Merula Snyde

"*Competition makes us better. Cooperation makes us weak.*"
— Merula Snyde's competitive ideology

**Merula Eleanor Snyde** (born c. 1973) was a witch who began attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in 1984 and was sorted into Slytherin house. Merula often antagonised Yasuko Rivera during her time in Hogwarts and remained a persistent rival to her throughout the years.

After graduating from Hogwarts, Merula married Alisabeth Everglade and together they had a daughter, Renesmee Severine Everglade-Snyde.

## Biography

### Early life

Merula's mother and father were Death Eaters who supported Lord Voldemort. At some point, Merula witnessed them in an "incident" with an Auror which led to the death of the latter or a bystander, which allowed her to see Thestrals.

During her tenth birthday, Merula received a broom as a present from her parents, for which she was thrilled. Since she was still a bit young to ride a broom on her own, her parents took turns taking her on the broom, with Merula clinging to their backs whilst she flew and joyfully laughing. Merula considered this the happiest memory she had and used it to attempt to cast the Patronus Charm.

After the Dark Lord's demise in 1980, Merula's parents were captured and sent to Azkaban between 1983 and 1984; Merula witnessed their trial, which greatly upset her. Her mother, being a member of the Frog Choir in her youth, frequently sang to her until her arrest, though she would keep this a secret out of insecurity. Afterwards, Merula was raised by her aunt, who forbade her from owning any pets, much to her chagrin. Victims of her parents sent threats to their house, resulting in her aunt spending as little time with her as possible and Merula almost entirely staying indoors.

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

### Hogwarts years (1984-1991)

#### 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 her into saying that she was the most powerful witch at Hogwarts. However, Yasuko Rivera stood up for Rowan and Merula started teasing her by making fun of Jacob. When Rowan mentioned that Professor Flitwick said Yasuko cast the best Wand-Lighting Charm of any first-year in years, Merula resolved to be nothing but trouble for her and to show that she was more powerful than her.

She then sent Yasuko a fake letter from Professor Prince-Slytherin and locked her in a room full of Devil's Snare, but she was able to escape, thanks to Hagrid's timely intervention. Afterwards, Merula reappeared as Rowan and Yasuko were playing gobstones and began to taunt the two. She insinuated that Jacob's quest for the Cursed Vaults led him down a dark path that resulted in him joining Voldemort. Yasuko retaliated by bringing up Merula's Death Eater heritage and how her parents are in Azkaban in response. As a result, Merula challenged Yasuko to a duel, and ended with Merula using the Knockback Jinx on her.

After receiving training from their prefect, Yasuko found Merula in the Clocktower Courtyard, bullying Ben Copper by expressing her distaste for Muggle-born and half-blood wizards in Hogwarts. Yasuko intervened to defend Ben and challenged Merula to a duel, in which they won. Shocked at Yasuko's mastery over the Disarming Charm, Merula refused to acknowledge her defeat or apologise for her behaviour and she proclaimed herself to be the greatest witch in Hogwarts, who was free to do what she wanted. Professors Prince-Slytherin and Flitwick approached her from behind during her tirade, much to her surprise and they began to question what happened here. Ultimately, Yasuko was blamed for the duel and was forced to lose points from their house.

Immediately after this, Merula followed Prince-Slytherin and Filch into the fifth-floor corridor, with Yasuko following after her. Together, they spied on Prince-Slytherin and Filch having a conversation about the cursed ice and sealing a room within the corridor to contain it from spreading. Yasuko and Merula briefly discussed the nature of the cursed vaults, before going their separate ways. Yasuko later met Merula in another potion's class and she asked whether or not they divulged the vault's existence to anyone. Merula then taunted Yasuko and then they both focused on their lesson for brewing a Herbicide Potion. At the end of class, Yasuko attempted to assist Merula by giving her tips on how to correctly brew the potion, to which Snape awarded them both with house points, much to Merula's chagrin.

Towards the end of the year, Yasuko, along with Rowan and an unidentified student, investigated the fifth-floor corridor where the cursed ice was supposedly spreading from. Initially, the trio investigated 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 entered the small room alone, while the trio followed after her. Upon entering the room, they discovered Merula partially encased in a block of ice from the waist down and she demanded Yasuko to help her. After being freed from the ice and escaping the small room, Merula declared the whole expedition to be a waste of her time and left the area. Merula was not seen again by Yasuko, except briefly in the End-of-Term Feast.