A/N: Inspired by a Christmas Wish list request, this little set of stories is tied into my 'Master of Time' series (and even into my Atlantis fics). In that main story, however, Merlin's friends are reincarnated numerous times at significant points in history, with Arthur always playing a central role in some major political or historical event.
In between those times, however, the immortal Emrys needs to find other things to keep him occupied.
Owl Post
Merlin spent many years in the Crystal Cave, looking into the glowing, blue gems and viewing the past and the future.
He had seen ancient people in far off lands talk of magic in a way which seemed very familiar and, in the future, had seen that magic still existed here, although now it was kept secret from most who did not have the ability
That sounded familiar.
These little pieces of vision did not always make sense on their own, however, and it was a while before he managed to join up a couple of things he'd already discovered.
~o~0~o~
It all started when an owl flew into his cave.
Merlin stared at the bird perched on the top of one large crystal and blinked in surprise.
The owl blinked back.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
Bats he was used to, owls... not so much.
The bird ruffled its feathers and stuck a leg out. Merlin continued to stare at it for a while and he was sure for a moment the bird rolled its eyes. "What?" This time when the leg was offered, Merlin saw a small, paper scroll attached to it. "Oh..."
Dear witch or wizard,
These owls have been enchanted with the ability to seek out any strong use of magic in the hope of spreading this message as far around the country as possible.
As you know, the recent decision to separate magic users from those with no ability has meant a great deal of change in our world...
Merlin looked up at the owl in surprise. "Oh, is it that time already? I loose track a bit in here."
Fairly inevitably, the bird didn't reply.
...Four of us have come together to create a school where we can educate the next generation. We are currently working on a variation of this owl enchantment which will allow us to identify any ten year old with magic potential and invited them to attend. The school is to be called Hogwarts and will be situated in the remote Highlands of Scotland.
We are currently looking to recruit powerful witches and wizards from all walks of life to assist us in this adventure. If you are interested, please attach a reply to the owl in front of you and it will automatically return to us,
yours sincerely,
Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin.
"Hmm, isn't that interesting?" Merlin commented, hunting around for some parchment. "Well now, I suppose I've nothing better to do with my time at the moment, and it will be good to visit somewhere in person for a change."
He quickly wrote a reply of his own and sent the owl on its way.
~o~0~o~
Years went by and Merlin continued his travels, both in the real world and via the crystals, waiting for the next time his friends would be reincarnated. In the early years it could be very confusing, visiting the past and future and loosing track of time as a result. However, it wasn't long before he became very comfortable with the process, keeping track of people, places and events and making sure he was there in person if required.
The schools of magic, located in various places around the world, continued to be sources of very great interest for him.
Many years ago, he had made himself known to the four founders of Hogwarts as an old man, and they had all been in awe of his ability and perhaps, in a couple of cases, even a little jealous. He had briefly taught there in the school's early days, but found his skills were best used in the creation of various enchantments; helping with the spells to hide the castle from those without magic, creating protection spells and working to enhance the owl enchantment to ensure all talented children would be detected.
He was especially proud of his input on that last one, and having so much personal knowledge of it was to prove useful some years later when he became a little bored and decided he'd like to view Hogwarts from a student's point of view.
Knowing how easily the wizards could sense anyone with magic, Merlin had deliberately set things up so that his real name would never turn up in their records; creating a whole list of names - including his own in different languages, and those of old friends - and allowing the enchantments to choose random combinations every now and then. He also made sure that his day-to-day magic would not be detected by the school and set his own version of the Hogwart's enchantment to shield the Crystal Cave from the outside world too.
So, the wizards nowadays knew there had once been a powerful, elderly wizard named Merlin who had lived many centuries ago, but he had no intention of letting them know that the legends surrounding him were mostly true and that he was immortal; especially in light of what had happened in the late 1930s when a couple of young, powerful wizards became interested in acquiring that dubious gift for themselves. However, things were fairly quiet in the magic world at the moment and so Merlin cast a spell to make himself young. Not the young man guise he often used when travelling the world – the age he'd been when he knew Arthur – but a ten year old boy.
It was an extremely odd sensation.
Once he had got used to his new body and ensured all the enchantments were in place, Merlin moved out of the cave and cast a few random acts of magic - deliberately childish and sloppy - before settling down to wait for his letter to arrive.
~o~0~o~
A/N: Part Two coming very soon. Currently this is only a two-shot but I may well continue at a later date. Prompts most welcome.
