Merula Snyde

"I'll never apologise to you losers and Mudbloods! I'm Merula Snyde! Fourth generation Slytherin! The greatest witch at Hogwarts! I do what I want when I want! I run this school!"

- Merula Snyde's opinion of herself

Merula Snyde (born c. 1973) was a witch who began attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in 1984 and was sorted into Slytherin. Merula acts as the first major antagonist Jacob's sibling encounters during their time in Hogwarts and remains a persistent rival to them throughout the years.

Early life
Merula's parents were Death Eaters who supported Lord Voldemort. After the Dark Lord's demise in 1981, her parents were captured and sent to Azkaban.

Merula claimed to have attended every Quidditch World Cup since she was born.

First year
Merula began attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in 1984. On 1 September, 1984, during the journey on the Hogwarts Express she tormented Ben Copper the entire time, by threatening him and calling him a "Mudblood."



Once they arrived at the school, Merula and the rest of the first years were greeted at the Great Hall by the rest of the students and the staff. Professor McGonagall proceeded to provide them with a short explanation of the four Hogwarts Houses — Gryffindor, the brave and chivalrous, Hufflepuff, the kind and diligent, Ravenclaw, the witty and wise, and Slytherin, the cunning and ambitious — voicing her hope that all of the newcomers would make fine additions to the ranks of great witches and wizards that each House had produced in the past. Eventually, Merula was sorted into Slytherin, becoming the fourth generation of her family to be sorted in that house.

As a result of her constant bullying, Ben Copper spent his first days at Hogwarts following Merula around, hoping this would prevent her from sneaking up on him, or give him a chance to run away if she did. One day, before the start of a Potions class in the Dungeons, Merula was bullying Rowan Khanna by forcing them into saying that she was the most powerful witch at Hogwarts. However, Jacob's sibling stood up for Rowan and Merula started teasing them by making fun of Jacob. When Rowan mentioned that Professor Flitwick said Jacob's sibling cast the best Wand-Lighting Charm of any first-year in years, Merula resolved to be nothing but trouble for them and to show that she was more powerful than them.

She then sent Jacob's sibling a fake letter from Professor Snape and locked them in a room full of Devil's Snare, but they were able to escape, thanks to Hagrid's timely intervention. Afterwards, Merula reappears as Rowan and Jacob's Sibling are playing gobstones, and begins to taunt the two. She insinuate that Jacob's quest for the Cursed Vaults led him down a dark path that resulted in him joining Voldemort. Jacob's sibling is presented with an opportunity to retaliate by bringing up Merula's Death Eater heritage and how her parents are in Azkaban in response. Regardless, the argument eventually escalates to Merula challenging Jacob's sibling to a duel and ends with Merula using the Knockback Jinx on Jacob's sibling, as the only spell they know up until that point is the Wand-Lighting Charm.

After receiving training from their prefect, Jacob's sibling finds Merula in the Clocktower Courtyard, bullying Ben Copper by expressing her distaste for Muggle-born and half-blood wizards in Hogwarts. Jacob's sibling intervenes to defend Ben and challenges Merula to a duel, which they win. Shocked at Jacob's sibling's mastery over the Disarming Charm, Merula refuses to acknowledge her defeat or apologise for her behaviour, while proclaiming herself to be the greatest witch in Hogwarts and free to do what she wants. Professors Snape and Flitwick approach her from behind during her tirade, much to her surprise and begin to question what happened here. Ultimately, Jacob's sibling is blamed for the duel, regardless whether or not they struck Merula first, and is forced to lose points from their house.

Immediately after this, Merula follows Snape and Filch into the fifth-floor corridor, with Jacob's sibling following after her. Together, they spy on Snape and Filch having a conversation about the cursed ice and sealing a room within the corridor to contain it from spreading. Jacob's sibling and Merula briefly discuss the nature of the cursed vaults, before going their separate ways. Jacob's sibling later meets Merula in another potion's class and she asks whether or not they divulged the vault's existence to anyone. Regardless of their answer, Merula will taunt Jacob's sibling and then focus on their lesson for brewing a Herbicide Potion. At the end of class, Jacob's sibling attempts to assist Merula by giving her tips on how to correctly brew the potion, to which Snape awards them with house points, much to Merula's chagrin.

Towards the end of the year, Jacob's sibling, along with Rowan and an optional party member, will investigate the fifth-floor corridor where the cursed ice is supposedly spreading from. Initially, the trio investigate a door leading to a small room where the ice originated from, only to be ambushed by Merula casting the Knockback Jinx on Jacob sibling's and their friends. After declaring that only she can claim the power and treasures of the vault for herself, Merula enters the small room alone, while the trio follow after her. Upon entering the room, they discover Merula partially encased in a block of ice from the waist down and she demands Jacob's sibling to help her. After being freed from the ice and escaping the small room, Merula declares this whole expedition to be a waste of her time and leaves the area. Merula isn't seen again, except briefly in the End-of-Term Feast.

Second year
During the 1985–1986 school year, Penny Haywood warned Jacob's sibling that Merula was eager for a rematch after being defeated by them the previous year. During a potions class, Jacob's sibling attempted to reason with Merula, citing that nobody cared about what happened last year. Merula points out that, whenever duelling was mentioned, their duel was often brought up and how strong Jacob's sibling was compared to her. As a result, Jacob's sibling had no choice but to accept Merula's challenge, but was helped by Penny in preparation for their second duel. Jacob's sibling then met with Merula in the Clocktower Courtyard at night, emerging victorious from their duel. Merula was confounded by her second defeat, but stated that, while their duel was concluded, the rivalry between them would never be over.

Merula is next seen in Potions class, asking what Jacob's sibling has been up to. Regardless of their response, Merula will boast about working with someone in order to unlock the secrets of the vault before Jacob's sibling can. Snape then interjects, warning Jacob's sibling of potentially being in dire trouble, which will be discussed once class is over. After class, Snape accuses Jacob's sibling of stealing potion ingredients from his storeroom, as his stolen ingredients were found by their bed's drawer. With a sufficient stat check, Jacob's sibling can pin the blame on Merula, pointing out her previous attempts at sabotaging them, along with being capable of duping another student into planting the ingredients in their room.

Snape promptly asks Merula if what Jacob's sibling says is true, but she denies it, stating that she only wishes to see Jacob's sibling expelled for being a danger to Hogwarts. Snape, however, points out that Merula is an atrocious liar, due to her constantly darting her eyes in multiple directions whenever she lies. As a result, Merula is punished by being forced to maintain Snape's storeroom for the rest of the year for attempting to frame Jacob's sibling.

Merula is last seen in Flying Class, sarcastically asking how their friends are doing after a failed excursion into the Vault of Ice. Jacob's sibling will angrily retort for Merula to not pretend to care for their friends, to which she replies that she does not, but only about the Cursed Vaults themselves. Merula will then claim to know what happened to Jacob, to which his sibling will desperately demand Merula to them what happened to their brother. Merula replies that she will, after flying class was over.

After class, Jacob's sibling immediately asks what Merula knows about Jacob's whereabouts, to which Merula attempts to force them into swearing that any future information they learn about the vaults should be relayed to her. Regardless of the their response, Merula will ominously state that Jacob does not have much time left. After this exchange, Merula is not seen for the rest of the year.

Third year
Merula returns in third year, this time with a gang of her own to help her seek out the remaining vaults. Merula introduces them as Ismelda Murk and Barnaby Lee to Jacob's sibling during the lesson on Wideye Potion. The former threatens Jacob's sibling to keep away from Merula this year, while the latter expected them to be taller. Exasperated, Jacob's sibling urges Merula to not start another argument with them, to which Merula agrees, since she plans on focusing her efforts on finding the next cursed vaults, with the help of her new associates.

After their lesson is over, Merula's gang discusses what sort of power the next vault might hold. Ismelda gleefully hopes that it is something that can resurrect the Dark Lord, while Merula taunts Jacob's sibling that it may hold the power to bring back their brother. Jacob's sibling response will prompt Merula and her gang to leave, but not without Barnaby threatening the sibling via a bone-vanishing spell. After a short discussion about why Barnaby is working with Merula, the burly student leaves to follow after Merula.

At some point, Jacob's sibling meets with Tulip Karasu, who tells them that she used to be Merula's only real friend during the first years at Hogwarts, due to taking a liking to her rebellious and free-spirited personality. Together, they made an effort to search for the vaults and they eventually stumbled upon Jacob's old room, where he kept his notes and information he found on the vaults away from prying eyes. Unfortunately, as time went on, Merula and Tulip would have a falling out, due to both girls becoming greedy for power and purposely withholding information from one another. As a result, the two locked Jacob's room with a lock, which was immune to the unlocking charm, that could only be opened with a key each girl had.

Jacob's Sibling and Tulip would later go on to spy on Merula and her cohorts in the Clocktower Courtyard. Merula would loudly proclaim her frustration at finding clues to the next vault, while Ismelda would insist on using the Cruciatus Curse on Jacob's Sibling to torture the information out of him, much to Merula's disgust. Tulip devised a plan with Jacob's sibling in order to acquire the key from Merula, which involved the use of a Jumbo Dungbomb, to scare away Merula's allies so they could confront her alone. After acquiring the Jumbo Dungbomb from Zonko's Shop in Hogsmeade, the pair found Merula and her gang hanging out by the Clocktower Courtyard again, making small-talk. Ismelda claimed she would use the Killing Curse, on the next Gryffindor she saw, to which Merula replied that Ismelda does not know to cast the spell.

Barnaby chimes in by mentioning how he once killed a bowtruckle by accidentally sitting on one, which confuses Ismelda for having nothing to do with their conversation. In the end, Merula proclaims she hates them both. While they were distracted, Jacob's Sibling hardened the bomb with duro before launching it in-between Merula's gang with the Banishing Charm. Initially confused by the object, Ismelda and Barnaby would quickly retreat once the Jumbo Dungbomb released its fetid payload, while Merula seemingly withstood the stench.

Jacob's Sibling and Tulip reveal themselves to Merula, who had a feeling they were behind this prank. Tulip demands Merula surrenders the key to them, which causes Merula to angrily retort at how Tulip betrayed her to work with Jacob's Sibling instead. Jacob's Sibling and Merula will then duel for the second key, which Merula loses causing her to forgo her key to her rival, but not without uncharacteristically warning Jacob's Sibling to watch out for Tulip potentially backstabbing them.

Merula next confronts Jacob's sibling in the hallway where Jacob's old room resides. She questions what they were doing in the library, to which Jacob's sibling can either admit or lie to her. Merula will reponse accordingly and threatens to do something far worse to the student when the time comes. True to her word, Merula, along with Ismelda, intercepts Jacob's sibling and friends in the library as they are about to enter the restricted section to find the Vault of Fear. Merula chastises Jacob's sibling for seeking the power of the vaults for altruistic reasons and engages with them in another duel. Jacob's sibling emerges victorious from their duel, but Ismelda launches a surprise attack with Everte Statum, which causes Barnaby, now working with Jacob's sibling instead, to take the hit for them.

Barnaby faces off against his former allies in a two versus one duel and manages to defeat Merula and Ismelda off-screen, while Jacob's sibling entered the restricted section to investigate the area for the entrance to the second vault. Barnaby later says that Merula attempted to tell Professor Snape of what had happened in the library, but nothing would come of it due to a lack of proof from her and Ismelda.

This year, Merula was overheard saying she had stolen books on Dark Magic from the Restricted Section.

Fourth year
Merula encounters Jacob's sibling in their first Care of Magical Creatures class. Immediately, she attempts to stir trouble with her rival, by insulting Charlie Weasley and then taunting Jacob's sibling about the fate of their brother. Jacob's sibling has the option of asking Charlie to talk Merula down on their behalf, prompting the Slytherin witch to storm off.

Physical appearance
Merula had short and messy dark brown hair, with one area an orange colour, and violet eyes. She had thick furrowed eyebrows. Merula also smelled like cloves, nail polish, and some other elusive scent. Her stockings have a hole around her left kneecap, and she wears black combat boots.

Personality and traits
A strong-willed yet mean-spirited witch, Merula Snyde is a talented young girl who exemplifies many of Slytherin's traits, such as cunning, determination and ambition. Merula is highly rebellious and bullies those around her, especially wizards from Muggle or half-blood families. Her greatest trait, however, is her ambition to prove she is the best, which is her primary motivation for seeking out the Cursed Vaults and the major reason for being in constant conflict with Jacob's sibling.

Merula's hatred for Jacob's sibling pushes her to go to great lengths to sabotage her rival, by either attempting to get them expelled or badly injured. Indeed, Merula often goes out of her way to seek out Jacob's sibling in classes, either to taunt them about Jacob or to generally be a nuisance. Merula is always eager for a fight with Jacob's sibling and never backs down from a challenge. Despite her aggressive nature, Merula does demonstrate a strong work ethic and can often be seen studying alone in the library and is noted to be a competent student by many of her peers, especially in potions class. Merula has also been described by her classmates as 'not all bad', hinting at a softer side.

Magical abilities and skills

 * Magical Skill: Merula has often been described as a talented witch by her peers and faculty. Indeed, her skills has been personally praised by Severus Snape and Rita Skeeter, despite her boorish personality. Patricia Rakepick took interest in Merula for her skills and took her on as an apprentice during year four, along with a handful of other highly skilled candidates, such as Jacob's sibling and Bill Weasley.
 * Dark Arts: Merula shows a keen interest and skill in the dark arts, mostly in utilizing jinxes and hexes on her enemies. She was quickly capable of using the Knockback Jinx in her first year to bully her fellow classmates. Merula also claims to be knowledgeable of hexes during Defense Against the Dark Arts class in her fifth year.
 * Care of Magical Creatures: Merula appeared to have a general interest in magical creatures, as she decided to enroll into this class as an elective. Throughout the various lessons, Merula will give her opinion on different creatures brought in for lessons, such as regarding kneazles as 'handsome creatures' while being disgusted with murtlaps.
 * Potions: Merula appeared to be quite skilled in potions as she was capable of discreetly sabotaging Jacob's sibling's Cure for Boils with Bulbadox powder. Per Professor Snape, she was able to make a "flawless" Cure for Boils right during her first Potions class.
 * Duelling: Merula was known to be a fierce and resourceful duelist. Even during her first year, she showed her multiple martial magic abilities.Merula_Broom_Troubles.gif
 * Flying: Merula showed an aptitude for flying and is often seen capable of mastering advanced flying techniques. However, Merula is shown having difficulties with raising her broom and sometimes struggles during other flying lesson techniques.

Etymology
"Merula" is a Latin word that means "blackbird". "Snyde" comes from the Danish word for "cheat".

Behind the scenes

 * In her second year, Merula boasts to Jacob's sibling that she's working with someone on finding the Cursed Vaults. That someone is likely Tulip Karasu, as the two were still working together during their second year and only ended their partnership before their third year.
 * It is also possible she referred to Patricia Rakepick, since Severus Snape believed that Rakepick had been watching Jacob's sibling already before she was invited to Hogwarts by Dumbledore.
 * As both her parents are in Azkaban, it's currently unknown who takes care of her. If Merula's claims about attending the Quidditch World Cups are true, it's likely she's being raised by a family member.
 * Merula owns a broom she considers to be far superior to the brooms provided by Hogwarts during flying class, claims to that the Snyde family vault in Gringotts contains "jeweled shells", and that her mother owned a unicorn a long time ago. Because of these claims, it can be assumed that the Snyde family was quite wealthy in its prime.
 * If Jacob's sibling is sorted into Slytherin, Merula will appear in additional side-quests revolving around plotting revenge against Gryffindor for defeating their house in Quidditch.
 * Tulip Karasu's boggart appears to be a distorted version of Merula wearing a torn school uniform, runny makeup and glowing violet eyes. The boggart reminds Tulip over how she betrayed Merula and how she will never have any friends, which Tulip later admits is her greatest fear.

Notes and references
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