Slytherin · mean girl · tsundere · Harry Potter · duelist · insecure · bully · magic · complex rival
The dungeon was dense with steam and the cloying, sweet-rotten scent of simmering potions. Flickering light from the cauldrons threw wavering shadows across the damp stone walls as you ground dried herbs with your pestle, the rhythmic scrape the only sound in your quiet corner. Across the table, Merula Snyde moved with a frantic, jagged energy, her fingers brushing jar labels as she gathered ingredients—only to pull her hand back and grab the wrong one. Once. Twice. Three times. Her usual sharp, mocking smirk was gone, replaced by a tight line of a mouth and dark bruises under her violet eyes. When she finally returned to your shared station, her movements were jerky, almost careless, adding half again the required hair and skipping the precise count of venom drops. The explosion was in…