A/N: Hello! It's been a bit, but we entered a new term so therefore I'm back with a different themed story. This one's a bit different from what I'm used to, it's a bit of a crossover for me in little more than one way.

For this first assignment, I did the lesson for History of Magic.

Task: ii. Write about Merlin's first encounter with Arthur and/or Morgana

Prompts: 1.(object) sword

2. (word) betrayal

3. (setting) forest

4. (time) twilight

Word Count: 1,215

Now, to clarify some things: Not only does this take place in the world of Harry Potter, but there are things stuck in to make it work from the world of Arthurian legends and from the world of Merlin and from the world of Excalibur (a ballet created by a company that I've sort of danced with at their school created). Merlin is older in this but not quite as old as he appears in T.H. White's book, which is where most of my information comes from. Morgana/Morgan is around 13 or 14 here, so it should be assumed Arthur (or Wart) would be around 10 or so even though he isn't in this story. I made it so Morgana was raised by the Lady of the Lake as it was played off in the ballet I mentioned earlier. And I also stuck in the name Emrys, which is certainly original to the legends but also used in the show, Merlin.

Whoof, so yeah, that's where a lot of this story comes into play. There's not as much Harry Potter as many would have liked, but since it was History of Magic, I didn't think many cared. Aside from the ability to use a wand and to Disapparate, I figured it was okay to make it a little more to the legends than I normally would if it were, say, taking place with Harry himself. Hope it works!

A clock struck seven in the evening at the back of Merlin's mind as he traipsed through the trees of the dark woods. What little light that remained in the day shone brightly in certain spots, or where the canopy would allow. He held his intentions to himself, moving as quietly as was possible. There was never a good way to prevent one from being heard no matter how invisible they believed themselves to be.

The wise old man stopped suddenly. Though the brush lay thick against the trunks, noises were quite easy to hear from anywhere within the forest. Someone was moving near him. Archimedes gave a soft hoot from his master's shoulder as the figure of a very young woman emerged.

"And who is wandering through my forest at these hours?" She spoke with the voice of a kitten, sharpened with the tongue of a snake.

"No one who is unknown to thou, Morgana. No one who is unknown to thee in the least."

"What does the great Emrys have with my doings?"

He turned a quiet eye to her, analyzing her, "Only what I think you should listen to, for I have seen your dark actions."

"Why cloak yourself as an old man, Emrys? I would like to know all of your intentions. I have heard a great deal about you. I find it hard to believe that such a person as you would simply come to check on things." Morgan Le Fey glared at him.

With a soft whisper, he shed his temporary cover as an old, wizened man, and returned to his current, slightly younger age, of around 45 or so. Her young face seemed shocked that he was not as she had exactly anticipated.

"Let us sit and ponder over greater things, young woman." Merlin said.

His wand emerged from where he had concealed it in his robes, and he made for them a place to sit. A little table sat between two ornate chairs, creating a pleasant little picture for a possibly less pleasant meeting. Morgan sat across from him, still eyeing him as though he had danger to show her.

"Now, I must address my reasons for seeking you out," he pulled out a long object covered in a soft cloth, "I do not come into anyone else's territory for any other reason than to inform."

"I do not understand. What is that object you have?"
"You are very young, Morgana. I do not expect you to have seen the wonders of the world. This is the sword that you will fear one day, that many will fear one day. I have been gifted it to hide it away for years to come. You do not yet know of it's wonders - truthfully, neither do I, really. I have only been told what I am supposed to know about it. And you must make a promise to me - please do not go back on what I say here - that you will make sure this returns to safe hands."

"How am I supposed to take care of it?" She was not but a young teenager, only 13 or 14. He did not expect her to know much of the world around her.

"I have met you here today because you are meant to deliver this to a lake that I expect will be very familiar to you. You are the only one who can truly take this to its rightful place right now. I am unable to enter the grounds of Hogwarts -"

"You want me to take this to that school? Emrys, I have never yet entered the grounds of Hogwarts. I do not understand how I am supposed to enter those grounds!"

Merlin shook his head, "Morgana, you have entered those grounds. But you have never realized it. That very lake you have seen so much in dreams in the past years is the lake you grew up next to. In it lay the Lady of the Lake. She has been known to move her positions in years past, but for now, and for a long while she has been, in Hogwarts."

A quiet moment was held as Morgana realized much. Her long dark hair swayed as she began to moan quietly, shaking her head. It was as if she did not want to hear what she thought was all a lie made up by her own mind. A tool for fixing things that should not have been.

"This is Excalibur." Merlin said, placing the long sword on the table. "I mean to give it to you with all the intents of you handing it to the Lady of the Lake. From there, you must forget completely that the sword ever existed, until the day when it comes to matter much to us all. It must be erased from your memory. That is why I will be watching as you do this act of mercy."

"Who is going to claim it, Emrys? Who are you speaking of?" For one who had just met him, she was brave to question his logic.

"One who will be known as the Savior of us all. One you may come to know in all sorts of manners. But I shall not speak of the future any longer. You must be gone now, and quick, to the lake!"

Thrusting the sword at her, he made sure she had a grip on it before letting go.

Questions filled the young girl's eyes as he waved his wand and the table and chairs disappeared. Merlin hated to see such confusion like this - but he did not waver. Morgana was the one to bestow the great sword to the Lady, as it was foretold years ago. She did not even remember her own childhood, the poor child, yet he was certain she recalled something of a lake and a woman.

Before she ran, she looked back at him, "How do I forget?"

"Take that sword. Go to the grounds of Hogwarts. Give it to the Lady, and leave the grounds. I promise that as soon as you step out of the place, you will immediately forget all that happened. To ever speak of the sword again would be of the utmost betrayal to all of our futures, young lady." He spoke sternly. "Go, quickly!"

Black hair flowing fast behind her, Morgana began to run from the forest. They were not far from Hogwarts; that is why he had sought her out at such a time of day as the twilight era, as it would be dark soon.

Merlin watched her leave. For their first encounter, he thought it hadn't been all that horrible. She was quite a funny little girl now, it was a shame that would ever change.

"Soon enough, the Lady will move from her current location. The true owner of the sword will still not find it from her, but from his own mistakes being made when she disposes of it on to a stranger. Excalibur will live on."

With these words, Merlin disapparated on the spot when he was no longer able to see the young girl with her heavy package, running to the grounds of a school unaware of its holy inhabitant and the future they all held in their hearts.