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hphmmatthewluther · 1 year

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The Phantom Woes of Matthew Luther: Part 2

Here’s part 2! (part 1 can be found here )

Featuring:

Verna Malinda ( @gaygryffindorgal ) Camille Jeanes ( @camillejeaneshphm ) Rosie Mayfield ( @magicapandora )

As well as an appearance by @stupendousbookworm ‘s Ara!

Chapter 2/4: Empty Spaces

The group quickly realised it was going to take more than a wardrobe change to help Matthew out of the slump he’d fallen into. Camille sympathised with him; it was only natural that he’d be far more panicky now that he didn’t have Helena to fall back on. Add the fact that he had no clue what had happened to her, and it was no surprise to her that he stopped dead in his tracks outside the Great Hall when it was time for dinner. She, Verna, Rosie and Merula stopped along with him.

“Funny, I-I’d forgotten how loud it got in there…” Matt said, peering at the students settling down to eat.

“Aw, Mathieu…” Camille sighed, looking to the others, “L-Look, we’ll all sit with you, ok?”

Merula nodded. “And don’t worry about the rules about houses sticking to tables, people break them all the time!” she declared, as if anticipating a worry from Matt about them all sitting together.

Rosie and Verna nodded as well. Verna glanced down at the Ravenclaw table, noticing the quidditch team sitting there too, including that reserve chaser from earlier. He looked strangely fearful when he saw them walking into the Hall together.

They sat down at Ravenclaw table, Merula and Camille sitting either side of him and Verna and Rosie sitting opposite, only a little out of place alongside the blue-clad students. Still, it wasn’t like they were the only ones out of place. Professor Flitwick even passed by them at one point, which made Verna slightly nervous, but he merely smiled at them and continued onward. She supposed that he must have noticed that Matthew was back.

“What do you fancy, then?” Rosie asked as they took some of the salad. Matthew shifted a little in his seat, looking across the table.

“Uh…uhm…” he stammered, toying with the fork in his hand. Rosie smiled at him, in a “take all the time you need” way. They knew he was more nervous than usual thanks to what had happened, but they hadn’t realised just how much Helena meant to him.

Eventually, Merula passed over some sausages and chips onto Matthew’s plate, causing a smile to form on his face.

“T-Thanks.” he said to her, looking relieved.

“It’s nothing. You usually go for sausages and chips on Saturdays, so I figured you’d like that.” she replied matter-of-factly.

Camille leant forward from the other side of Matthew. “Hmm, that’s very observant of you, Merula…”

Merula went slightly pink. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, nothing…”

Matthew had already started eating. And eating. And eating. He’d finished the chips by the time Verna had finished off her salad. “Wow, you must have been starving up there, mate.” she observed, watching as he began to devour the rest of his food. Matthew looked up at her and nodded, as the rest looked on in shock.

“Merlin, I forget how out of whack your metabolism is…” Merula sighed, as Matthew grabbed even more food. By the time they’d finished eating, Matthew had gone on to have seconds and thirds.

“Feeling any better now, Mathieu?” Camille asked hopefully, as Matthew put his instruments of destruction (i.e., his knife and fork) on his plate, finally full.

“Mhm, a little, yeah…” he replied, watching as the plates and cutlery vanished. “Thanks guys. I just…I dunno…I guess I struggle with some things more than others do.”

“Anyone would be struggling if someone important to them went missing.” Verna pointed out. “It’s ok for you to take some time to deal with that. Really.”

Matthew sighed. “Yeah, you’re…you’re right. I…I think I need to catch up on what I’ve missed, and then…then I can figure out what’s happened with Helena.”

The group left the Great Hall, with some of Matt’s classmates from Ravenclaw coming up and greeting him, glad to see him around again. They split off to head back to their dorms; Matt, Camille and Verna heading up the stairs and Rosie and Merula heading back down. Merula looked up one last time before heading down into the Dungeons, not expecting to see Matt looking down at her. He smiled and waved down at her, a gesture that she repeated before heading out of the Grand Staircase, allowing herself to smile a little more, completely forgetting that Rosie was waiting for her.

“You seem to be happy about something…” They teased, as Merula went bright pink. “Or should that be someone?”

“Shut it, Mayfield!” she snapped. “I just…well…he was the last person to see Helena! Now I can be the one to find out what happened and get the glory for finding this missing ghost!”

Rosie did not look very convinced. “So it’s not because a certain Ravenclaw was sitting next to you all dinner? Or that you’ll get to help him these next few days?”

“Wh- we’re all helping, it’s a group effort!” Merula pointed out, “Plus he has to help himself too.”

“You know that’s not what I mean…”

“I don’t know what you mean, Mayfield…”

Several floors above, at the intersection between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw Towers, Camille had pulled Matthew into a hug, much to his surprise.

“Aw, Cammy…” Matt complained half-heartedly, wrapping his long arms around her, “I…I really am sorry for staying up there so long…”

Camille sniffled “...’sokay. I was just so worried, Mathieu...I’m glad you’re ok.”

Matthew nodded, eventually pulling away from the hug. “I’ll see you tomorrow…I’ve got quidditch practice, so…yeah.”

Camille nodded, as did Verna. “You’ll be alright, mate.” the taller Gryffindor said. “You’re one of the fastest Chasers I know. And believe me, I’d know, the amount of times you’ve been on my tail is ridiculous.”

Matt shrugged. “I just do the best I can.”

“And that’s all anyone asks of you.” Camille said, hugging Matthew one final time before returning to her own common room.

***

The next morning, the Ravenclaws were once again flying around the Quidditch Pitch, this time with a complete team. Matthew had met up with the others earlier before heading into the Quidditch tent by himself (“Don’t worry Snyde, he can dress himself…” Verna had joked). Now the group were once again sat up on the quidditch stands, watching as Matthew (together with Orion and Skye) ran circles around the reserves. Camille noticed that there were a lot more students in the stands than last time; mostly Ravenclaws, but she also saw Barnaby, Charlie, Jae, Chiara and Tonks sitting by the front too.

“I suppose it makes sense!” Rosie yelled over the whooshing of the players overhead, “I mean, they want to support Matt, right?”

“I suppose…” Camille said, wondering if Matt had noticed that most of his housemates in his year had shown up to watch. He didn’t seem to be that stressed out, and in fact was performing rather well. One of the reserve players, that chaser from yesterday, had managed to get the Quaffle from Orion. He threw the ball at an extremely fast speed, and yet Matthew didn’t seem all that worried as he rushed forward.

“How’s he gonna catch it in time?” Rosie asked with bated breath.

Verna, who’d been given a fact file on several quidditch players, including Matthew, by Murphy McNully, just smiled. “You’ll see.”

As Matthew approached, he let go of his broom and swayed, so that he was flying upside-down, causing the crowd to gasp. In an instant, he had caught the quaffle and was racing to the other side of the pitch, still upside-down. The reserve chasers, still slightly confused, charged forward, but of course, Matthew was simply able to go underneath them. It was at this point that most had assumed he’d have to turn back around to score a goal properly (especially with Ara Black as keeper), and yet, his silver bracelet glinting in the sunlight, Matthew threw the Quaffle upward while upside-down so that it flew past Ara’s hand and landed in the goal, leading to cheering and astonishment from the crowds and players, with even Ara herself looking impressed. Even Camille and Rosie could tell that this was a big deal. Merula, meanwhile, was absolutely flabbergasted.

“He…I mean…I knew he was good, but…” Merula said, falling over her words slightly as she tried to cover how pink her cheeks were. “...still, explains a bit…all that blood rushing up to that big brain of his, heheh…”

Camille looked over at her, smiling. “You’re not fooling anyone, you know that?”

Merula looked like she was about to yell, but couldn’t bring herself to. “...shush. I…I’m just glad he’s better now…missed seeing him.”

Camille nodded. Matthew had confided in her about just what had grown between them over the past year or so. “Me too.”

It was at that point that the group noticed a more squeaky voice among the crowd cheering for Matt. Walking up to the group in a brown coat was Professor Flitwick, some sort of book (presumably on charms) in hand.

“Ah! Good to see you all!” he began, pausing as the quidditch players whooshed past again, descending to the ground to go get changed. “I see you’ve been helping Mr Luther…”

The others stared at each other nervously, but Rosie decided to say something so they didn’t have to. “That’s right! We just wanted to help him boost his confidence again!”

Flitwick nodded. “I think that’s why a lot of my house is here. While not all as close to Helena as Matthew, they all feel her absence, I’m afraid.”

Rosie considered this. “I guess you’re right…I feel like Matthew’s going to want to find out what’s happened.”

Flitwick sighed. “That’s precisely what worries me. Especially considering his-” he paused again, looking around at the crowd. “...it would be best to discuss this in my classroom. Could you three come and see me just before lunch?”

“Three?” Verna asked, looking around to see that Merula had gone, presumably to go and see Matthew. “Hmph. Yeah, ok then.”

“Splendid! I’ll let you get back to it then.” he said, before disappearing into the crowd of students heading out of the stadium.

Down by the quidditch tent, Camille, Rosie and Verna found Merula and Matt talking as the Ravenclaw Quidditch team left the area. Before they could approach and start teasing them, however, Orion stopped them.

“I am glad to see you helping Matthew along his path.” he said warmly, “It can be hard for him to keep his balance, but when he does he shines in a way few others can.”

They looked over at him, already a great deal better than he was yesterday, firing back at whatever Merula was saying and laughing together with her. The reserve chaser then spoke up:

“You sure it’s ok letting Merula talk to him?” he asked, Matthew and Merula once again seemingly in their own world.

“Chase, Merula has shown growth recently-” Orion began, before snickering from Verna cut him off.

“Sorry, sorry…“Chase”? Chase the Chaser?”

He shrugged, “Reserve chaser, but sure. Just…keep an eye out on her, right? You know what she’s like.” And with that, Orion and Chase left as Matt and Merula came walking up to the rest of the group.

“Well, how do you feel now?” Rosie asked, noticing how both his and Merula’s cheeks were dusted pink.

“Hm? B-Better, I think, yeah, um…” Matthew said, pushing the hair out of his face, “a little dizzy from all the flying upside-down, but I can handle it.”

Verna brought her hands together. “Great! So…what else needs doing?”

“Oh, I’ve got prefect duty, but I sort of have to do that on my own.” Matthew explained as they walked back to the castle. “So does Merula. You guys don’t have to wait for me, um, if there’s anything you need to do…”

The three non-prefects looked at each other knowingly. “We’ll figure something out.” Camille said, finally.

***

“Ah! Come in, come in!” exclaimed Professor Flitwick as Camille closed the wooden door behind them, as she, Rosie and Verna stepped into the Charms classroom. Flitwick was, as per usual, standing on his pile of books that he usually read out instructions and lectures on. “Now,” he began, “I’m glad you’re all here. While normally I would point to the rules regarding the Cursed Vaults with regards to what to do regarding the Late Ms Ravenclaw’s disappearance, I fear that will not solve the problem. I also fear that Matthew, as with the Vaults, will pursue this regardless.”

Camille frowned. “You were mentioning something earlier, Professor. Something about why he’d pursue this?”

Flitwick sighed. “Yes. It is well-known by now, particularly among Ravenclaws, that Matthew has come to see Helena Ravenclaw as something of a mother figure.”

Rosie nodded at this. “Yeah, someone said that he’s accidentally called her “mum” a couple times.”

Flitwick nodded. “Indeed. This is likely…well…I should not say, it is his personal business-”

“It’s about his mother, yes?” Camille asked, before Rosie or Verna had a chance to counter the Professor. He’d told her, after all, one night a few years back. “His…mother by birth…”

Again, Flitwick nodded, the gloom on his face palpable. “Yes. He does not have a good relationship with his mother, as I am aware. I do not know all the details, but her family used extreme tactics to try to make sure nobody in our world knew about the birth of him or his brother…which evidently did not work.”

“But he is still determined to try his best, irregardless of what has happened to him in the past, and what he thinks of himself. Despite his fears, he is not just one of the most capable wizards I have ever known, but one of the kindest too. He’s very lucky to have friends like you who’d help him through this.”

“We are lucky to have him.” Camille said, Rosie and Verna nodding in agreement. “There’s nobody quite like him.”

Flitwick chuckled. “Quite right. He’s done some rather impossible things…breaking curses, fighting Dementors and werewolves…I even hear that he was able to raise a Thestral along with Miss Snyde.”

“Yeah…” Camille said, an idea forming in her head. “We’ll keep helping him, we promise!”

“Thank you, truly!” Flitwick said, waving as they left his classroom. Millie was bouncing on her toes as they headed to the Great Hall.

“Guys! I think I might know what’ll cheer Matthew up even more!” she declared, rubbing her hands together.

“That’s great!” Rosie exclaimed, “What’s the plan?”

“Does it involve Merula, too?”

“That’s putting it lightly,” Camille giggled, pointing. They followed her finger and saw Matthew and Merula leaving prefect duty, having been made to watch opposite sides of the school, looking a little annoyed at that. “I think it’s pretty clear they’ve both been itching for some time to themselves…I say we give it to them…”

***

That night, Matthew walked through the trees on the outskirts of the forest until he had arrived by the Forest Lake, which was far smaller than the Black Lake but was nevertheless a beautiful spot, especially when basking in moonlight as it was that night. He’d been told by Camille and Verna that he needed to go there for something important, presumably to do with Helena, yet he couldn’t see them anywhere. It was then he heard a twig snap, and turning around quickly he saw none other than Merula Snyde walking up towards him.

“Hey.” he said, trying not to make too much eye contact.

“Hey yourself.” she replied, looking around. “Where are the others? Mayfield said to meet up here. Said it was important.”

“...Think they’ll be here soon?” Matthew asked nervously

Merula thought about just how Rosie had told her to come here, and sighed. “I dunno…they might’ve…uh…”

“...set us up?” he asked, taking a step forward which to him felt like one of the most arduous journeys in his life. “...Yeah, not surprised.”

“Still, glad to get a break from it all, right?” Merula said, “Just…us.”

“There we go.” whispered Camille, crouching behind a bush that was fairly far away from Matthew and Merula. “Now we let them enjoy some time together.”

“And us getting to watch is a bonus?” Verna asked, peeking out at the two by the lake.

“Ugh, it’s a little uncomfortable sitting here and being quiet, though.” Rosie hissed. They’d gone as far as to bring a pillow for them to sit on. “Oo, look!”

“What?” Verna asked, leaning forward.

“Mathieu moved a little closer!” Camille hissed, “Ssh, I think we can hear them!”

Merula smiled up at him. “Remember the last time we were out in the forest together?”

“Yeah, I do.” Matthew replied. “Rakepick did not look happy seeing how much fun we had.”

“Her fault for picking the path to the vault full of monsters. We took the scenic route, that’s all.”

“Yeah…you think she’s a good DADA teacher?”

“DADA? Is that the acronym people are using now? Cannae keep it all in my head. And yes, ah see you smiling, Matt. I know I’m slippin’ into my other accent…”

“I like it…”

“You do?”

Merula took another step forward. “To answer your question…” she said, now fully in “Scottish” mode, “I think she’s a fair deal better than some of the teachers we’ve had in the past. She’s even letting us look for the Vaults, but…”

“It’s not the same with her leering over us, right?”

“She just wants us to approach the Vaults the best we can, that’s all…that’s why she pushes us…”

“You don’t sound all that convinced.”

“I dunno…”

“What do they mean by the last time they were in the forest?” Verna asked quietly.

“Must have been when they went to the Forest Vault,” Camille explained, “they went another route a day before Rakepick did. Camped out there overnight.”

“Wow, that must have been fun…camping in the woods, sleeping under the stars…” Rosie mused.

“Um…” began Camille.

“Still got to worry about all the monsters, though…” Verna pointed out.

“Ummm!” Camille said, daring to go a little louder, pointing.

They’d both moved even closer to each other. Matthew couldn’t help but smile. “I’m…I’m really sorry I sulked up there for so long.”

“And I told you you don’t need to apologise.” Merula replied, taking his hand. “I…I know what it’s like to have someone that important go…we’re gonna get her back, though. Promise.” Matthew said nothing in reply, simply smiling at her. “...What?” she asked, chuckling, “We’ve been this close before. Closer, even.”

“Doesn’t change the fact you’re, um…” without thinking much, he leant in and kissed her briefly. “...Stunning.”

Merula went bright pink, her arms moving around him. “Smartarse…you’re an idiot if you think that’s all you’re gonna get out of me, especially since you’ve had to hold out recently…”

Camille, Rosie and Verna had to cover their mouths in shock. Rosie was the first to voice their surprise. “Oh…oh Merlin, they…they were a thing! This whole time!”

“They are…they’re just…” Verna stuttered, gesturing wildly at Matthew and Merula’s embrace in front of them.

“...Knew it.” Camille said, shaking her head. She’d had a feeling that they’d needed something like this.

“They…are still going.”

“Don’t they need to stop to breathe?”

“I mean, they do have noses, Millie.”

“I know that, Rosie, but look at them!”

“Quick, they’re coming this way!”

The three ducked as Matt and Merula walked past, hand in hand, chuckling and pecking each other with lighter kisses as they strolled back into the castle.

“Right. I think that’s solved Mathieu’s confidence problem a little.” Camille declared proudly. “I didn’t expect all of that, though…feel a bit bad considering we now know about…them.”

Rosie put their hand on her shoulder. “It’s ok, Millie. None of us were expecting that, and we helped him out either way…though we should tell them that we saw all this.”

“Yeah…” Verna said, picking up the pillow and handing it to Rosie, “Eventually.”

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #the phantom woes of matthew luther #matthew luther #camille jeanes #verna malinda #rosie mayfield #merula snyde #ara black #luthersnyde

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hphmmatthewluther · 2 years

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👀 for Matthew?

Thanks for the ask!!

👀 - Personality:

-While Matthew is definitely shy and anxious in nature, he definitely has a chaotic side, after all he's quite good friends with Tonks and Tulip. In fact, one of the reasons he and merula keep their relationship secret for a bit is that he kind of enjoys their rivalry and the attention they get from it.

#hphm #luthersnyde #matthew luther

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hphmmatthewluther · 2 years

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Happy FFWF, Guzma! 💛 I’d like to know if you have any particular piece of writing that you are most proud of, why you are proud of it, and maybe talk through the process behind it?

Thanks for the ask, Al!

I think one of the pieces I'm most proud of would probably be The Blind Date, made for the Valentine's Day Challenge. It was interesting to think about how Matthew would react to a date, seeing as while his anxiety is improving, he's still not as confident as his peers. While getting to tease Luthersnyde, Matthew and Tonks got the focus (he could probably be put on that list of people Tonks snogged in your most recent chapter lmao/hj) which was very fun to do. And of course, I got to slander Corey, which is always a great time. I guess it's just nice to have Matthew being a normal teenager, and being able to do things his peers can for once.

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #matthew luther #merula snyde #nymphadora tonks #corey hayden #ffwf

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hphmmatthewluther · 2 years

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Valentine’s Challenge 2022: Day 1- Blind Date

Here we go! This challenge was created by the wonderful @lifeofkaze , and the main post can be found here !

Day 1: Blind Date

(Pairings: Matthew Luther/Merula Snyde, and…well…that would be telling.)

“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?”

“...You’d better.” Merula snapped. Matthew sighed, and continued on his way back to Ravenclaw Tower. He didn’t see Merula’s cheeks go red, nor did he hear her mutter “...He called me ‘rula…”

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #matthew luther #merula snyde #nymphadora tonks #luthersnyde #lutonks #valentine challenge 2022

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hphmmatthewluther · 2 years

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April Prompts 2022: Day 1- April Fool

Here it is! It’s time for April Prompts once again, created by the wonderful @stupendousbookworm !!!!!

Day 1: MC is tired of Zonko's. Tulip and Tonks always end up dragging them into that horrendous hellhole with that creepy old man making really bad jokes and puns. MC seeks help from one of their friend's to plan a massive prank for April Fool's to destroy the place. How does it go?

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.”

“You’re too kind,” Matthew replied, closing the door behind him. After he did, the pixies rushed over and removed the door from its hinges, letting it collapse to the floor. Which prompted the chattering teeth to burst from the shelves, jittering their way out of the burning, zapped, half-chewed, prank shop.

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #luthersnyde #aprilprompts2022 #matthew luther #merula snyde

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hphmmatthewluther · 3 years

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modern au be like:

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #hphm meme #luthersnyde #matthew luther #merula snyde #modern au

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hphmmatthewluther · 2 years

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Valentine’s Challenge 2022: Day 3- Red

Here’s Day 3! Challenge created by @lifeofkaze and Rosie Mayfield was created by the wonderful @magicapandora !!

Day 3: Red

(Pairings: Matthew Luther/Merula Snyde)

If you were to ask anyone at Hogwarts during the time of the Cursed Vaults who they said defined Slytherin, they probably would have pointed at Merula Snyde. Unlike Jae Kim, whose house was a surprise to everyone, Merula wore something green all the time, usually a green flannel jacket whenever she didn’t just stick with her school uniform. Ismelda and Liz could attest to the fact that Merula even wore green pyjamas. In fact, they happened to be talking about it as they entered the Common Room (fate does seem to have a thing for coincidences.)

“Well I don’t think it matters that much either,” Liz was saying, “I’m just saying she could stand to branch out a little, yknow?”

Ismelda grunted. “Are you going to say the same thing about me and black?”

Liz clicked her tongue. “...Yeah, uh, no.”

There was a small silence before Liz spoke again. “You know, I think I know why Merula likes green so much…”

Ismelda raised an eyebrow. “Would you happen to be referring to her bitter rival?”

Liz held her hand up to her mouth to stifle a laugh. “One time she left her diary open and I saw she’d written about his “Eyes like a forest canopy”, et cetera, et cetera”

Ismelda snorted. “Merlin, of course she wrote that. Ever since Luther helped her with her Patronus, she’s been so soppy about him, it’s ridiculous.”

“I think it’s rather sweet.” said Liz, “It’s like watching a Puffskein go wild for a bit of chocolate.”

“Whatever…” Ismelda sighed. “Stuff like this is why I hate Valentine’s Day. People go crazy for no good reason. Which is why I’m going to hole up here, so I won’t have to deal with it anymore.”

Unfortunately for Ismelda, as she and Liz entered the girl’s dormitories, they were met with the sight of merula holding a reddish-pink dress with a black upper half up to her waist with one hand, and a long-sleeved see-through shirt in the other.

“Merula?” Liz said quietly. The girl in front of the mirror twisted around in shock.

“AAH! Issy?! Lizard?! What are you two doing here?” she yelled, more out of surprise than anger. Her face had gone a deep red, similar in shade to the dress she was holding.

“We sleep here.” Ismelda said bluntly. Liz nodded in agreement, and Merula huffed.

“Well…get to sleep then!” she snapped, gesturing to the two beds.

“Merula, what exactly are you doing?” Liz asked.

“None of your-” she began, before looking down at the clothes she was wearing and realising there was no escaping this. “I’m…getting ready to go…out.”

“With Matthew.” Ismelda observed. Merula tried to say something in return, but was so red in the face all that came out was a small squeak.

“...I see.” Liz said, “Well, I’m very happy for you, Merula!”

“Just…I…” Merula stammered, pinching her nose, “I just…I dunno…if this works.” she said, gesturing to the clothes.

Ismelda was now sitting on her bed, unwrapping some chocolate she’d nicked from a valentine’s box. “Odd choice of clothing, though. Not very you.”

“It’s-” Merula began, clutching the top’s fabric in her hands.

“Deep breath, Merula.” Liz reminded her.

Merula paused. “Right. Um. Ok look, I decided to talk to Khanna about it and they said Matthew’s favourite colour was red.”

There was silence. “Red.” Ismelda repeated.

“Yep.”

“Not blue?” Liz asked. “You’re sure Rowan said red.”

“Yes, I made sure they weren’t messing with me.” Merula nodded. “I mean, he wore red to the Celestial Ball and all, so…I mean, it’s not like he doesn’t like blue, clearly, but…I guess he likes red more?”

“Huh. Weird.” Ismelda said. “It’s not like with Kim, where he wears red all the time.”

“I’m aware.” snapped Merula. “Can we focus? Look, I just…I thought maybe if I wore red he’d…well…like it. So I went to Mayfield and they made me this.”

Liz got up and stared at the dress. “You got Rosie to make you this? How’d you swing that?”

“I gave them all the leftover Valentine��s chocolate I could find.” Merula explained, “anyway, obviously it’s a fairly good dress, but..um…look it’s nothing, I’ll just wear something else-”

“Merula…” Liz began cautiously, “If you want to wear the dress, you should wear it…”

“It’s just…I can’t…this feels like something only Haywood can wear!” she yelled. “I- I just…look, it’s not just that I’m not the most approachable person, it’s everything! My posture is awful, whenever we do quidditch practice I lag behind, I’m tiny, I’ve got stretch marks-”

“Merula.” Ismelda said, getting off her bed and walking over to her. “Has Matthew ever once told you that you don’t look nice?”

Merula shrugged. “It’s Matthew. He’s probably not saying it because he’s terrified of being yelled at.” But Ismelda shook her head.

“Merula, you are going to put on that dress and you are going to floor him. That constantly thinking brain of his is going to grind to a halt when he sees you. He is going to be utterly astonished by you and it will be…” Ismelda paused for effect, offering a rare smile, “absolutely hilarious.”

Merula chuckled. “Thanks, Iz. It’s um…it’s not just the dress though…” She grabbed her satchel off of her bed and pulled two things out of a small pocket on it. One was a small bottle of red hair-dye. The other was lipstick of an even deeper crimson. “I might…need some help with this stuff.”

Ismelda and Liz looked at each other. Neither of them had ever heard Merula ask for help so directly before. They both turned to her and nodded.

“Of course, Merula. We’d be happy to help!” Liz exclaimed.

“Just leave it to us.” Ismelda reassured her. “Yknow, my favourite colour is red, too.”

“Oh really?” Liz said incredulously. “Why would-” then Liz remembered. Liz nodded, and the two got to work.

“Couldn’t we just use Colovaria?”

“I want it to be authentic. He grew up in the muggle world, he likes that sort of thing.”

“What do you think about that by the way? Him being half-blood.”

“Actually he’s five-eights wizard. I’ve merely decided to round up.”

“Very clever. Now, hold still-”

“I am holding still!”

“You’re squirming like a Niffler who’s spotted a Galleon.”

“Am not!”

“Ok, I think that’s it. Anything else?”

“Just these.”

“Ah. Of course.”

***

Matthew was waiting in the Clocktower Courtyard when the great doors opened. After a few days of dealing with Lockhart and the rest of the Valentine’s Day mania, part of him was beginning to wonder what the point of it all was. But as he looked towards the light of the fires within the castle, he very suddenly felt a lot better about the whole thing. Below the large iron pendulum stood Merula Snyde, and while he recognised her, it took him a second to register that she was there for him. As Matthew came up to her he noticed that it was more than just the bottom of her skirt that was red. The small tuft of ginger hair had been dyed a pinkish red colour, and had been combed out slightly. Matthew’s cheeks were already their own shade of red by this point, but what caused him to freeze like a deer in the headlights were her lips, which were an incredible scarlet.

“Good to see you, Matt.” Merula said, smirking.

“H-Hey…you…uh well, you uh…you look…amazing…I mean you always do, of course, but…” Matthew stammered, unable to produce a coherent thought.

“Thanks. You look pretty good too.” Merula said, sighing. “Nice out tonight, isn’t it?”

Matthew switched between looking up at the sky and looking at her. “Yeah, not a cloud up there…Um…did Rosie make that?” he said pointing to the dress.

“Well spotted.” Merula nodded, honestly surprised. “What, does she have some specific cross-stitch style?”

“N-No, they signed it.” he replied, pointing at the tiny “R.M.” at Merula’s waist.

“So they did.” observed Merula. “And I assume you went to Egwu for yours.”

“Naturally.” Matthew said. “...You really do look amazing.”

Merula looked at her, at those green eyes that reminded her of the trees around her home. Matthew was looking at her too, clutching his silver bracelet. But his eyes were focused slightly lower than hers were, and she had a solid idea as to what had done it.

“Something catch your eye, Luther?” she asked, sweetly.

“I…I just..” Matthew began, clearly thinking it was far too forward to ask for a kiss tonight. “I’m glad it’s just us right now.”

“Me too. Come on, I’ve got a surprise for you.”

She began to lead him towards the greenhouses, eager to show him her surprise. She looked back at Matthew, a goofy smile on his face which was growing redder by the second, looked down at her green bracelets on her left, which clinked against Matthew’s silver and whispered a “thanks” to her friends, aware that her love was studying every movement of her lips behind her.

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #valentine challenge 2022 #matthew luther #merula snyde #luthersnyde

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hphmmatthewluther · 2 years

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Valentine’s Challenge 2022: Day 4- In-Laws

Here’s day 4! Sorry it’s a bit late! And this challenge was of course created by @lifeofkaze !!

Day 4: In-Laws

(Pairings: Matthew Luther/Merula Snyde, and…Timothy Snyde/Anastasia Snyde?)

Having a great-grandfather who could travel between shadows definitely had its advantages. Matthew realised this as he found himself deposited in a dismal, dark, grey corridor lined with criss-crossed iron bars. If Matthew had been raised in the Wizarding World, he’d be more aware of the severity of what he’d just done.

“So…this is Azkaban prison?” he asked, seemingly out loud.

“What else on earth could it be?” sighed Atticus from within the shadows. “Now, get what you need and get back here quickly, ok? This place gives me the willies.”

Matthew agreed with Atticus there. “Fine. I’ll be back soon.” He said, before beginning his trek down the corridor, clutching his silver bracelet which fizzled with blue sparks, trying its best to nullify the influence of this place on Matthew.

Matthew wasn’t as worried as he might have been; he had his bracelet after all, and if all else failed his Patronus (though he presumed that this would attract far more attention). So on he walked past thin prisoners who mostly didn’t react to him, and those who did fled to the opposite side of the cell in fear. Matthew was so intent on what he was looking for that he completely failed to notice one of the prisoners staring right at him.

“You’re not one of the Aurors,” said a hoarse voice. Matthew twisted around and saw a man with long, black hair and a small scraggly beard.

“No. No I am not.” said Matthew, surprised that one of the prisoners was able to hold a conversation. “I’m Matthew Luther.”

A whisper of a smile appeared on the prisoner’s face. “Nice to meet you, Matt. You’re here for something then? Or, ah, someone?”

Matthew nodded cautiously. “Oh, um, yeah. I need to find Timothy and Anastasia Snyde.”

The prisoner sighed. “You just missed Timothy. They took him out to talk to some Ministry men. But…” he pointed a thin, bony finger at the wall of his cell. Matthew raced to the door of that cell, and, sure enough, there was a woman in her late forties hunched up against the wall. It took a moment for Matthew to recognise her, after all he was only six when he met her, but the chestnut hair and brown eyes were the ones he had committed to memory.

“Um…hello?” Matthew asked, cautiously.

Anastasia Snyde whimpered, before turning to face Matthew. “Tim? Is that you, dear?”

Matthew’s eyes screwed shut for a moment. “I’m…I’m sorry, I’m not…my name is Matthew.”

“He’s a friend.” the prisoner reassured Mrs. Snyde through the wall. “You’ve got me curious now. Why are you here?”

***

“What took you so long to get here?!” Merula snapped. She was standing outside the Great Hall, in front of Dumbledore, Professor Snape, Bill Weasley, Rowan Khanna, the Haywood sisters (who were holding each other tightly) and two others. One of them had long black hair and a dark green dress on, and hadn’t been in the castle for decades. The other one had a t- shirt, denim jacket and jeans on, and was one of the few Muggles to ever have set foot here.

“Well?!” Merula demanded. “I’m waiting for an explanation. He told you to get here before last night and you’ve only just arrived!”

Peter Luther scratched his head. “Well, I had to find a way to message Uncle Newt to get me here…”

Dumbledore nodded. “Indeed, Miss Snyde. One cannot blame Mr Luther for his lateness.”

Merula huffed. “I suppose so…But what about her?!” she asked, pointing at the woman trying to ignore Peter. Lucia Doherty sighed.

“I was merely concerned that this was some sort of trick.” she explained, “My son is not exactly fond of me.”

“A trick?!” screeched Merula, pausing to take a breath. “It’s Matthew! He’s incapable of lying!”

Lucia scoffed. “Well, how am I supposed to know that?”

“You’re his mother!”

Peter nodded. “She’s not wrong. He can’t lie to save his life.”

***

“Look, we met about 10 years ago.” Matthew explained. “I don’t know if you remember, but…I was in the Military, looking for my mother? Lucia Doherty?”

Mrs. Snyde moved closer to the cell door. “It’s…hard to remember…” she sighed, clutching her head. “I remember…you and my daughter…you were laughing together…you…you go to Hogwarts!” she said suddenly. “My daughter! Have you seen her?!”

I’ve done slightly more than that, Matthew thought to himself, realising that this was shaping up to be a very awkward “Meet The Parents.”

“Y-Yeah, I know her.” Matthew said, leaning down slightly, “I’m…I’m trying to help her. I need to find your husband.”

“Y-You know Merula?! She’s a friend of yours?!” she exclaimed. Matthew felt something change in the air.

“They can sense her newfound happiness.” The other prisoner explained. “They’ll be here soon.”

Mrs. Snyde ignored the prisoner’s warnings. “How is she faring? Which house did she end up in?”

“Oh. Um, she ended up in Slytherin, and uh, she’s doing fine, yeah.” Matthew replied, “She’s…y'know…making her own way.”

“Oh, she’s in Slytherin, how wonderful!” Mrs. Snyde sighed, “You know, her father always said she would be, but I always thought she might end up in Ravenclaw like he did.”

That was a surprise to Matthew. When Merula mentioned being a fourth generation Slytherin, she must have meant it was on her mother’s side. “Um, yeah. Speaking of your husband, um-”

“My goodness, what year is she in? Fourth year, I think? Or…maybe, was it…”

It was difficult for Matthew to keep his eyes on her; he kept wanting to gaze down at the floor. “F-Fifth year.”

“Goodness! Her OWLs! How has she done?”

“She’s done alright, she um, she said her Defence against the Dark Arts OWL went perfectly, so…”

“How wonderful!”

***

“You know, this is explaining a lot.” Penny whispered to Bill as the group watched Matthew’s parents argue.

“So where exactly is JJ?” Peter asked, “Matt said he’d been found.”

“He’s currently recovering in the hospital wing.” Merula explained. “It’s-”

“And has he offered any explanation for his disappearance?” Lucia demanded.

“Well, he was trapped in a Portrait.”

Lucia scowled. “And has he offered any proof of this?”

Merula scoffed. “Well, I saw him there!” she exclaimed, before pointing at the other students. “Ask any of them, they saw him too!”

Lucia sneered. It reminded Merula an awful lot of Rakepick, causing her to unconsciously hold her still aching stomach. “You still haven’t offered an explanation as to where Matthew is.” she pointed out.

“She’s told you he’ll be back,” Rowan said, cutting in. “Your…well, I suppose it’d be your great-grandfather, Atticus Doherty, took Matthew somewhere to deal with something, I’d guess to head off Rakepick, but I have no real way of knowing.”

“Hang on, Rakepick?” said Peter, Lucia looking like she’d only just realised he was there, “This being the same Rakepick who Matt told me was breaking apart and manipulating his friends?”

“That’s the one.” Bill said through gritted teeth.

“And why wasn’t I made aware of this?” Lucia said, glaring at everyone.

“Maybe if you were a better mother he would.” Merula muttered, but Lucia must have caught part of it.

“What was that, young lady?” she said, with a forced smile.

“I said.” Merula replied, slowly, “that maybe he thought you would ask him for proof before you did anything. I mean really, that does worry me, even my parents write to me and tell me what’s best for me!”

Lucia scowled. “And why are you so worried? Aren’t you his rival?!”

Merula laughed, any and all fear gone from within her. “Why am I worried? Because I love him!”

It took her a few seconds to realise what she had just said in front of everyone.

***

The other prisoner cleared his throat. “It’s dangerous to think thoughts like those in here,” he droned, “They’re few and far between for a reason.”

Matthew scowled at the wall. “Fine. Look, Mrs Snyde, I’d love to tell you more about how Merula’s doing, but I need to find your husband. Did you see where they took him? It’s…it’s for Merula’s sake, please.” Matthew’s words began coming out at a million miles per hour, as if the desperation of this place had taken hold of him. The smile on Mrs. Snyde’s face faded.

“It was…just a few hours ago, now.” she said, trying her best to remember, “I think they took Tim to the Interrogation room, one floor below.”

“Interrogation room, floor below, got it.” Matthew repeated. “Thank you. She…she talks about you a lot, you know. I…I think she misses you. Those letters she gets from you…I don’t know if they’re enough for her.”

Anastasia nodded, slowly. “I miss her too. Tim does as well, just as much as I do.”

Before she could say anything else, there was a horrific noise that Matthew hadn’t heard in more than a year. The cry of a Dementor. No, several.

“I warned you.” the other prisoner said. Anastasia backed away in complete and utter fear.

“N-No, please…” she begged, “Tim…help me…”

Matthew drew his wand and pointed it at the trio of hooded figures floating towards them. He shut his eyes, and: “Expecto Patronum!”

Mrs. Snyde watched in awe as a burst of white light appeared from Matthew’s wand. It grew out, forming a body and four legs. Within seconds, a majestic stallion was charging at the Dementors. It slammed head first into one of them and kicked at another, the third fleeing before it could be hurt. The horse circled back to Matthew, who pointed at the cell Mrs. Snyde was in.

“Stay here.” he ordered. “Keep her and the man behind that wall safe.”

“Thought you’d forgotten about me for a bit there.” the other prisoner chuckled. “Go. We’ll be fine. Have to say, I’m impressed. I’ve never known to cast a Patronus at such a young age.”

As Matthew turned to leave, Mrs. Snyde came up to the door. “Thank you, dear. I am glad Merula has a…friend like you, especially while we cannot reach her.” she whispered.

“I’m glad I have her too.” Matthew said, his cheeks going slightly pink. “But you’ve sent those letters, of course…or I suppose you husband must have…”

He ran towards the stairs. Slowly, Anastasia Snyde stood up for what felt like the first time in years. She walked over to the glistening white stallion, and began to pet it.

“What a beautiful Patronus.” she sighed. “And what a nice boy. But…” she turned to the wall. “What on earth did he mean by letters?”

“I haven’t the foggiest. It’s not like any of us are allowed to send them…”

***

“So, all in all, it can’t go much worse than that.”

It was a warm summer’s evening, and an anxious Rowan Luther-Snyde was standing in front of the Snyde Mansion’s fireplace, a fistful of floo powder in his hand. On his left were his Mum and Dad, who had just finished explaining a very convoluted story. To his right, sat in a chair in front of the fire, was Anastasia Snyde. Her hair was now grey, but it was far warmer and healthier than it had been all those years ago.

“Ok, well I don’t think it can go that badly.” Rowan admitted, “But I’m still worried about things going wrong.”

“Nothing you can do about that.” Matthew sighed. “Trust me. You can’t just wish your worries away.”

“I’m sure you’ll have a lovely first date, Rowan.” Anastasia reassured him.

“Graaaaannn….” Rowan moaned. “Ok. Ok. I’m going. I’m going to Cass’ house, her parents will be there, I’m gonna meet them, here we go.”

He moved forward into the fireplace, yelled “The Vole House!”, threw the powder down, and vanished into the green flames.

“He’ll be alright.” Merula said, sighing. “Reminds me of how much of a worry-wart you used to be, Luther.”

Matthew rolled his eyes. “Used to be?”

Anastasia laughed. “Well, he’s the finest worry-wart I’ve ever seen.”

Merula nodded in agreement. “Yeah. Need anything, Mum?”

“No, just tell your father to get down here. Him and Abigail have been trying to find that thing up in the attic for hours.”

“Alright then.”

Merula headed upstairs, leaving Matthew and Anastasia on their own.

“Matthew, pet, would you mind doing it again?” Anastasia asked.

Matthew nodded. “Of course, I’d love to. Expecto Patronum!”

The spectral horse burst into life, and made its way towards the older woman. She cooed at it, stretching to pet its head. The room was warm, brightly lit by the fireplace, and Matthew couldn’t help but smile, his silver bracelet very much dormant.

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #valentine challenge 2022 #matthew luther #merula snyde #luthersnyde

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hphmmatthewluther · 2 years

Text

Valentine’s Day Challenge 2022 💘💘

“Love, it’s not an emotion. Love is a promise.“

--Doctor Who

Well, in the hopes that this will get me to post regularly, I’ll be doing this challenge thingy created by the wonderful @lifeofkaze !!!

(and I made a moodboard)

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #chances are i'll use my hphl and hpma ocs too #luthersnyde #lillicus #janivel #frelen

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hphmmatthewluther · 2 years

Note

Happy FFWF! Do you have any plans for writing Merula and Matthew post Hogwarts? If so, any ideas you want to share?

Happy FFWF! Sorry it's a bit late :/

I think I would like to do some writing about their post-hogwarts life, especially since chances are, Matthew would take one look at Harry Potter and go "hmm. need to help this tiny boy" (and is probably reminded a little of Rowan). I also have a few ideas for the Wizarding War, and how Matthew stays out of it until the very last minute in order to protect Merula. After the war, Matt and Merula teach DADA for a year, which might be fun to write about, and then settle down and have two children, finally able to enjoy a period of peace...

At least until the events of magic awakened happen. You've always got to interfere, haven't you, Matthew....

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #writing ask game #ffwf #matthew luther #merula snyde #luthersnyde

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hphmmatthewluther · 3 years

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Merula Snyde and the Letter from Someone

To Dear To Merula,

The sound of scrunching up paper is heard, followed by a quiet thump as the ball of scrap is thrown into the bin.

Merula,

I don’t know if this’ll get to you before Christmas, but I wanted to send this to you anyway as a present. In the parcel is a Walkman, which allows you to listen to music wherever you want, as well as a tape with some of my favourite songs on it. Also in there is a list of all the corridors and areas I managed to charm so they could allow muggle devices to work (I don’t know if it’ll work in the Dungeons- Snape caught me while I was doing the spell and told me to leave - sorry.)

I hope you’re having an okay time, I imagine the castle is a fair bit quieter now, which should be nice. I know that Chiara and Talbott are staying at Hogwarts over the summer, and so maybe it would be nice to spend time with them...well, maybe with Chiara, Talbott likes to keep to himself really.

Well, The Celestial Ball was amazing, Merula, as I knew it would be from the moment I asked you to go with me. I know I’m not that good with words, which is sort of why I’ve sent you that tape. As crazy as it sounds, I couldn’t really see myself going with anyone other than you. I still enjoy our rivalry, of course, but I can’t deny how what happened there made me feel.

I can’t wait to see you again,

Matthew.

***

Trembling pale hands with slightly faded nail varnish held the letter over a sofa, as their owner’s pink eyes read its contents. Then she read it again. And again. And a fourth time. Merula took a deep breath. Her mind was, to put it mildly, a bit of a mess right now. It was the day before Christmas Eve (Matthew had once called it Christmas Eve Eve, which even Merula found pretty funny) and she had been sitting in her room when the most evil-looking owl in history had flown into the Dungeons to deliver her a smallish parcel and a letter. She had been even more surprised to learn that this Owl belonged to Matthew Luther, who she had, as the letter reminded her, went with to the Celestial Ball just a week ago. Merula sighed. He’d written to her. He couldn’t wait to see her again. Merula didn’t notice herself giggling. She’d sat down in the corridor, with the walkman on her lap, and Matthew’s owl giving her the evil eye. She traced her finger over the final paragraph again, glad that nobody else was in the Common Room.

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed someone standing in the doorway in a purple hoodie. Merula’s eyes widened as Night Rhea merely grinned at her.

“Eep!” Merula exclaimed, clutching the letter close to her chest, “Wh-what is it?! What do you want?!”

Merula’s fear only grew at the sound of more Slytherins entering the common room. Night looked at Merula, at the letter, at Matthew’s Owl, and at the pink on her cheeks. Merula gulped as they grinned an almost sinister grin.

“Hey look! Matthew sent Merula something!” they exclaimed. At once there was a sound of “ooh!”s as the group moved into the Common Room. Merula recognised Cres Aragon, Ismelda, Liz and Barnaby in the crowd. Uh oh.

“Ooh Matthew’s written to you!” Cres exclaimed, stepping forward. “Told you he would.”

“I...” Merula began. She took a breath. She was not going to be dragged into one of these simpering gossip circles. “Of course he did. This is Matthew we’re talking about.” She looked over at Matthew’s owl, which squinted at her.

“I didn’t expect him to have such a cool owl.” Ismelda admitted. “Dark. Brooding. Evil. Like my soul.”

“Matthew sent you a letter?!” Barnaby asked, “What did he say? Was it about how you two-'' he stopped suddenly looking at Merula’s face. “...um, how you went to the Celestial Ball together?”

“None of your business!” she snapped. “What Luther may or may not have written to me about does not concern any of you!”

“I think it does, Snyde...” Night said, leaning forward. “In fact I - Expelliarmus!”

The letter went flying, and Night moved forward to catching, smirking as they succeeded. Turning to the others, and ignoring Merula’s pleas, they read over the letter. And smiled once again.

“Aww...what a romantic.” Night sighed, pretending to wipe away a tear. “You’ve found yourself a keeper, Snyde.”

Merula went a deep red. “I...uh...”

“Go on, Night, read it!” Cres said, sitting down in front of the large window overlooking the floor of the Lake.

Night looked at Merula. She didn’t seem to be enjoying this one bit. They sighed, and passed the letter back to Merula. “She can read it if she wants to.”

Merula nodded, taking the paper back. She looked around at the others, and sighed. “D-don’t tell anyone about this, ok?”

The group nodded. Merula sighed, and read Matthew’s words aloud. As she did, she found it very hard to keep her face in a scowl. By the time she had finished, she had a small but visible smile on her face.

The group instantly erupted into conversation.

“Way to go, Merula!” laughed Cres.

“Who’d have thought Matthew’d have it in him to write that?” Night pondered aloud.

“Hmph. Muggle music is...isn’t bad...” Ismelda admitted.

“Where’s this man meant to be walking to?” Barnaby asked, gazing at the strange device.

“So what are you going to say back?” Liz asked her, feeding the owl a treat from her pocket.

“N-None of your business, Lizard!” Merula snapped, “I..I...I dunno, okay! I’m not used to letter-writing, I...look, I wanted to just send him some chocolate or something, you know, but now he’s sent me this and...”

“Why don’t you just send a small message,” suggested Cres, “you could put it on the tag or something, couldn’t you?”

Merula grinned wildly for a moment, before racing off into the girls’ dormitories. When she returned, she had a christmas present with red wrapping, as well as a large owl following her. She put the present down on the table, and Merula’s owl sat beside Matthew’s, both immediately starting to stare each other down.

“Okaaay...” Merula began, Night noticing that she was using a pen, “What do I put?”

Barnaby raised an eyebrow. “You’re...asking us?”

“I thought you said it was ‘none of our business’, Merula...” sneered Ismelda. Merula ignored her.

“Okay…’Matthew’...’comma’” she muttered.

“Good start, Snyde.” chuckled Night.

“Hush, Rhea.” Merula snarled. “Where was I…’Thank-’”

“No, don’t start with the thank you, you’ll run out of things to say.” Liz said sagely.

“Fine. ‘The music is great. Thank you for the present and for your letter...’”without saying it aloud, she then wrote ‘I eagerly await your return to Hogwarts...it’s rather dull without you.’

“...Thanks again, Merula.” she finished, putting the pen back into her pocket. She then moved past Night over to her and Matthew’s owl.

“Just follow him, okay?” she asked. Her owl nodded. Matthew’s owl audibly scoffed at her, an impressive achievement for an owl. Merula then left with the two owls for the Owlery. When she got there, she was slightly surprised to see Talbott Winger there, feeding the owls.

“Can...I help you?” he asked, not looking away from the owls in front of him.

“I’m....just sending a letter to M-...to Luther,” she explained, wincing at her minor slip-up…”What about you?”

“Being alone...or at least I was.” Talbott sighed, getting up, “Is that a present for him?”

“None of your business, birdbrain!” Merula yelled, before looking down at the present. “...sorry. It’s just...I’m new to this, and want to go at my own pace, you know?”

Talbott stared at her, this other Merula which until now only Matthew and maybe Tulip had been able to see. “...he’s really started to rub off on you, you know that?”

Merula chuckled as the owls left with Matthew’s present in tow. She looked down at the walkman, put one headphone up to her ear, and pressed play. It worked.

“Yeah...” Merula said, as if just remembering then that Talbott was still there, “Maybe you’re right.”

(Night Rhea belongs to @night-rhea and Cres Aragon belongs to @cres-aragon !)

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #hphm fic #merula snyde #luthersnyde #ismelda murk #barnaby lee #liz tuttle #night rhea #cres aragon #talbott winger

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camillejeaneshphm · 3 years

Note

If you're still doing writing requests, could you do Merula surprising Matthew by sneaking into Ravenclaw Common Room to see him? -hphmmatthewluther

why the hell were there so many stairs to the damn ravenclaw common room ??

merula snyde was regretting ever decision that had led her to this point as she answered the riddle that gave her access.

why in god’s name did she have to fall for some painfully shy ravenclaw ??

she scanned the common room, earning strange looks from other ravenclaw, before settling on a couch to wait.

it wasn’t long before matthew luther entered the room. she felt her heart swell when his face lit up upon seeing her.

maybe she didn’t regret this as much as she claimed.

#hphm #matthew luther #merula snyde #luthersnyde #skylar answers #mutuals my beloveds #skylar attempts to write

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hphmmatthewluther · 3 years

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The Amortentia Incident

Merula was only in the Potions Classroom because she’d left her bag there. Snape was nowhere to be seen, and so she’d taken the initiative and unlocked the door on her own to get her bag before the next lesson. It was lunchtime now, and so she had some time to get it before her next lesson. She scowled. As far as she was concerned, it was that idiot Matthew Luther’s fault. He’d clearly distracted her, probably apologising to someone, and made her forget to take her bag with her. It couldn’t have been anything else he’d done, right?

She made her way towards their table, and grabbed her bag. Nothing was missing from it, which was a relief. She slung it around her shoulder and was about to leave, when she noticed one of the cauldrons was still on. It was by a student’s table and was still being heated. Merula cautiously stepped closer to it. Her attention really had been off today. For as she peered into the potion, she missed the label on the cauldron in Professor Snape’s handwriting, which read: “IMPURE- MUST BE DISINTEGRATED”. But she was too busy thinking about Matthew’s stupid face to notice. It was as if he always wanted to say something, but for whatever reason was too frightened to say it.

Merula put it down to her intimidating nature and examined the potion in the steaming hot cauldron. It was a reddish-pink hue, and it swirled without a spoon stirring it. It looked familiar, but Merula couldn’t quite place it. Even without smelling it, the aroma caught her nose, practically forcing her to sniff. It was sickeningly sweet, as if the potion were several gallons of melted chocolate. Now Merula felt hungry, and a little disoriented. Then, something strange happened, even by Hogwarts standards.

The smoke of the potion started billowing out at a faster rate, up into the air of the Potions Classroom. Merula was beginning to panic, fearful of Snape’s reaction to her screwing up this potion, whatever it was. She moved forward, about to turn off the heat, when she heard something. Laughter. From a voice she recognised. Coming from the cauldron. She watched in awe as the smoke converged, tinted by the reddish-pink, until two gleaming green eyes appeared in midair. Then, around them, a head of hair that went down past the face’s jaw, but not to the shoulders. From there, arms appeared, with hands fit for a musician. Merula couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing.

“...Luther?” she said finally.

The smoky figure smiled, tilting its head to the side. “Who else, Songbird?”

Merula’s cheeks went pink at the mention of the nickname. She wasn’t quite sure what was going on, but she was beginning to piece things together. For one thing, there were roses on the table nearest the cauldron, as well as a note with “fifteen times counterclockwise” written and underlined several times. This was a Love Potion, but clearly a poorly made one. Love Potions, didn’t do...this, right?

“What’s wrong, Merula?” Matthew asked, “You seem...perturbed.”

Merula looked up at Matthew, but had to quickly look away. She had never seen that look in his eyes before. “N...None of your business!” she snapped.

Instead of flinching, as Matthew normally would have done, he leant forward. “Oh, Songbird, if something’s troubling you, then it’s my business.”

Merula gulped. She felt rooted to the spot, as Matthew examined her. She saw that his hair was slightly longer than usual, and was somehow defying gravity in that it ebbed and flowed like waves of water.

“What do you want?” she asked, curious as to what this thing was.

Matthew chuckled, as his smoky form moved out of the cauldron and towards Merula. “I’d like an awful lot of things...you in my arms...your hands running through my hair...but I’d settle for just a kiss.”

She went very very pink at that. Merula shook her head, hoping the hallucination would vanish. She could no longer hide her blush, but she was fairly confident her knees weren't going to give way...yet.

“Oh, and if there’s...anything you want from me, I’d, ah, be more than happy to oblige.”

Merula tried to martial her thoughts, but all she could think about was how soft Matthew’s voice was. Sure, it was always relatively...nice...but now it was as if his voice was a wind travelling through a forest...an image only reinforced by Matthew’s bright green eyes, in which Merula swore she could see the outline of trees. This train of thought, however, was brought to an emergency stop as she felt his translucent arms wrap around her. She let out a quiet squeal, that wasn’t completely out of shock.

“Nnng...if I find out this is actually you, Luther, I swear, I’ll...” she began, but stopped as she came face to face with him yet again. “What potion even does this sort of thing?”

“Mmm, Maybe I know how it happened...maybe...” Matthew mused.

“...And are you going to tell me?” Merula asked.

“...I would if you kissed me.” Matthew whispered.

That pink feeling returned as Merula looked away again. “Come on, Songbird, who’s gonna know?” Matthew asked, swirling around her. Merula hated how tempting his offer was. Sure, she’d started thinking about this sort of thing, but Matthew Luther? Her rival? She admitted he was somewhat attractive, but that was to be expected for a rival of someone like her. Still, it did help that his voice was rather soft, she admitted, and having him act like this made her feel...special. It was enough to make part of her wish the real Matthew would treat her like this...almost. But when she looked at this vision of her rival, at the forests in his eyes, something was missing. Not fear, but caution. Matthew was always able to sense danger or if something was off, like some sort of deer. But that caution, which had saved both his own neck and Merula’s, was absent. Focusing on it was the only way Merula could ground herself again.

“I appreciate the offer, but I have places to be, Luther.” she said flatly, turning to leave.

“If you ever want to speak to me again...” Matthew said, fading as Merula backed away from the cauldron, “stir twelve times anticlockwise then thrice clockwise, and add more thorns than petals. I’ll be there...waiting on that kiss.”

Merula sat down in the Great Hall and quickly ate her lunch. She couldn’t get him out of his head. And when she saw Matthew, the real Matthew, sit down to eat his lunch, she felt like going over and asking for him to hold her. But she couldn’t do that. And she had no plans of making that imperfect Love Potion anytime soon. Nevertheless, she wrote down the words “More thorns than petals, 12 anti then three clockwise” in a box and highlighted them. Just in case she ever needed to remember.

(inspired by @nikyiscreepy ‘s brilliant art!)

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #hphm fic #merula snyde #matthew luther #luthersnyde

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