#Merula Snyde x Quinn Lee

[libellule-ao3]

Little Shenanigans

T-rated | One-Shot | 1 060 words |

Summary: Gossip about her relationship with Quinn is getting on Merula's nerves, and she's determined to divert attention from the rabble.

Pairing: Merula/Quinn (F/F)

Also on AO3

A/N: The adorable Quinn Lee in this story is the property of the no less adorable @eternalchaoschocolaterain, to whom I dedicate this ficlet.💝

I invite you to take a look at her work via the link above, if you don't already know her.

Enjoy!

Masterlist

Rumours about the nature of their relationship spread around Hogwarts castle like flu in December or like cursed Howlers with a Geminio curse.

The image always made Quinn laugh a lot. She couldn’t help imagining thousands of Howlers screaming indiscretions invading every corner of the castle, filled with students - and teachers! - eager for gossip to distract them from everyday life.

Quinn was very amused by the situation, but not so his girlfriend, who did nothing to hide her annoyance, turning her artificial violet eyes, and sometimes even her wand, on anyone who dared to talk behind her back in order to feel more important than the most powerful witch at Hogwarts.

“Don’t these idiots have anything better to do than spend all their time gossiping about every little thing we do?” she would get angry during their secret meetings. "They piss me off!"

Merula appreciated the attention of others for her prowess in the various fields of witchcraft. She loved to arouse admiration and made no secret of it. But she hated the constant attention paid to her private life, which aroused not admiration but unhealthy curiosity mixed with a healthy dose of intolerable judgement. Not because she loved a young woman - wizards were much more tolerant than Muggles in that respect - but because she was the daughter of a famous couple of Death Eaters.

“Let them tell it,” said Quinn, who had been used to being the centre of attention since she started at Hogwarts. “They’ll get bore. Protesting is just another way of drawing attention to ourselves.”

Merula wasn’t convinced. This had been going on for far too long. Days, weeks... months!

So, to encourage the populace to find something else to spice up their miserable conversations, Merula redoubled her efforts to show everyone that Quinn wasn’t worthy of her and that their reports weren’t worth public display. To no avail... Until the day when the two young women faced off in a fierce duel won by the witch of Slytherin.

Now there were more whispers:

“Did you see that? The beating she gave Quinn in that supposedly ‘friendly’ duel?” said an anonymous voice.

“Yes, that time I really thought she was going to kill her. It’s a good thing Barnaby intervened,” replied another indiscreet pupil.

“Speaking of which, don’t you think it’s suspicious? I mean, it’s not the first time Barnaby has been used as a human shield by Quinn. And the way he’s looking at her with those puppy dog eyes begging for a treat...” added another.

“Do you think he wants to go out with her?” said the first.

“Maybe, but I hear he’s already going out with Liz. Peeves overheard Penny telling Andre that Ismelda was furious after she caught them together feeding the giant squid,” informed a new arrival.

And on and on it went... Rumours were like fucking germs spread by the voices of people, using their ears to accumulate as much dirt as possible.

Thinking about all this, Merula tightened her embrace around Quinn’s aching body as she lay on a bed in the infirmary, injured after their terrible confrontation. The witch felt relieved to no longer be the victim of Hogwarts’ indiscretions.Quinn could not hold back a grimace.

“Sorry, I didn’t think you were that fragile,” Merula taunted bitingly.

Like hedgehogs, the witch always prickled up when she was going through a phase of insecurity, and Quinn had learned long ago to decipher all the facets of her personality.

“You’ve got to admit you didn’t pull any punches!” grumbled Quinn, before letting out a weary sigh and leaning back against her.

“We won’t soon have to play this comedy again: today I overheard Haywood telling everyone that the only thing we shared was the air we breathed and that if it were up to me, I’d make you disappear so as not to have you in my landscape, like that!” said Merula with a wolfish grin and snapping her fingers for emphasis.

“That bad? But what did you say to her to make her believe it?”

The young woman buried her blushing face in her girlfriend’s sparse hair, muttering something to do with her contempt for the insignificance of witches who were valued more for their celebrity than their talent.

Quinn burst out laughing, recognising in these words the bite of his girlfriend as she placed her lips at the base of his neck.

“You’re exaggerating! I remind you that we agreed that I would let you win this duel!”

“It doesn’t matter! Our strategy worked and I won’t have to abuse you any more!” teased Merula, redrawing a bruise on her girlfriend’s cheek with a delicate index finger.

“You can’t imagine how much I’ll miss it!

“So you like pain?”

Quinn straightened up, and with one smooth movement, reversed their positions on the bed. Now she towered over Merula, who gazed at her with a mixture of astonishment and defiance.

“No, I'm more of a revenge-seeking type,” Quinn announced mischievously, leaning down to place a bevy of kisses from her temple to her lips.

During the kiss, Quinn felt herself waver, and she forgot where they were, who they were. The entire universe was reduced to this infirmary, to Merula’s mouth and her hands studying her body like no one had ever done before. Nimble fingers slipped under the thin fabric of her shirt, slid down her stomach, making her skin quiver under the coolness of her palms.

“You’d better go. Madam Pomfrey will be back soon,” Quinn whispered against Merula’s lips.

“Lee promised to keep watch!” Merula protested, in the incisive tone she always used when her desires were thwarted.

“That’s true, but we shouldn’t abuse it. It’s nice enough that he’s our accomplice.”

“You’re not wrong,” admitted Merula, inwardly congratulating herself on Barnaby’s naïve disregard for public opinion.

She gave her girlfriend one last kiss before rising from her bed.

“By the way, maybe we should thank him: he was perfect in his role!” said Quinn.

Yes, that's true! Merula mused, frowning. Barnaby was soooo perfect in his role that he managed to irritate the most powerful witch at Hogwarts!

“But we should clear up a thing or two!” she exclaimed, her voice heavy with resentment.

“When you asked for his help, you should have clarified that he didn’t have to carry you like a bride!”

[eternalchaoschocolaterain]

Hi, I'm back to share this. Merula has become Quinn's coworker and made friends with Ruby, who is currently sort of imprisoned in Quinn's apartment 😂

Which Merula doesn't know about, because it's this big ROCC secret.

Also Ruby is canonically gay and I have these fun ideas about Merula's reaction when she finds out Ruby and Quinn are basically living together. There is still only one bed in the apartment 😂

Yes, how do they know each other? They've only been dating for about five years (I think? Hogwarts Mystery timeline can be so vague) and are still lying about it for who knows what reason

[hufflepunk-asfrick]

Guess who made 2 new fankids to be best friends with my MC's daughter. Let's introduce this boy first!

Malcolm Lee, son of Barnaby Lee and Talbott Winger

My boy is a Hufflepuff in the same Year as Quinn Rivera-Snyde. He's really good at CoMC (like Barnaby) and Herbology (like Talbott). Two classes he struggles in are Potions and Transfiguration. He has trouble focusing, like Quinn, so the two of them together... Just makes things worse for everyone involved. Unless they have their Designated Mom Friend™ around.

Anyway, he's a good guy with a heart of gold.

[eternalchaoschocolaterain]

The big finale with the best queers! ❤️

Cute animation, cute conversation. Adult Merula is so much more soppy than teen Merula.

THEY DID IT. THEY KISSED 🥰😍

She asked first. Aw. Also I'm going to assume Lee is a nickname at this point 🤭

The stuff in between wasn't the best (looking at you Jacob and Flump), but the ending totally makes up for it! Very cute quest ❤️

[eternalchaoschocolaterain]

This quest ending is adorable 🥺 look at their antlers!

Cuties 🥰

[eternalchaoschocolaterain]

The Most Powerful Waitress

Last one!

Chapter one: School's out

Chapter two: I'd hire me

Chapter three: No cure for me

Chapter four: Rinse and repeat

Chapter five: Patience

Chapter six: I don't know

@whatwouldvalerydo

No one knows

The next day Merula went back to Hogsmeade, to Zonko’s. Bilton did not look happy to see her when she entered the store and she held up her hands.

‘I want to apologize.’

His expression became milder. ‘I see. Go ahead.’

She fidgeted with the zipper on her leather jacket. Fuck, she hated apologizing, but it had to be done if she ever wanted to show her face her again. Which she did. ‘I’m sorry for storming out of the store yesterday. I shouldn’t have done that. I let my emotions get the best of me and I’m sorry for that.’

Bilton smiled. ‘I accept your apology, but I will never let you work here again.’

‘That’s fair.’

They said an awkward goodbye and Merula exhaled deeply when she stood outside. With that out of the way she could go back home, but she wanted to pick up a drink for Quinn. To celebrate her closing her first case. Not feeling comfortable going back to the Three Broomsticks, she went to Hog’s Head. Aberforth gave her a curious look when she got up to the bar.

‘Come to look for a job?’

Word travelled way too fast here. Merula crossed her arms. ‘No, I want some herbal liqueur.’ She’d decided Quinn was right, she didn’t have to work. Why not use her position to grant herself a break to think things over?

‘That’s too bad. But let me know if you change your mind. I heard about what happened with Rosmerta and I think you’d do well here.’

Stunned, Merula stared at him. Did he just offer her a job knowing what happened this week? Why would anyone want to offer her a job after this week? Not that it mattered. She’d do nothing for now. Absolutely nothing work-related that was.

Which is what she did the following days. She duelled with Quinn, went to the Dueling Club, practiced duelling at home, went to the theatre, watched the stars, studied new spells, read. Her days were full, although she spent most of the time by herself. With Ismelda abroad, Quinn was the only person she had actual conversations with and she did have a job.

As the days turned into weeks she started to get restless. Doing whatever she wanted was nice and all, but it got her nowhere. Writing letters to Ismelda got harder by the day.

I went duelling, again. Sat in the garden, again. Watched another play. Read another book.

Blah, blah, blah. There was nothing to it. Nothing she could be proud of, nothing to show off with. Sure she mastered some new spells and was a better dueller than ever, but who cared if she had no goal with it? She didn’t want to become a professional dueller. Professional duellers barely had a life outside of training and matches and she didn’t want to be consumed by anything ever again. Her obsession with the Vaults had almost cost her everything. There was no way she would risk that again. No, she needed something where she could excel, but where she could still have a live. Maybe even make a new friend. It’d be nice to have someone else but Quinn to talk to.

Frustration boiled up again. How had she made it to 18 without knowing what she wanted?! After finding the Cursed Vaults and defeating R this was supposed to be the easy part! She would get to live now and what did she do? Hang around doing whatever came to mind. Anything to keep the growing restlessness a bay. Everyone else was doing great. Even Quinn seemed to have settled in. They all had some reason to get up, some purpose. She had nothing.

Aberforth’s offer kept playing through her mind and she kept wondering what he wanted from her. After another day doing the same things by herself, she went to Hog’s Head. At the very least to stop the same questions from running through her mind.

The one-room inn looked grimy as ever and smelled like goats, which made her wonder if Aberforth was some secret goat breeder. There was no reason for this grimy inn to smell like goats otherwise. Aberforth stood behind the bar cleaning a goblet with his hands and a dirty rag instead of his wand, which explained why it didn’t get any cleaner.

‘Is the job still there?’

Aberforth stopped rubbing the goblet and looked up at her. ‘Sure.’

‘What kind of job would it be? I’m not really a server.’

‘I heard,’ he chuckled, ‘but I could use some help around here. I need a day off too every once in a while, but the patrons can be a lot. Not everyone can handle them. I think you could.’

‘So you do want me to be a server.’

‘I want you to make sure they pay before they leave and take any fights outside.’

She pondered the offer. It would give her something to do, some purpose, but at what cost? Working in this goat pen wasn’t exactly the dream job. On the other hand, she could do it. No one would leave without paying on her watch. Or dare to make a mess. She could excel in a small way, until she knew what she wanted. At worst she would get fired and at this point she didn’t know if she cared anymore.

‘Alright, but I don’t want to work every weekend.’ That would defeat the whole ‘having a life outside of work’ thing.

‘Fine,’ Aberforth shrugged. ‘Can you start tomorrow afternoon?’

‘Sure.’

The place didn’t look any better the next day. Or smell any better. She’d dressed for the occasion, with an old band shirt, old jeans and boots that were easily cleaned with a spell. Aberforth stood behind the bar again and he greeted her with a nod. She joined him and stared into the room. There were a few people, some hunched over the table whispering. Like they had never heard of the sound bubble charm. All of them had drinks, some had food.

‘Now what?’

‘We watch and make sure they don’t burn this place down.’

‘Why not? The place can’t get any worse.’

It slipped out before she could stop herself and she mentally prepared to be chastised, but Aberforth chuckled. Feeling a bit more relaxed she asked him about the place and before she knew it, they were chatting about the history of Hogsmeade.

As the afternoon turned into the evening the patrons got a bit rowdy and a fight did break out. A man and a woman rose from their seats, shouting, wands drawn. Aberforth nudged her to show him how she’d handle it. She stepped up to them, both were about two heads taller than her, and yelled.

‘Outside, both of you!’ They looked down at her for a moment. The man raised his eyebrow, as if to challenge her, and Merula drew her wand. ‘I said to take it outside.’

They laughed and she hit them with a jinx she’d taught herself a while ago for duelling. It pinned their arms behind their back. Then she hit them with in the back a few times, pushing them towards the door, until they left. They complained and spluttered, but couldn’t get their arms out of the grip she had on them. Other patrons pointed and laughed at them. Once they were outside, Merula went back to Aberforth.

‘Something like that?’

‘Something like that,’ he smirked.

She had to come between two more fights that evening and served a few drinks. Not that bad for a first night. The following days she broke up some more fights, scolded patrons for making messes and didn’t clean anything herself. For some reason the patrons liked her attitude and Aberforth seemed happy with her. She didn’t know what to think herself. The job itself was okay-ish, but she worked at Hog’s Head for Salazar’s sake! Way beneath a witch of her powers. She itched to do better, but still had no answer as to what she wanted.

On Friday Quinn brought over a group of her friends. She’d asked if she wanted to join and suggested coming to Hog’s Head when Merula said she couldn’t. Seeing them wouldn’t be the worst, so she’d shrugged. Aberforth would like the extra money and she supposed she could clean some goblets for the occasion. One for Quinn at least.

Tonks and Tulip were the first to arrive, claiming a large table. Tulip gave Merula a questioning look when she saw her standing behind the bar, but she ignored it. She’d realise soon enough. Shortly after Quinn came in, with Haywood and Egwu in tow. She grinned at her and waved and Merula returned the sentiment with a small smile.

‘Friends of yours?’ Aberforth asked.

Merula hummed a confirmation. Something like that.

‘Go join them, make sure they pay. We don’t do personal favours here.’

She let out a snort. Like that’s the reason, but she appreciated him acting like he didn’t do her a favour. The seat next to Quinn was still free and she took it. Under the table she gave her hand a squeeze.

‘You work here now?’ Haywood asked.

‘I’m not taking your order if that’s what you’re asking. You can go up to the bar and get it yourself. I’m not your servant.’

Tonks burst out laughing and Haywood turned red. ‘That’s not-’

‘We were talking about what we’ve all been up to.’ Tulip cut in.

She went on to explain how she and her toad Dennis were on an all-salmon diet?! Nothing but salmon, which sounded gross even to a fish lover like Merula. Haywood chimed in, talking about her wonderful, wonderful job. She had the best job ever. She was learning so many new things as apothecary in training. Of course, Tonks was doing great too, living her dream of becoming an auror. Training under none other than her hero, Mad-Eye Moody. Why that man was anyone’s hero was beyond Merula. She’d met him a few times dealing with R and if you asked her, he was unhinged. An accident waiting to happen. Egwu was happy working at Gladrags and working on his own fashion line in his free time. Quinn gushed about her co-workers, who were all just the nicest of the nicest. What lives they lived, no one questioned anything, had any trouble, or had gotten fired. No. Everything was perfect.

‘Well, congratulations to everyone for doing sooo well in life,’ Merula spat, unable to keep her frustrations to herself any longer. ‘Looks like everything is perfect for you all.’ The urge to get up and stomp off was as strong as ever, but she managed to hold back. She didn’t want a repeat from last time.

For a moment they all stared at her, then Egwu scowled.

‘I wish! I missed this month’s rent because I found the perfect fabric and forgot how much I had left. Making your own fashion line is expensive!’

‘But you’ve always made clothes. How did you not know it would be expensive?’ Merula asked. Besides, he knew how to calculate, right? That was just dumb.

‘I never had to pay rent and food and everything else on top of it!’

‘Tell me about it,’ Tonks said, ‘I hate paying rent. Why do I have to pay some rich arsehole for the right to have a roof over my head?’

Tulip made a face. ‘I wish I could afford rent. My experiments are driving my parents mad and I kind of destroyed the couch the other day. After creating toxic fumes in my bedroom.’

‘At least you get to do what you love,’ Quinn said. ‘I keep getting sent out to do things alone and my boss hates me. And he’s threatening to fire me if I don’t get my apparition license soon.’ Merula raised her eyebrows at her. This was news for her too. ‘He told me today.’

‘Ah fuck, I have to do that too!’ Tonks hair flashed blue and she put her face in her hands. ‘And if I keep failing stealth, I’ll never become an auror, but I can’t help that I keep knocking things over!’

Everyone focused on Haywood now, who had a sheepish look on her face. ‘I don’t want to be mean, but my roommate is, kind of a bit untidy. And she keeps using my stuff. I wouldn’t mind if she asked of course! But she doesn’t and when I find them, they’re dirty. I thought having a roommate would be fun, like living in the dorms had been, but it’s not.’ They all nodded and Merula looked at them, stunned by their confessions. ‘I thought I had everything figured out after graduating, but there’s so much I don’t know.’

‘It’s like they forgot to teach us how to live,’ Egwu said with an exasperated sigh. ‘I’m questioning everything I’ve learned.’

‘Just look at us! Some of Hogwarts best and brightest and we’re all struggling!’ Tonks said, her hair still blue.

‘It’s not just us,’ Haywood sighed. ‘I know Barnaby has been feeling extremely homesick for Hogwarts, McNully can’t grow in his job because he has issues networking.’ Merula sniggered. Of course he did. That’s what you got when you turned everything and everyone around you into statistics. ‘and Alanza hasn’t even found a place to live yet.’

‘Maybe they did forget to teach us some things at Hogwarts,’ Quinn pondered.

The rest nodded and named more things they wished they’d learned. Merula listened in awe. It wasn’t just her, they were all struggling. And judging by the things the others were saying she was already doing better than the lot of them. No roommate issues, no budget issues and currently, no work issues. Aberforth told her he wanted her to run the inn by herself for an afternoon coming week, see how it would go. He trusted her. Even if she didn’t want to work in this goat pen forever, it was far from the worst job she had in the past few weeks.

The next couple of days the conversation kept repeating itself in her mind. Maybe life after Hogwarts wasn’t the easy part, maybe they needed to learn that too. If so, she had already shown great improvement, unlike the others. She’d found a job that let her be herself and it didn’t look like she’d be fired anytime soon. Sure she still had no idea what she wanted, but she’d figure it out. She’d show herself some patience this time. For now she would stay at Hog’s Head and entertain herself by yelling at people. Life after Hogwarts would only get better, she’d make sure of it.

[eternalchaoschocolaterain]

Well ain't that the truth 🤭

But also I was so caught off guard by how openly they are dating in this TLSQ. And Merula is fine with it?

[eternalchaoschocolaterain]

Poor Quinn can't even think of anything else anymore 😆

[eternalchaoschocolaterain]

The Most Powerful Waitress

Chapter four

Chapter one: School's out

Chapter two: I'd hire me

Chapter three: No cure for me

Chapter five: Patience

Chapter six: I don't know

Chapter seven (final chapter): No one knows

Rinse and repeat

It hadn’t taken Merula long to find a new job. The accidental magic reversal squad was desperate for new recruits, which should have been her first sign to run. Even if she’d only worked there for a few hours, it had been a nightmare. Cleaning up after people who did stupid things was not the job for her. She should’ve known, instead of getting sacked for the second time. What a start to her career.

She paced around her house, unable to sit down. What the fuck was she supposed to do now? Every other job sounded more boring than the next, but without a job she couldn’t build experience, couldn’t show people her capabilities. What other jobs were out there that she hadn't thought of yet? She paused. What other jobs <i>were</i> out there? She went into the library, there had to be something here that could help her. Her library had never let her down before.

The library was her favourite room. Despite its size it still managed to feel cozy, with the fireplace casting a red glow on everything and the smell of books. Three of the walls were lined with blue bookshelves and the other had a large fireplace with the best sofa she ever sat in. The thing was light blue, soft, large and square, making it so she had room to stretch out any way she liked. There were pillows in all shapes and sizes, so she could be comfortable in any position. She pulled out some books for inspiration and stretched out.

Accountant? Yeah never. Pouring over numbers all day sounded dreadful. What could be worse than filling other people’s taxes? She’d rather go back to the reversal squad. Architect? She had never been interested in buildings, but having her name on one did sound good. As she progressed through the books, she noted the jobs that did sound interesting: auror, duelling champion, potioneer, researcher at the department of mysteries. Maybe even curse-breaker after all. Or maybe even a desk job. Surely there had to be paperwork that mattered?

‘Ru, you’re not going to believe this.’

Merula sat up when she heard Quinn, who had been out all day. She’d met up with Haywood in Diagon Alley, so Merula expected to hear all kinds of gossip when she got back. But Quinn’s face was a mixture of emotions she didn’t expect to see if this was solely about gossip. She rearranged her books and notes, allowing Quinn room to sit next to her.

‘What?’

‘I found a place, or Pen did. She asked me if I had a house yet and when she heard I didn’t, she came with this one.’

Her eyes widened. Even though she didn’t know what to guess, this hadn’t crossed her mind. She scrambled for a response, but all that came out was, ‘Oh’.

‘I mean it’s perfect.’ Quinn’s eyes gleamed as she spoke.

Normally Merula would’ve found this sweet, but right now it was all she could do not to snap. But she didn’t, because after all, not moving in together yet had been her idea.

‘It’s this little studio in a side street of Diagon Alley, I’ll be in the middle of everything! And it’s quite cheap because it’s so small. But I still can’t afford it right now, I only had enough for the deposit. I tried to tell Pen that I still don’t know when I’ll start working, but you know how she is. She paid the first month rent and insists she will pay more until I can pay her back. She’s going to help me move in tomorrow.’

‘Tomorrow?!’

‘Yes and Andre is coming too, we bumped into him running an errand. He wants to get me curtains and needs to measure the windows. And-’

‘Wait, let me guess, house warming party on Saturday?’ Merula couldn’t keep the bitterness from her voice. This went waaay to fast. She’d never expected Quinn to find a house the first day she went back to real life. In her mind Quinn would’ve taken a few weeks at least to find something. She crossed her arms in a huff. ‘You could’ve just left if you wanted to get away from me so bad.’

‘What are you getting at? Not moving in yet was your idea. You said you needed your space.’

‘I’m not making you move out right now! You can take months, I don’t care.’

She wouldn’t have minded. This whole vacation had gone better than she could’ve imagined. She’d worried Quinn would’ve wanted to spend every second together, which she did, but she hadn’t complained once about Merula’s need for time alone. Which to Merula’s surprise she hadn’t needed as much of as she thought. Reading together in silence worked as well as reading alone. They had a few arguments, mostly in the morning, but nothing serious.

Mornings turned out to be much better together. Waking up with cuddles and having nice breakfasts made for a great start of the day. Being together had been the best anyway. This whole time they’d been able to cuddle, kiss and everything else whenever they wanted. No one to look out for or having to be worried about being interrupted. They’d have to schedule time for that now, starting tomorrow apparently!

‘You’re just in a hurry to leave me!’

‘I’m not! I would stay if you asked.’

‘I’m not going to beg you to stay. I don’t need you.’ Merula spat. ‘Just go and have fun with your friends.’

‘Fine.’ Quinn’s voice had gotten soft and low and Merula knew she hurt her. But at the moment she didn’t care. She wasn’t the one that had decided to leave! ‘I guess I’ll go tell Pen that we can have the housewarming this weekend.’ Quinn got up and sped out of the library.

Of course something like this would happen. She should have known, nothing good ever lasted. Let Quinn tell Haywood to have that stupid party, but they better not invite her!

Wait.

She got up and hurried to her bedroom. Quinn’s trunk laid open on the bed and Quinn stood next to it, gesturing at the large wardrobe. Clothes flew out, folding themselves on top of each other. She raised her eyebrow at Merula for a moment, but kept her focus on her clothes. Merula leaned against the doorpost and watched her. Despite her conflicting emotions, she couldn’t help but marvel at Quinn’s seemingly effortless use of both wandless and non-verbal magic. She’d taught her well.

‘There's no housewarming party this weekend?’

‘Give me a moment and there will be.’

‘I thought you’d have one.’

‘I will, but I wanted to do it next weekend. I wanted to spent time with you, but I guess you did get tired of me.’ She kept gesturing at her clothes.

‘I didn’t.’ Quinn gave her an expectant look and Merula sighed. ‘I want to spent time with you too.’

She finally stopped moving her clothes. ‘You know, this is fast for me too. But I’m not passing up on a perfect studio just because it’s fast. Besides Penny wouldn’t let me anyway.’ Quinn smirked a little and Merula rolled her eyes.

‘Typical Haywood.’ They were both silent for a few moments. ‘So, uh, you still want to come over?’

‘Yes!’ Quinn came over and hugged her tight. ‘I love spending time with you.’

‘Good.’ Merula hugged her back. It would take time to get used to this new reality. Outside of the summer vacations they’d seen each other every day for the past seven years. Every day! Now they would have to plan. She nuzzled Quinn’s neck, comforted by her familiar forestry smell, with hints of juniper and pine. It would be fine, things would be fine. They could plan. It wouldn’t change things, wouldn’t change them.

Quinn kissed the side of her face. ‘So, how was your day?’

‘It sucked. I need a new job.’

‘What went wrong with this one?’

‘People are dumb, that’s what went wrong.’ Her frustrations about the day resurfaced with a force and she let go of Quinn so she could fall backwards on her bed. ‘The reversal squad is all about cleaning up after dumb people doing dumb things and having to pretend it’s fine. It’s just a mistake. This can happen to anyone.’ Merula buried herself deeper into her bed with a groan. ‘I tried to be nice about it, but then we answered this call about a young man getting himself splinched.’

Of course it had to be Barnaby. He had been trying to get his apparition license. All he had left to do was to apparate from a field near the Forbidden Forest to the other side of Hogsmeade. Something he should have been capable of, but he failed because he saw a hippogriff flying over the forest. ‘A really pretty one!’ According to him. That unbelievable oaf got himself splinched over a hippogriff and ruined his exam. She hadn’t minced words when she saw him, because he should have done better. But her supervisor and Barnaby had for some reason decided she was rude and insulting, like it was her fault Barnaby had been as stupid as he had! But since she was so ‘difficult and rude’ she couldn’t be worked with and had to leave. Well, it wasn’t like she had enjoyed any second of that job, so good riddance to them!

‘Is Barnaby okay?’ Quinn asked when she finished. She had joined Merula on the bed, sitting cross-legged against the headboard.

‘Of course he is. They found his ear and toes and reattached them. He’s fine.’

‘Oh, good!’

They were silent for a moment and Merula decided to summon her notes. ‘I was actually doing research when you came in.’

Quinn looked them over. ‘Are you going to try any of these jobs?’

‘Of course, I’m not giving up. It’s just, I don’t know which one yet. I mean, I know I want something exciting. Can you imagine anything worse than being stuck with a boring job? These jobs sounded okay to me, but I don’t know. What do you think?’

‘I think you might make a great duellist. You’re fast, very brave and you pick up new things in a flash.’

‘I do like a good battle.’

A ticking noise sounded from the window before either of them could say something else. A long-eared owl perched on the window sill and continued tapping until Quinn opened the window. At the same time, Merula summoned the bowl of snacks she had for the owls that delivered the paper and brought it over.

‘It’s for me.’ Quinn sounded surprised when she took the letter. ‘And it’s blank.’

‘Let me see.’ Merula turned it around and cast a few spells, but the parchment remained blank. ‘Do you think someone is pranking you?’

‘I don’t know. It doesn’t even have a name- wait, look!’

Words appeared on the backside of the letter.

I can fill up a room and take no space. When I’m gone darkness takes my place.

‘A riddle, and a really easy one too.’ Quinn frowned, took the letter back and cast lumos on the parchment. Next moment dark blue ink appeared on the letter.

Dear Quinn Lee,

Your first day is tomorrow. Report to the ministry at half-past nine o’clock.

‘That’s it?’ She turned the letter around and shone the light there to no avail. ‘I still don’t know anything. Report to the ministry? Do they realise how big- Fuck!’ The letter went up in flames and Quinn flapped her hands around.

‘Come sit.’ Merula gestured at the bed and went to get burn-healing paste. She massaged Quinn’s hands when she applied it.

‘Thanks.’

‘So, tomorrow.’

‘Apparently, except I still don’t know where to go, or who to meet, or what I’ll be doing.’ Quinn pursed her lips. Then she perked up. ‘I’m going to make us a nice dinner.’

She got up so fast that her circle skirt twirled around her legs. Merula let her go and waited a bit before following her into the kitchen, giving Quinn a moment to gather herself and push any sort of anger or frustration down. Not that Merula would mind seeing Quinn like that. If you asked her, anger was a perfectly healthy outlet for frustration or just about any other feeling. Sometimes the world deserved to be set on fire. For some reason though, Quinn didn’t like being angry, especially not about things she couldn’t change. Or thought she couldn’t change, like this job. From what Quinn told her Moody and Dumbledore had arranged this job for her, expecting her to be grateful about it. Even though they never asked for her opinion. Merula couldn’t understand why Quinn worried more about disappointing them than having a job she wanted, but she thought getting angry was useless and she’d rather be happy. Whatever worked for her.

When she thought enough time had passed, she went to the kitchen. It had pink quartz countertops atop white cabinets running along two walls and a white sink underneath the window overlooking the garden. The table in the middle and its chairs matched the colour scheme, as did the stove that was built into the other wall. Her dad had done the kitchen and while Merula liked pink, this was too much. She’d thought about changing it numerous times and told herself to just take some time to at least try out some new colours, but for some reason she never did.

Quinn stood by the window, kneading some dough with such force that her ponytail swung from side to side. The muscles in her arms tensed as she pressed into the dough and folded it over and over. Merula walked over and put her arm around Quinn’s waist.

‘Fresh pasta?’

Quinn hummed an agreement.

‘Hey,’ Merula gently bumped her hip, ‘you’ll do fine tomorrow. You are the second most powerful witch, they are the ones who should feel honoured to get to work with you, not the other way around.’

‘I just wish I knew more about it. I don’t know what am I going to do, or where. I mean, do they even want me or did they get as much choice as I did?’

Ah, so that was her real issue. She should’ve known. ‘Oh please, everyone always loves you, where-ever you go. They might not know it yet, but they’re going to love you. It’s one of those annoying things about you.’

The corners of Quinn’s lips turned up a little. ‘You think so?’

‘No, I know so.’

‘Thanks.’

Quinn turned and gave her a quick kiss, which reminded Merula.

‘You forgot to greet me with a kiss today.’

A mischievous smile spread on Quinn’s face. ‘I did, didn’t I? I was hoping you forgot about it.’

‘Cheeky. I’ll keep that in mind when I think about a way you can make it up to me.’ She gave her another kiss before letting go to sit at the table.

Quinn resumed working on her dough. ‘What are you going to do tomorrow?’

‘Find a new job.’

If only this one would stick. For the first time she felt a little uncertain. This was supposed to be the easy part, but it didn’t feel easy right now. She pushed the feeling down, she was a Snyde. Snydes always bounced back. So what if she had a little trouble, nothing was too big for her. She could do this. Maybe she’d try the dreaded desk job. As long as they didn’t make her clean up other people’s messes it couldn’t be as bad as the reversal squad. Might as well try something new, until she figured out what she wanted. She could start at the ministry, plenty of desk jobs there. Knowing herself it would be mere hours before she had a new job, she could be quite convincing if she wanted to. It would be fine.

[eternalchaoschocolaterain]

I made Quinn cover for Merula and I love how Merula is so quick to join in blaming her, only to be mad about it later 😂😂

[eternalchaoschocolaterain]

They really turned up the soppiness with the newest dating location. Cute

[eternalchaoschocolaterain]

The Most Powerful Waitress

Chapter six Will post the last one here tomorrow. It's already complete on AO3

Chapter one: School's out

Chapter two: I'd hire me

Chapter three: No cure for me

Chapter four: Rinse and repeat

Chapter five: Patience

Chapter seven (final chapter): No one knows

@whatwouldvalerydo

I don't know

A Snyde never gave up, so the next morning Merula pushed herself to get up early, slung a bag over her should and went back to Hogsmeade. Losing her patience yesterday wasn’t her fault, it was all on that guy. She’d been doing great before he came along and she’d fucking prove it to anyone who’d hire her. And hire her they would!

Luckily, Zonko’s had a note in the window saying they were looking for help. Selling some kids joke items couldn’t be worse than anything else she’d tried so far. Plus with how annoying kids could be they’d be a great way to practice her patience some more and she doubted any kid would be dumb enough to behave like the guy from yesterday.

The bright coloured store smelled like dungbombs and Merula wondered why Bilton didn’t have any spells in place to cover that smell up. But knowing him, he might like the smell. He stood behind the counter, grinning at a couple of kids who were arguing whether dungbombs or nose-biting teacups were better. The one arguing for the teacups was right: all the fun, none of the smell.

She walked over with a confident grin and put her hands on the counter. ‘I’m the help you need and I can start right now.’

Bilton frowned at her. ‘I don’t know about that. I heard what happened last night-’

‘Then you know it wasn’t my fault.’ Merula cut him off, because she would not start her day with another rejection. She would practice her patience and she’d practice it here! ‘I can sell stuff to some kids. Look!’ She walked over to the arguing kids. ‘Obviously the teacup is the better choice. You want to smell like dungbombs for the next week? Everyone will know it’s you.’ The kids shared a look and took a step backwards, but Merula pressed on. ‘Just buy the teacup. You’ll thank me later.’

She looked at them expectantly and the kids shuffled away to put the dungbombs back on the shelf. Bilton rung them up with his jovial laughter, while the kids looked over their shoulders a few times.

‘So, I’m hired, right?’ Merula asked when the kids left.

‘I don’t know.’

‘Didn’t you see what I did there? I’m a natural.’

They stared at each other. What was he thinking questioning her! All because of that absolute fucking twat from yesterday? That wasn’t her fault and she wouldn’t let Bilton deny her the chance to prove it.

‘I guess you can try out today and we’ll see how it goes.’

‘Good.’

Only a day, but whatever. It would be enough. Bilton let her behind the counter and showed her the cash till. Basically she would be the cashier, so her job would be to calculate. Bilton would go around the shop, joking with the kids and taking stock of everything. Easy.

The morning went about in slow fashion. Merula rang up purchases and even wrapped a few. Bilton kept his eye on her, but she made sure to put on her best Madam Rosmerta face and after a while he seemed to relax. The kids in the store were better than the costumers at the Three Broomsticks. They were loud, but some of their pranking plans were unexpectedly quite funny. The smell seemed not as bad after a while, though she figured she needed a long bath to get rid of it when her shift ended.

‘Why don’t you take a little break?’ Bilton said after Merula rang up another group of kids. ‘There’s an owl for you in the break room.’

Curious, Merula left her spot. The break room was Bilton’s own kitchen, a simple white painted wooden kitchen, located directly behind the stock room. Even with the window open and a pot of tea damping on the table this room stank of dungbombs too. She fed the owl a piece of a biscuit, untied the letter and tore it open. Ismelda’s familiar writing greeted her.

Merula,

We’ve settled into an apartment in New York. The city is huge, with lots of flickering lights. I hate it and have bought the thickest curtains I could find. The apartment is so dark now that we have candles everywhere.

Ben’s been busy with his job. It’s different than he expected. The muggles here are used to seeing weird things and most of it is chalked up to aliens. No really. Lots of talk about aliens here. Most of the times he’s needed for people pranking muggles, or when someone lets some creature escape or shapeshifts in the middle of the street. People are so dumb, it happens quite a lot. Somehow he still likes it and I guess his stories are kind of funny.

My job is good. I barely talk to anyone and when I do it’s all about history. I have my own room where I can research and date artefacts. They also let me work on my own research. I’ve been looking into the relations between the muggles and the native magical community here to help with dating. It’s quite gruesome.

To be honest I’m happy. It’s a weird feeling, but I think I could get used to this.

Hope you’re doing well,

Ismelda

PS: You owe me five galleons.

Merula rolled her eyes. Typical Ismelda to take something said in a fight so serious. But whatever, she’d pay. She read the letter again. Good for her for being happy. With her perfect apartment, perfect boyfriend and perfect career. How the fuck was she supposed to respond to that?

Glad you’re doing well. I’ve been fired from five jobs this week. Oh and Quinn moved out the day ‘the retreat’ was over and I hate it?

Yeah that would make for a nice letter. She chucked the thing in her bag, she could answer later. The letter and possible responses kept running through her mind while she counted some more and rung up some more kids. It was a slow day and most of her time was spent staring ahead. She almost missed the whiny costumers at the Three Broomsticks, at least that hadn’t been boring. If she’d known today would be this boring she’d have brought a book. The store even emptied out and Bilton came up to her, twisting his moustache.

‘I have to run a little errand. If you want, I could close the shop, that way you could have a long lunch break.’

Merula narrowed her eyes, she saw right through his offer. ‘I’m fine.’

‘It’s only your first day. I could understand if you didn’t want to be alone yet.’

‘I can handle the store by myself for a few minutes. I’ve been doing great so far, haven’t I?’

‘That’s true.’ Bilton admitted with a laugh, but it didn’t fill the room like his usual laughter did. ‘Okay, I’ll let you to it. It’s a quiet day after all. Just close the shop if you feel the need to, alright? I won’t mind.’

‘I will.’ She wouldn’t, because there was nothing that could happen that could make her need to close the shop. Except lunch.

‘I’ll be off then. I’ll see you in a bit.’

How hard did he think this fucking job was? That would make a nice addition to her response for Ismelda.

I’m working at Zonko’s now where Bilton doesn’t seem to think I can handle counting some coins by myself. What does he think I’ll do? Steal? Like I need the money.

After lunch she opened the store again. The sign had only turned back for a few minutes when a horrid clanging sound filled the room. Quinn walked towards her, looking as surprised to see her as Merula felt. For a tiny moment she thought today would get better. They’d have a nice conversation where Quinn would be all enthusiastic about her job, her home and seeing Merula later. Then she would gush over her and tell her how amazing she was. Just the cheering up she needed right now. But to her even bigger surprise Quinn held the source of the clanging: a toy monkey banging its cymbals together.

‘Can’t you turn that off?’ Merula shouted over the noise.

Quinn shook her head. ‘I wanted to ask Bilton for help with this. Is he around?’

 ‘Bilton?! What the fuck?! You think I can’t help you with it?’

‘No, of course. You can help-’

‘Merula? Quinn Lee?’ Tulip walked up to them, with her toad Dennis on her shoulder. ‘What’s that?’

‘It’s from work.’

‘Your work just gave you that? That’s brilliant!’

‘They did, but how are you, I haven’t seen you in ages?’ Quinn asked with a smile.

‘Dennis and I no longer conform to the construct of time. As far as I’m concerned, we all exist in a blank space of creativity and ambition. It’s the best way to work on my inventions and that monkey of yours is giving me all new ideas.’

‘You’re an inventor?’ Tulip grinned at Quinn as an answer and Quinn returned the look. ‘You did it! That’s amazing. I’m so happy it’s working out for you.’

Look at Quinn being all sweet and gushy. Perfect Tulip with her perfect job doing so much better than Merula. Tulip did what she wanted, Ismelda did what she wanted and she’d heard Quinn’s friends yesterday. They all did what they wanted. Haywood the potioneer, Egwu the fashion expert, Tonks the auror and Murphy the quidditch commentator. Copper had his fun obliviating muggles and Ismelda even said she was happy. Happy! She hated being happy!

‘Brilliant! Does everyone have a fantastic career except me?!’

‘Merula, calm down.’ Quinn pleaded.

‘Shut up!’ Without thinking, or looking back, Merula stomped off.

Let Quinn date Tulip if she was so amazing! Or one of her other friends. She kept going, internally cursing everything and everyone. Another terrible job and to top it off she had practically begged Bilton for it. When she could do so much better! How had she managed to sink this low? Thoughts kept running through her head as she stomped on, until she realised she had walked all the way out of Hogsmeade. All around her were trees and grass, no building in sight.

She needed to calm down, find something relaxing for a moment. It took her only a few moments to think of what she wanted. She apparated to a spot just outside of the Hogwarts grounds and hurried over to creature care. Professor Kettleburn had insisted that she was welcome to visit the creatures whenever she wanted.

The puffskeins lived in a large grass enclosure with lots of hideouts and holes. Throughout the enclosure stood various objects. Some were for the puffies to play with on their own, others for people to play with the puffies. Most puffskeins were wandering about, humming a little. The humming became louder when she greeted them and entered their enclosure. It had been over a month since she last saw them, but the puffies always remembered her. She had been visiting them sometimes multiple times a week when she was still in school and had been doing so since third year. Throwing puffies around was one of the best ways to calm down.

She sat in front of the puffskein-sized quidditch hoops and the poffle ran up to her, climbing in her lap, all eager to be thrown around. The moment her fingers closed around one of the soft little furballs some tension left her body. One by one she threw them through the hoops, their happy humming grew louder and soon they had Merula making her own happy sounds. Puffskeins were the absolute best.

They flew about as she tried to throw away her feelings of anger and guilt. She’d gotten herself fired again. Bilton would rightfully be pissed when he found out what she did. So much for being the Most Patient Witch. Her arms grew tired and she laid down. The poffle got on top of her, because one thing they liked almost as much as being thrown around were cuddles on a warm pillow. She ran her fingers through their fur, letting her body relax.

It didn’t seem fair. Life after Hogwarts should be great! All she’d wanted was a good job, a great career, something that would make people look up to her. Make them forget about her name, who her family was and say nice things like what Quinn said to Tulip.

Quinn!

She shot up, making the puffskeins fall to her side. How long had she been here? She was supposed to come see her apartment for the first time today. If Quinn even wanted to see her after she yelled at her. Fuck. What a lovely girlfriend had she been. This would certainly go a long way in proving Quinn made the right choice by staying with her.

She made sure the puffies stayed in their enclosure and hurried towards Quinn’s apartment. It took a moment to find Quinn’s building, because all buildings looked alike in the side street to Diagon Alley. But its name was etched into the wood above the door, so she knew she had the right one. Quinn’s apartment was easier to find, the one with the fox doormat, but no one answered when she knocked and knocked again. Could she still be out? Or maybe she’d gone to look for her. That meant she’d probably be waiting for her to get home. Yes, that had to be it.

Except it wasn’t. Her own home was as empty as Quinn’s seemed to be. Her mind began to race. She’d messed up. She’d messed up again and this was the last straw. Why would Quinn even want to be near her? She’d probably fled to a friend and would never speak to her again.

Calm down you idiot. She’s not like that and you know it.

No, that’s right. At the very least she’d write a letter. So there had to be a letter. She scoured her whole home, even the rooms she only ever entered to clear some dust when she remembered to, but no letter anywhere. Her bag had somehow made it back to her home, but nothing in there either. Had Quinn been here, or had Bilton send it over when he realised she left? Fuck, she owed him an apology too, but that would have come later. First Quinn. Had to find Quinn. If she wasn’t here, or at her own place and hadn’t left a letter then what happened? Had something happened?!

She had to track her down. Return to the place she’d last seen her. Thankfully Zonko’s was closed now, because that gave her an excuse not to come over and apologize just yet. To find Quinn she painted a clear picture of her in her mind. She pictured her bright smile, fiery red curls and freckled skin and let the desire to find her overrule every other thought and feeling when she cast what she hoped to be the best tracking spell for the situation.

Against her expectations the spell showed that Quinn hadn’t apparated, but rather walked from Zonko’s. That made this part a bit easier. Merula hoped it stayed like this when she followed the footsteps out of Hogsmeade, in the direction of the Forbidden Forest. The large forest stretched out way beyond both Hogwarts and Hogsmeade and when both were a good distance away the footsteps led her inside.

A few feet into the forest almost all light disappeared, even from the pathway, and she had to light her wand to keep going. After a while the track led her off the pathway and that’s when she heard the clanging again. She quickened her steps, hoping that Quinn hadn’t abandoned the thing here. But no, in a small clearing, just big enough to let in some light from the grey sky, stood Quinn. That terrible monkey sat a few feet away from her. Next to her floated some books, parchment and a quill.

‘Quinn!’ The books dipped for a moment when Quinn heard her. ‘What are you doing? I’ve been looking everywhere for you!’ Merula still had to be loud to be heard over the monkey.

‘I’m sorry, I forgot about the time, I didn’t mean to worry you.’

‘No, it’s fine.’ Merula wrapped her arms tight around her and buried her face in her neck, inhaling her scent. Quinn hugged her back, trying to say some more apologies, but Merula cut her off. ‘It’s alright, love. It’s alright. I’m glad I found you and-’

She hated this part, especially because there should’ve been no more need for it now, but she messed up again. Being close now she saw the bags under her eyes and noticed that Quinn wore the same clothes as yesterday. She remembered the little disappearance of her smile and how she’d literally asked for help earlier. Some girlfriend she had been. She had to make this right. Do better.

‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry for yelling at you and storming off.’

‘It’s okay, I know you’ve had a rough week.’

‘Unlike you, you want to say?’ She gestured at the horrid clanging monster. ‘Can I help you with that thing?’

‘I don’t know. I’ve tried so much already.’

Quinn stepped back to let the parchment float in front of Merula. It turned out to be a long, long list of crossed out spells. Most of them were aimed to destroy the monkey, others focused on stopping the noise. Nothing helpful came to her after seeing that list.

‘Then let’s sit and ignore the thing, you look like you could use a break.’ To her relief Quinn didn’t protest and she guided her towards the nearest tree, where she invited her to curl up against her. ‘Want to tell me about the monkey?’

‘It’s my first work assignment and it’s cursed to keep following whoever gets it around and keep clanging forever.’

‘It follows you?’

Quinn nodded against her. ‘My neighbours are already mad at me, because it doesn’t let itself be dampened in any way. I’ve been trying since I got it yesterday to get it to shut up or destroy it, but nothing works.’

Realization dawned on Merula and she swallowed to keep her questions inside. Instead, she stroked Quinn’s back. She knew why Quinn didn’t come to her last night and her actions today had done nothing to make Quinn feel like she could come if there was a next time.

‘I’m sorry I made you feel like you couldn’t come to me.’

‘At least you got a good night’s sleep now.’

‘I don’t want that. I want to be there for you. I’m sorry for yelling and walking away from you earlier today.’

‘What was that about anyway?’

Quinn looked up at her, her green eyes curious. No judgement. Merula’s chest tightened and she snuggled closer against Quinn, hiding her face in her curls.

‘I thought everything would be better now. We defeated R, got everyone behind bars. Now we would just get to live. And I thought it’d be easy, but it’s not. I thought nothing could mess my life up anymore,’ her voice cracked, ‘but I’m the one messing up my life. Got myself fired six times in one week, while everyone has these big careers. I yelled at you when I could’ve been there for you. I messed everything up. I don’t know what to do anymore. I don’t even know what I want.’

‘You could take a break, you don’t need to work.’

‘I can’t just be jobless!’

‘Why not?’

‘Because-’

What if people thought she was lazy? Incapable? Or worse, what if it proved what they thought about her? That someone with her background wasn’t fit for society.

The Most Powerful Witch should have a career that lived up to her title, not whatever she did now. No job meant no recognition, but on the other hand, this situation made her look like a failure. What she did today would get her no favours. Who would hire a her knowing she would storm off when things didn’t go her way? Besides, doing stupid jobs for the fuck of it wouldn’t help her figure things out.

‘I don’t know.’ She paused for a moment. ‘What about you? Do you even like your job so far?’

‘No. I have a nice coworker, but my boss hates me because Moody and Dumbledore forced me on him. He gave me this monkey to spite me and won’t tell me how to solve it. But I know he knows, because he said a lot of agents have gotten this case. He also said if I don’t solve it that he’ll fire me.’ Quinn sighed deeply. ‘You’re right, life after Hogwarts is not easy.’

Merula almost suggested for Quinn to let herself get fired, but she knew better. Quinn could be as stubborn as she was when trying to prove herself. Instead she thought of something to cheer her up.

‘I liked the first month.’

‘Me too.’

‘Maybe we could do something like that soon, it doesn’t have to be a month, a weekend is good too.’

‘I’d like that.’ Quinn turned to give her a kiss. Then her eyes widened. ‘It stopped.’

It took Merula a moment to get what she said. Quinn had already gotten up and grabbed the monkey.

‘It stopped.’ She repeated and turned the monkey around.

‘So this whole thing exists to annoy people and when it can’t, it stops?’

‘I guess so.’

‘I hate that thing and whoever created it.’

‘Me too.’ Quinn tossed it aside and came back to cuddle her. ‘But I love you and I don’t know if I’d have figured it out without you. Thank you.’

‘I’m glad I could help and I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you before. Maybe you could’ve slept last night.’

‘It’s okay and it’s over now. I suppose I’ll have to go drop it off at work.’

‘How about I pick up curry from that place you love and we meet at your place?’ It was well beyond dinner time, but since the sky hadn’t darkened yet Merula figured that the place would still be open.

‘Can we meet at yours? I like your place better. It’s more like a home.’

Her words made Merula feel all kinds of soppy and all she could do in response was nod and hug Quinn tighter. At least things were good between them. Even though she still had no idea what she wanted, or how to fix her problems, Merula felt a lot lighter once they let go.

[eternalchaoschocolaterain]

The Most Powerful Waitress

Chapter five (my personal fave)

Chapter one: School's out

Chapter two: I'd hire me

Chapter three: No cure for me

Chapter four: Rinse and repeat

Chapter six: I don't know

Chapter seven (final chapter): No one knows

@whatwouldvalerydo since you asked 😊

Patience

‘Well it’s not my fault your filing system is so dumb!’

Merula dumped the last forms on the desk and stomped out of the office in the law department. Of course! She should’ve known a desk job wasn’t for her. This had been the most boring morning of her life. Checking forms and putting them in the right place? Who even considered that a job?! The work of her colleagues, who had worked themselves up from the absolute pit of boredom, sounded almost worse. Holding meetings, going over notes, filling in forms. This job would not get better in the future. Good thing they fired her now.

But that did mean she would have to find a new job again. Where the fuck was she supposed to look now? Merula stopped at the large fountain in the centre of the Ministry’s Atrium. The bottom was layered with coins from people wishing better for themselves. For a moment she contemplated making a wish too, but what good would that do? If you wanted something in life, you had to work for it.

So, what else could she do? She sat down on the fountain ledge and watched the people bustling about. Busy, busy, busy. Did they all like their jobs? They had to, right? How else did they get out of bed every day? People walked in all directions, paper airplanes flying over them. Sometimes they stopped to greet another with a smile. The sounds of their conversations echoed through the big hall.

‘How’s your day?’

‘Good! How about you?’

All empty small talk. This couldn’t really be what life after Hogwarts was all about, could it? Conforming oneself into a mindless worker bee. No. She thought back to her first job this week. Priya hadn’t seemed like a mindless worker bee at all and neither had anyone else there. That job would’ve been a good fit, but stupid Lee and Sarah had to go and ruin it for her. Everything would’ve been fine without them. And it wasn’t her fault the other jobs were just stupid as fuck. If they hadn’t fired her, she would’ve quit. No, her fourth job would be much better.

Fourth job.

Fuck. At this rate she’d become the laughing stock of the entire society. Something had to change. Her mind raced over all the possibilities, until she couldn’t ignore what all her experiences had in common. It had to be her, hadn’t it? Everyone complained about her. Too rude, too angry, too stubborn, too much of everything. Even Quinn had called her out on her temper. She let her fingers glide through the fountain water, making slow circles. Maybe if she had been slower to react at Lee and Sarah she would still be a part of the cure research team. Her lips twitched and her throat felt dry all of a sudden. Fuck, she needed a drink.

Only a few people were at the Three Broomsticks, probably because most people had jobs to go to on a Thursday afternoon. She ordered a mallowsweet butterbeer and sat in an empty corner of the cozy inn. The sweet liquid warmed her a bit and she watched Madam Rosmerta and the few other patrons. She laughed with a few who seemed like regulars and Merula realised she usually looked happy like that. Suppose she actually liked her job.

‘Hey! I’ve been waiting here for 20 minutes already.’ A man yelled from a table at the front of the inn.

Madam Rosmerta’s smile changed from effortless to something that looked a little less real, but she didn’t say anything when she came over to him. ‘What would you like?’

‘I don’t know, what do you have?’

Without hesitation Madam Rosmerta prattled of a list of drinks.

‘I’ll have a butterbeer. And you need to clean the table. I can’t drink if it’s this dirty.’

No commentary still. Madam Rosmerta just got out her wand and cast a cleaning spell before getting the butterbeer. She handed it to him in silence, still giving him her usual smiley service, but that was it. Realization hit Merula, that’s the attitude others wanted her to have. Calm and patient. It didn’t look hard, she could certainly do it. She needed a bit of practice and if she did, she could work anywhere. All she needed was the job. Madam Rosmerta had always been kind, at least she wouldn’t deny her because of her name. She finished her drink and followed Madam Rosmerta back to the bar.

‘You want to order something else?’ Rosmerta asked, her effortless smile had returned.

‘What’s it like to work here?’

Her smile grew. ‘It’s the best job I’ve ever had. Busy at times and sometimes I need a deep breath,’ she side-eyed the man for a split second, ‘but overall I love creating a place where people can come and relax. I’ve been a listening ear and shoulder to cry on for many. My favourite are the returning costumers. Some have become dear friends over the years. Why do you ask?’

‘I’m looking for a job.’

Madam Rosmerta looked around the pub, for what Merula didn’t know. but she seemed satisfied when she answered. ‘Come into the back for a moment.’ Merula followed her to a door behind the bar. It led to a room stacked to the ceiling with large labelled barrels. They halted in the middle of the room. ‘I could use the help, but aren’t you worried you might get bored here? I’ve heard some of your conversations over the years and I thought you had other ambitions.’

Of course she did. Who but Madam Rosmerta dreamed of working in an inn? But what else could she do? The few options she had, she’d ruined and she’d only picked them because they didn’t sound bad or least bad. It wasn’t- It wasn’t like she knew what she wanted.

She hugged her body. How did the Most Powerful Witch not know what she wanted? Everyone knew what they wanted. She’d heard conversations between Quinn and her friends. They knew what they wanted. She squeezed her upper arms. Whatever, there was one thing she wanted right now and that was to become patient like Madam Rosmerta. Which she would and she decided there was no sense in lying.

‘I do, but I don’t know what I want right now.’

She said it as fast as she could without stumbling over the words, but they still left a bitter taste in her mouth.

‘That’s okay. I suppose you can work here until you do. Can you start tomorrow?’

‘Yeah sure.’

‘Good, come by around two, that’s when its quiet. I’ll have time to show you the ropes before the evening round starts.’

They talked a bit more until another costumer interrupted them to order. Even though her body still felt heavy, her mind had stopped swirling. She could focus on her new goal: from tomorrow on she’d become the Most Patient Witch. Let’s see who’d fire her after that.

Casual wear is what Madam Rosmerta had told her, so Merula had chosen to wear her black ripped jeans, a green shirt, her black leather jacket and her trusted black boots. Stylish and assertive if she said so herself. The job itself was easy enough: taking orders, bringing orders. Anyone could do it. But the constant smiling and friendliness that Madam Rosmerta expected her to do, to reflect ‘the cozy and laidback atmosphere’ of the pub, got on her nerves after only a few minutes. But it was fine, this is what she came here to practice.

The afternoon progressed slowly and the pub became more and more busy into the evening. Meals had to be served and the smell of grease filled the inn, battling against the perfumes and body odours of the costumers. Demands for drinks increased. Costumers called her from all sides, shouting over the noises and the music or waving, some even lit up their wands to draw attention to themselves. Despite the obvious rudeness of it all (didn’t anyone know how to wait anymore?!), she hadn’t made one outward complaint yet. She was doing great.

‘Merula, come join us!’

She whipped around when she heard her name to see Haywood smiling and waving at her, at a table with Barnaby, Tonks, Egwu, McNully and Quinn, who looked a little surprised. She felt a stab of guilt at her look. Quinn had owled her, asking about her day and telling her about the decorating. The letter was somewhere in the library and she hadn’t even started a response, too frustrated to talk about yet another failure. She suppressed a grimace, but walked over anyway. Someone would have to take their order.

‘What are you doing here?’ Quinn asked and before Merula could answer, Haywood and Murphy had their own questions.

‘What have you been doing? I haven’t seen you since we got off the train.’

‘You know, I did not calculate the odds of bumping into Merula Snyde.’

For some reason that opened the floodgates and everyone started talking over each other. How her interviews had gone, did she have a job, didn’t she hate the Three Broomsticks for being crowded?

‘Can’t you just order some butterbeer? I have more tables to serve,’ she shouted to get over their noises. That stunned them all into silence. When the silence lasted too long Merula waved her notebook around. ‘Do I need to spell it out for you? I work here and if you haven’t noticed, you’re not the only costumers this evening, so I can’t afford to be caught slacking off. I don’t want to get fired again.’

‘Again?’ Haywood’s eyes widened.

Fuck. Why had she let that word slip?

‘It’s my fourth job this week. Apparently, I’m rude and difficult to work with.’

‘The fourth time?!’ McNully shook his head. ‘The odds of that are astronomical. I’ll have to do some calculating.’

‘It must’ve been a rough week for you,’ Quinn said and Haywood nodded.

‘Rough week?’ Egwu snorted. ‘I expected this. Look at her, if she glares any harder the table’s going to explode. You’ll be looking for another job tomorrow.’

Merula gritted her teeth. ‘If you’re not going to order something, I’m going back to work.’

‘I’ll come order at the bar when we’re ready.’ Quinn shot her an apologetic look.

Merula gave her a curt nod before hurrying off to the bar. She should’ve kept her mouth shut. Now all those idiots knew about her job troubles, just what she needed! Deep breaths. She’d show them she could keep a job. She’d keep this job and make them eat their words when she was still here next week. A large stack of empty mugs and dirty plates stood behind the bar, with Rosmerta nowhere in sight. Good, that meant she had an excuse to ignore costumers. She turned her back towards everyone and charmed the mugs to wash themselves. At least the dishes didn’t talk back or judge her. The stack slunk rapidly and her nerves felt less frayed with each passing moment. She could do this.

‘Oi! Waitress!’

She shut her eyes and took a deep, deep breath, before turning around with a look that she hoped didn’t spell murder, only to be greeted by a grinning Quinn leaning on the bar.

‘Three butterbeers, two pumpkin juices and a black tea.’

‘You think you can order me around?’

‘I couldn’t pass up the chance, could I?’

Tease. Merula fought to keep a smirk from her face and began working on Quinn’s order. ‘I think you should’ve.’

‘Oh?’ Quinn practically glowed. ‘I can’t wait to show you my place tomorrow. We’ll be finishing up the decorating later, so it should be all ready.’

‘All of you?’

‘No, just me, Penny and Andre. I’m sorry about him by the way.’

She shrugged. Egwu had never liked her, first because of who her parents were and now because of, well, her own actions. Dickhead. Someone like him would never understand what kind of pressure she had been under. She finished the order and put it all in front of Quinn, who made no move to leave. Not wanting to look like she was slacking off, Merula took a cloth and ran it over the bar.

‘How’s your job so far?’

Quinn’s grin faltered a small moment. Hardly noticeable, but it was there and Merula made a mental note to ask her about it tomorrow. ‘It’s good. I have a few nice colleagues. We got a tour around the office, which is big. They told us about the work we’re going to be doing, but we didn’t do any real work yet. How’s your job? I suppose things didn’t work out yesterday.’

‘I’ve decided to practice my patience- Don’t look at me like that! I can admit I have one flaw.’

‘I didn’t mean-, I’m just a little surprised is all, but I think it’s brilliant that you want to work on it. Seriously. You’re amazing.’

‘Yeah, yeah.’ Her cheeks grew warm. ‘I know. Now go bring your friends their drinks. I’ve got more work to do.’

Quinn waved her hand to get the mugs floating in front of her. She made a quick kissy face at Merula, which did nothing to cool her cheeks. In an effort not to let others see her like this she gathered some more empty mugs and dirty dishes. She focused her attention to one side of the inn as much as she could, so as to avoid Haywood’s questioning looks and McNully’s attempts to turn her life into his statics. As the evening went on she entered a sort of rhythm, taking orders, bringing orders, doing dishes. Again and again. A routine that already bored her, but she could handle boring if it meant she could find a real job after this. She’d prove herself.

Madam Rosmerta seemed to be everywhere and nowhere at once, carrying endless mugs between the tables. With a smile on her face she swivelled around flailing arms like she saw them coming, never spilling a drop. She made small talk with everyone, something Merula didn’t seem to be able to manage. She didn’t get beyond ‘how’s your day?’ and giving some sort of smile when they answered. None of the strangers here had anything interesting to say, so what was she supposed to talk about?

After a while Quinn came up to the bar again.

‘Ready to order another round?’

‘No, I just wanted to say I’m leaving.’ She held up a letter. ‘My first assignment got dropped off at my place. So, I’ll see you tomorrow.’

‘They’re giving you an assignment now? I thought it’d be more like a 9-5 job, being at the ministry and all.’

‘It’s not, but I’ll explain more tomorrow.’

‘Alright, good luck.’

‘You too.’ Quinn smiled and went to the fireplace.

The later it got, the more butterbeers got swapped out for stronger drinks. Costumers got louder, more jovial and at times even generous. Turned out smiling at strangers had some perks. But some got ruder and more demanding. The good thing that came with the increased demands was more dirty dishes. Who would’ve thought she’d sort of like doing other people’s dirty dishes? But they were a perfect excuse not to interact with people.

She had to serve Quinn’s friends a few more times and hear about them gushing to each other about their jobs. Seemed like they all were doing exactly what they wanted. They kept trying to ask about her, especially Haywood, but after ignoring all their questions they seemed to get the hint. Through it all she managed to stay calm and sometimes even nice. Just a few more days of this madness and she would be ready to try for a real job again.

A guy had settled himself at a table near Quinn’s friends and she went over there to take his order.

‘What do you want?’ She greeted him with a smile.

He smiled back, staring right into her eyes. Mouth slightly open, eyes wide. Did someone stun him or what? She shuffled her feet and looked at his forehead to avoid his boring gaze. If he didn’t speak up soon she’d leave.

As if he knew that she wanted to leave, he finally spoke, though still with that dumb look on his face. ‘You’re really pretty.’

‘I know.’ That was the holdup? Like she needed him to tell her. ‘Are you going to order something or what?’

‘Can I order a date with you?’

‘No.’

‘Why not?’

Too dumb to understand the word no. Of course. ‘Because I don’t want to. Just order something to drink already.’

‘Why not? I’m really nice once you get to know me.’

‘I don’t care.’ Merula rolled her eyes and went back to the bar.

What an oaf. He wasn’t even nice now, no need to get to know him. It would probably only get worse. She made sure to help some other tables before returning with cherry rum and honey mead to Quinn’s friends. She deliberately ignored the guy, Rosmerta could help him.

‘Just go out with me.’ The guy tugged on her jacket.

Merula jumped back. ‘Don’t you fucking touch me!’

He made a face, but Merula stomped off before he could utter more bullcrap. Fuck, this would be a real test for her nerves, but she could do it. The Most Powerful Witch could do anything, even not destroy someone who clearly deserved it. She focused on the other costumers, tried to keep her glares to rude costumers to a minimum and to stay as far away from the guy as she could.

‘Merula!’ Haywood called her over when she got near again.

‘More cherry rum?’ She looked at Haywood’s rosy cheeks. It was just her and Tonks now.

‘Nooo, I wanted to ask if you’re okay.’

‘Yeah, what was that about?’

‘Just an insufferable twat trying to ask me out.’

Tonks burst out laughing so hard her hair went through the full rainbow. She choked out some words between the chortling. ‘You? ‘e, ‘e asked you?’

What was she trying to say? That she wasn’t desirable? That no one could ever want her? Fuck that, she should tell her exactly- She balled her fists and took a deep breath. No. Not doing that.

Just a few more hours and you can take it all out on your dummy back at home.

She’d destroy that thing until she calmed down again. However long that would take. Just a few more hours in here. She could do it. She could keep a job and not add to McNully’s statistics. Fucking McNully. Who calculated statistics on their classmates?! Whatever, there better be some dirty dishes at the bar. But instead of dishes the guy leaned on the bar. Nope. She turned to find Madam Rosmerta. Let her deal with the git.

‘No, no, wait! I want to order now.’

Madam Rosmerta wasn’t anywhere near, so Merula took a notebook and waited for the guy to speak.

‘Oh, uh, I want a butterbeer and… chips.’

She scribbled it down without responding and handed it to the kitchen. Then she turned her back to him to do the dishes.

‘What would be your dream date?’

How braindead was this guy? She fought the urge to turn around and throw a mug at his face.

‘Just give me a chance.’

‘Dude!’ She whirled around. ‘I will never date you. I don’t like guys and even if I did, I’d want one who understood the word no.’

A few people were looking now and some women held up their drinks as a cheers to her. See, it wasn’t her fault. Everyone could see that this guy had air for brains. Fucking twat.

‘You’re not a lesbian.’

‘I’m a walking stereotype!’

‘Just one date.’

‘Fuck off!’ She whipped out her wand. ‘Or I’ll make you.’

‘Stop that!’ Madam Rosmerta had rushed over and looked between them. ‘What’s going on?’

‘He keeps trying to ask me out.’

Madam Rosmerta’s face darkened and she turned to the guy. ‘You keep harassing her and I will ban you from ever coming back, understood?’ He nodded. ‘Now go back to your table.’ She turned to Merula when he left and touched her arm. ‘Don’t raise your wand again, please. If he gives you any more trouble, come to me. I don’t tolerate that kind of behaviour from my guests.’

‘I’m not fired?’

‘No, but this is a warning. Just come look for me next time, alright?’

Merula nodded and went back to the dishes. When the kitchen had the chips ready, she looked around, but Madam Rosmerta wasn’t near again. Fine. She’d bring it. She hadn’t set him on fire yet, she could manage for one more interaction.

‘Come join me.’ The guy patted the empty seat next to him. ‘We can have these chips together.’

Ignore him. You can do it.

‘Just one date. I promise you’ll- what the fuck!’

Butterbeer dripped down his face, chips got in his hair, his shirt, his lap. The plate and mug crashed to the ground, shattering to pieces. The guy kept shooting daggers at Merula, but she didn’t care. He was lucky she hadn’t smashed that mug in his face. Costumers from tables all around them fell silent and looked up. Laughter rang out from a table close by. Merula whipped around. Tonks. Of course. Her hair went through all colours again.

‘You want to be next?!’

That seemed to do nothing but fuel her laughter.

‘She’s mad! She threw it all over me.’ The guy whined and Merula turned to see that Madam Rosmerta had joined in the mess.

‘Och, sod off! You probably deserved it. Get out of my pub and don’t you dare ever coming back here.’

He turned his glare to Merula. ‘This is your fault. I’ve you’d just given me a chance-’

‘Get out!’ Madam Rosmerta put her hands on her hips, eyes glowering. The guy shot one last glare at Merula. When he left Madam Rosmerta turned to her. ‘I’m sorry, Merula, but this shouldn’t have happened.’

‘It was an accident!’

Madam Rosmerta raised an eyebrow.

‘I didn’t plan for it to happen.’

‘You should’ve planned to get me. I would’ve kicked him out before this happened. I’m sorry, but I have to let you go. I told you to come look for me. I get that he was a complete arse, but you can’t do this. Costumers like that aren’t a rarity. I fear this just isn’t the job for you.’

‘Whatever.’

‘I hope you’ll find a job more suitable for you soon and you’re always welcome back for a drink.’ Madam Rosmerta looked apologetic. ‘I’ll clean up this mess.’

For a moment Merula stared at her while she cleaned up the mess, then she felt an arm around her shoulder.

‘That was amazing.’ Tonks hiccupped against her, still laughing. ‘S’that how you got fired from your other jobs too? I wish I could’ve seen it.’

‘Fuck off.’ She shrugged her arm off and made a beeline for the door. The sooner she got home the better. That dummy still needed some destroying.

[eternalchaoschocolaterain]

The Most Powerful Waitress

It's finished! I've been sitting on it for a while to do more and more editing, but it's ready now. It's complete on AO3 and I will post the last chapters (5-7) here on seperate days.

[eternalchaoschocolaterain]

LIES

I already made them date at madam Puddifoot's about seven times.

[eternalchaoschocolaterain]

I hope no one is tired of these posts yet, because Merula's storyline is honestly my favourite part of Beyond Hogwarts 😂

Also she is so the jealous type 🤭 has to make sure this meeting is purely platonic