: what the hell?”

Merula grinned. “Works for me. Alright, Smartarse, what’s the master plan?”

“Follow me. Hey Jae!!”

Jae looked up to see the two sidling into the alley. “...Hi. What can I get you two lovebirds?”

The two went pink, but Matthew quickly regained his composure. “We’re uh…we’re looking for eggs.”

“Eggs?”

“Oh yeah.” Matthew said, nodding. “Close to hatching ones, preferably.”

Jae quickly got a notepad, and jotted something down. “Planning an April Fool’s joke, are we?”

“Something like that.” Merula replied, quickly starting to figure things out.

 ***

 The sound of maniacal laughter rang out again as Matthew and Merula re-entered Zonko’s, this time not empty-handed.

“Ah! What do we have here?” came the voice of Bilton, “back for more jolly japes, are we? And what’s with those…large baskets?”

“Well,” Merula explained, as Matthew tried to hide his laughter behind his basket, “see, we felt so bad about earlier that when we were in Honeydukes we decided to get you something as an apology.”

“Ah! Wonderful! Why thank you!” Bilton rushed over and snatched the baskets from them, placing them on the counter. His beady eyes gazed over them, grabbing an egg from within. It was at precisely this moment that a small crick sound was heard, followed by another, and another, and then dozens of them. It took precisely 12 seconds for the magical creatures within to burst out of the baskets and onto the various shelves.

 It was Pandemonium. Small lizards with bright glowing bulges in their chins bounced to and fro, chewing on the packaging. Cornish Pixies knocked over shelves, and what looked like a baby Welsh Green (how Jae got that Matthew didn’t want to know) set fire to the counter. In the chaos, Matthew saw Tulip and Tonks, and beckoned them over.

“What did you do?!” Tulip screeched, clutching Dennis close to her chest.

“Just a bit of fun,” Matthew shrugged. “You should have seen your faces!”

“Hilarious!” Merula added, laughing amidst the chaos. “Fly, my pretties, fly!”

Just then, Matthew noticed the shelf of love potions in the corner of the shop. Without thinking too much about it, he pointed his wand at it. His arm pulsated with electrical energy as a bolt of lightning shot out of his hand at the potions, disintegrating them entirely.

 “Ah! You’re cleaning this up, you know!!” Bilton yelled over the sound of the croaking lizards.

“No, see I don’t know about that!” Merula shouted back, “Seemingly you can’t take a joke that well, so a little more time in here might help with that!”

Matthew grinned. “Come on, let’s go get some actual chocolate eggs.”

Tulip and Tonks quickly darted out the door. “Even if it is Zonko’s, I just love to see some property damage.” Tonks admitted.

Merula and Matthew darted out too, but as they did, Merula quickly pecked Matthew on the cheek. “Thanks for that, Smartarse. That was truly devious.”