A Harry Potter & Merlin crossover

Written for valuablenicola.

THE SECOND RISING OF ARTHUR PENDRAGON

Prologue

"You gave me no choice." Mordred stated as he thrust his sword through Arthur's chest. With a choked grunt, Arthur slumped to the ground.

From his vantage point atop the cliffs, Merlin shifted his gaze, as though attuned to the site of his friend's pained cry. Howling with rage and panic, Merlin used his magic to propel himself towards Arthur's prone form. His 'Dragoon' disguise was stripped away as Merlin cradled Arthur to his chest, feeling frantically for a pulse. It was feeble and weakening.

"No." Merlin moaned. "I can't let you die."

He looked into the sky, instinctively forming a plan to get Arthur to the Lake of Avalon.

"Oh drakon!" Merlin bellowed, summoning Kilgharrah.

The red dragon arrived. Merlin grabbed Arthur tightly and latched onto Kilgharrah's back.

As the dragon took off, Merlin's eyes were a burning gold with determination.

Those eyes were still determined as Merlin leapt to the ground and half carried half dragged Arthur to the lake. In his haste, Merlin tripped, swearing as his bottom impacted with the floor. Merlin flailed, scrambling to get up, but was pinned by Arthur's body, which was sprawled above him. Merlin wailed. He could feel that Arthur's heart was as still as stone.

"Merlin." Kilgharrah said. "There is nothing you can do."

"I've failed." Merlin responded numbly.

"No young warlock," The dragon continued, "For all that you have dreamt of building has come to pass."

"I can't lose him!" Merlin screamed in denial. "He's my friend!"

Kilgharrah shook his head pityingly. "Though no man, no matter how great, can know his destiny, some lives have been foretold. Arthur is not just a King, he is the Once and Future King. Take heart, for when Albion's need is greatest, Arthur will rise again."

Merlin sobbed as Kilgharrah spoke his farewells and flew away. Merlin tucked Arthur's head beneath his chin, brushing his lips against the blonde man's forehead. For several minutes, Merlin was motionless, savouring his final moments with his friend.

Then, Merlin carried Arthur towards the lake, placing him delicately onto a wooden boat. Excalibur was thrown into the water.

"I'll wait for you to come back." Merlin whispered as Arthur drifted into the distance. "I'll find you. I promise."

Meanwhile, Mordred couldn't help but contemplate the affection between Merlin and Arthur. He had been mesmerised by the brunette's charge across the battlefield to reach Arthur. Mordred had been frozen, watching in fascination, as Merlin desperately searched for a trace of life. Similarly, Mordred recollected that during his time as a Camelot knight, Arthur constantly looked out for Merlin's wellbeing.

It was a stark contrast to Morgana's apathy and cruelty, Mordred thought bitterly.

Mordred observed the battle's aftermath. How had his love for sweet, gentle Kara been warped by Morgana so that he became a mindless weapon for violence and bloodshed? Mordred shook his head in disgust. In that moment, Mordred knew he had his allegiance was wrong. He would later use his dragon-breathed sword to behead Morgana. Later still, he would give all the credit to Merlin and help spread the legacy of Merlin, Emerys – the greatest warlock who had ever lived.

~x~O~x~

Harry swore as he dodged spell fire by diving behind a statue of Merlin – the greatest wizard of all time.

"There's too many of them!" Hermione shrieked from her position across the narrow corridor, wedged between a suit of armour and a portrait of the Hogwarts founders.

"Ruducto! Ruducto!" Ron bellowed, blasting some of the death eaters back.

Harry grimaced as he ducked once more, this time avoiding errant chunks of flying wall plaster.

Moments earlier, Harry and the DA had been practising in the Room of Requirement when Harry's demonstration of the Patronus charm was interrupted by the appearance of Dobby. At first, Harry had panicked, fearing that Umbridge had uncovered the group's existence. However, Dobby's real message made Harry's stomach fill with dread.

"Men with black cloaks and silver masks!" The house elf squeaked.

"Death eaters?" Harry asked as the rest of the room gasped.

"Yes!" Dobby confirmed. "In the castle! The great Harry Potter sir must stop them!"

Hermione pulled Harry's arm sharply, preventing him from running off in haste.

"Does Dumbledore know yet?" She questioned insistently.

Dobby's ears drooped. "No." He stated softly. "Fudgey had him removed today for interfering with Ministry policies. House elfs cannot find him."

Outraged voices sounded around the room – Harry and Ron's among the loudest.

Hermione started before composing herself. "Professor McGonagall then. Has she alerted the Order?"

"No, Miss Minnie is at the ministry fixing things!" Dobby cried. "The great Harry Potter sir must act right nows."

That was the last straw for Harry. There was nobody else at Hogwarts who could deal with this. He raised his wand, gesturing that Ron and Hermione should follow him to combat the threat. Dobby popped away, satisfied. However, a rush of movement caused Harry to turn around. The entire DA were twiddling with their robes and clamouring to join the fight. Surprisingly, they were led by Neville.

"We're coming with you Harry." Neville declared, unperturbed by the raven haired boy's glare. "Let's not waste time arguing. We're going to help you and you need our help."

Harry stared at Neville stonily who stared resolutely back.

"No Neville, you don't need to come. I'll take care of it myself." Harry growled.

Ginny stepped forwards beside Neville and crossed her arms.

It was Luna who settled the matter by drifting breezily out of the door. The mild stand-off dissipated as the DA rushed to follow her. Outside, they encountered hundreds of students fleeing towards their dormitories. A terrified Ravenclaw first year reported seeing a congregation of black-robed people in the Great Hall and the DA moved like a pack downstairs towards that location.

"Stupefy!" Neville shouted as the DA encountered death eaters on the fifth floor. In the resulting fray, Harry, Ron and Hermione became separated from the others and found themselves fighting to hold off death eaters on the fourth floor.

Ron winced as a cutting curse grazed his leg. He stumbled, almost falling into Harry who was still casting from behind the statue of Merlin.

"There's too many of them!" Hermione yelled again. "Harry, we have to get out of here! Retreat!"

Harry glanced around. They were being peppered by spells; running out from the safety of their protections would leave them defenceless. But at the same time, Harry knew that Hermione was right too. Harry grimaced with indecision when the death eaters were suddenly attacked from behind by another black-robed figure.

The trio prepared to attack when the figure lowered his hood, revealing himself as Snape. Harry was wrong. There was still an Order member left at Hogwarts.

"Get out of here Potter. The Dark Lord is coming." Snape ordered. "He has obtained a device which breaks down Anti-Apparition wards. The castle's wards have fallen. The Dark Lord is apparating onto the grounds now."

As death eaters began to regroup at the far end of the corridor, Snape pushed Harry out of the way, towards the staircase the trio had previously descended from. Snape pivoted, creating covering fire for Ron and Hermione to flee.

"So what do we bloody do now?" Ron panted.

Harry had no idea.

Hermione thought quickly. "Let's get the DA and get back to the Room of Requirement. At the least the death eaters won't know how to find us there."

Harry, Ron and Hermione sprinted upwards, bursting onto the fifth floor. Much fewer death eaters had breached this level. The DA were scattered in small group skirmishes. Harry ran through them, screaming at his schoolmates to 'get back to the room' while occasionally stopping to aim at a masked death eater.

Harry continued his charge into the sixth floor. However, Harry was startled when he spotted Luna tangle a death eater in ropes accompanied by three girls he didn't recognise – two with black hair and a brunette.

The brunette introduced herself in French. "Nous sommes les etudiants de Beauxbatons."

"Nicola!" One of the raven haired girls, Suzy, snapped, slapping her friend, Nicola on the arm.

"Parle anglais sil vous plait." The other demanded, exasperated.

Nicola sighed. "Alice, don't be rude."

There was a brief silence which was broken by Luna.

"They're exchange students from Beauxbatons." She explained. "Just now, I saw Suzy hit Nicola on the head with an umbrella so I asked them to help us out…And I wanted to find out why she had an umbrella."

"Don't worry, they're just as sane as I am."

Harry gaped at her.

"We're insane, not sane." Alice commented.

Hermione caught up, catching the tail end of the conversation. "Well, let's just get going."

Harry led the DA up to the seventh floor and hurried to the Room of Requirement's entrance.

We need a place that will be safe from Voldemort. We need a place that will be safe from Voldemort. We need a place that will be safe from Voldemort.

A/N: Reviews please?