A/N: So this is going to be kind of a long author's note, but PLEASE READ because it's important. I've already received so much support from just one chapter, so to anyone who's actually taken the time to read this, thank you. When I started this story, I wrote the first chapter and then realized I didn't have a plot for this story at all; hence the long break. I have since come up with a plot, BUT because of this I am changing the timing of the story. Originally I set this in s5 of Merlin and Book 5 of HP. I am sticking with s5 of Merlin because Mordred will play an important role in the story, but I am switching to Book 1 of HP. Nothing about chapter 1 of the story has changed, but when they arrive at Hogwarts Harry, Ron, and Hermionie will be in first year. Now, without further ado, let's get on with chapter 2.

I don't own Merlin or Harry Potter

Chapter 2

Merlin's POV

Gaius woke me up at the crack of dawn.

"Merlin, you're going to be late." I mumbled something and tried to roll over, but Gaius stopped me. "It's almost time for you to leave," he said urgently. Immediately I shot up.

"The trip!" Today was the day we were leaving to go investigate the magic school. An entire school, just for magic users. The idea was such a foreign concept, I could barely wrap my mind around it. I quickly grabbed the bag I had packed last night and ran to Arthur's room. He was already up and dressed when I arrived.

"Look who finally managed to dress himself," I quipped. He threw a cup at me which I easily dodged.

"You're late," he frowned. "You were supposed to be here with my breakfast half an hour ago." I shrugged, unapologetically. Arthur sighed. "Just go prepare the horses."

"Right away, sire," I said, making sure to make the use of his title sound both sarcastic and respectful, something I'd perfected over the years. Even though I didn't look back at him as I left, I could practically hear him rolling his eyes.

When I arrived at the stables, I found Mordred already there, grooming his own horse. He looked up at me when I arrived.

"Hello, Emrys," he greeted. I shifted uncomfortably at his use of my druidic name.

"I've told you, Mordred, just call me Merlin." He looked down and was silent for a while. I had begun saddling Arthur's horse when he spoke again.

"Arthur knows about me," he said quietly. "Who I used to be." His wording threw me off guard.

"Used to be?" I questioned. "Do you not consider yourself a druid anymore?"

"I don't see how I can," he replied. "I've strayed so far from their teachings, I mean, look at me now! I'm a knight of Camelot!" I didn't know how to respond to him, so instead I focused on a difficult buckle. Eventually, he spoke again.

"Arthur's sending me back to the druids. He wants me to ask them about this school." I was surprised at that.

"He's sending you alone?" Mordred nodded. He opened his mouth to speak again, hesitated, and closed it. I was about to ask what was wrong, but at that moment the knights and Arthur showed up.

"Alright, everybody, let's go," Arthur said, swinging himself up onto the horse I was holding steady for him. The rest of us mounted our own horses, and we rode off without another word.

Mordred's POV

I hung back as we rode, preoccupied with thoughts of my upcoming mission. The other knights and King Arthur were chattering about a recent tournament (that the king had won, of course), but I couldn't focus on what they were saying. Emrys must have noticed how zoned-out I was, because he held back to ride next to me.

'What's wrong, Mordred?' he spoke into my mind. I hesitated before responding.

'I'm just worried about going back. What if they reject me?'

'The druids?' I shot him an incredulous look.

'Who else would I be talking about?' He held his hands up in defense.

'Sorry, it's just, have you ever known the druids to reject anybody?' I paused and thought about what he'd said before slowly shaking my head.

'I suppose not, but there's a first time for everything.'

'Mordred, stop stressing about this. No matter what you're doing now, you were one of them once. They won't let that go, and neither should you.' I was about to respond to him, when Gwaine shouted from up ahead.

"Hey slowpokes! Hurry it up, would you?" We both increase our speed and quickly caught up with the rest of the group. We'd stopped at a fork in the road.

"Well Mordred," Arthur began, "I believe this is where we part."

"Hang on, part? Mordred not coming with us?" Elyan questioned.

"No. Mordred has his own mission. I'm sending him to go speak with the druids to try and learn more about this magical school."

"Hang on, sire," Leon spoke up. "Why him? And why are you sending him by himself?" Arthur looked at me, clearly asking if I was ok with the knights knowing about my secret. I looked them over. I knew that Leon would never tell anyone if Arthur asked him not to, and the same applied to Elyan. Percival never said much to anyone, and Gwaine, though he could be somewhat rowdy at times, was a good friend, and I trusted him to keep my secret.

"It's because I used to be a druid," I said, answering Leon's questions. The knights turned to look at me. I focused on the ground, not wanting to see their responses. Thankfully, Arthur spoke up.

"For obvious reasons, I would like to keep this under wraps. I can count on all of you not to tell anyone?" Leon was the first to answer.

"Of course, sire." Elyan nodded in agreement, though I could still see a slight wariness in his eyes.

"Mordred's secret is safe with me," Percival said.

"Absolutely," Gwaine added.

"Good," Arthur said. "In that case, good luck on your journey, Mordred."

"Thank you sire," I said, before riding off down the east-bound path towards the druid camps.

Merlin's POV

We watched Mordred ride off on his own for a short time before Arthur commanded us to keep moving. My earlier talk with Mordred was still echoing in my head. Kilgarrah had warned me time and time again about the evil Mordred was going to end up being, but after what he'd just said to me, I was having trouble seeing it. He was so worried about still belonging with the druids, despite being a knight. Suddenly, I was reminded of the crystal cave. When I visited I saw images of the future, and in trying to prevent them I instead ended up causing them. Maybe I was being too cautious with Mordred, blaming him for something he hasn't done yet, and may not ever do. I resolved to try and talk to him more after this mission.

Up ahead of me, Gwaine was driving Arthur crazy.

"Are we there yet?"

"For the last time, Gwaine, we get there when we get there, and we most certainly are not there yet," Arthur replied, barely keeping it together. "I'd say we have at least a days more ride ahead of us, and that's if absolutely nothing happens between here and there that would slow us down." Of course, the moment he said that, I caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of my eye. Leon must have seen it the same moment I did.

"Sire," he warned. Arthur barely had time to look up before they were on us. The knights quickly drew their swords and began to make quick work of the bandits. At one point, I noticed a man in a tree with a crossbow, but it only took a thought to snap the branch he was sitting on and send him tumbling to the ground. Besides that minor interference from me, the knights had the situation completely handled. It wasn't long before all of the bandits were either dead, severely wounded, or retreating, and there wasn't even a scratch on any member of our group. No one had even ever dismounted.

"Right then," Arthur said, wiping his blade with a spare piece of cloth, "let's keep going, shall we?" The rest of us agreed, and we kept riding on.

Mordred's POV

After separating from the group, I rode by myself for a few hours before I started to hear whispers at the back of my mind. I knew from experience that this meant I was getting close to a large settlement of magic users. The druid camp was nearby. It wasn't much longer before I started to see tents. A few children were playing nearby. They looked up when I rode past. I'd made sure to take off my Pendragon red cape, but I was still wearing my chainmail and armor.

As I got closer to the heart of the camp, the tents grew closer and closer together. A man was waiting for me in the center. I dismounted and walked the last few steps towards him.

"Mordred, welcome home," he greeted me.

"Iseldir," I responded, recognizing him instantly. "I'm not here to stay."

"I had assumed as much," he started walking towards one of the tents, prompting me to follow. "What can I do for you?" We arrived at the tent and I tied my horse to a nearby tree before following him inside.

"Well," I began, "I don't know if you know, but I'm currently… that is, I'm a knight of Camelot."

"I'd heard," he responded, calmly. I was surprised for a moment. He didn't hate me? Then I remembered I had a job to do.

"Right. Anyway, the other day, a man came to Arthur and told him about this castle in the middle of the woods where children were doing magic, and it reminded me of that old story about the magic school with students from the future."

"So you came here to ask if I knew any more about that?" Iseldir guessed.

"Yes," I admitted.

"In that case, I don't believe I can help you. I don't know any more than you do about this legend."

"What? You don't know?" I was shocked. Iseldir always seemed like he knew everything about everything.

"No, I don't." I was about to speak again when he held up a hand and cut me off. "But, I know somebody who does."

Merlin's POV

The rest of the trip went smoothly after the bandits. We stopped for the night in a small clearing and kept riding the next morning. As we got closer to our destination, I felt anticipation welling up inside me. We were only planning to observe, but we would be observing sorcerers from the future! I wondered how different the kind of magic they did would be from the kind we know now.

Arthur, however, was getting noticeably quieter with every step.

"What's up?" I asked.

"I've just been thinking," he began.

"Don't hurt yourself," I teased, hoping it would snap him out of whatever mood he was getting into. He frowned and threw an apple from the pack strapped to his saddle at me, but I could tell my plan had worked.

"So what exactly have you been thinking oh so hard about?" I asked.

"Do you think I'm making the right choice? By trying to investigate this magic school peacefully, I mean." I pondered the best way to respond.

"I think," I began slowly, "that investigating is definitely better than charging in blindly." He nodded, but I could tell that he was still questioning his decision. "You are the king, Arthur," I reminded him. "If you believe that remaining peaceful is best for your kingdom, then it is the right choice." Just then, we arrived at the edge of the trees. There, right in the middle of the woods, just where we were told it would be, was a giant castle.

"Whoa," Gwaine breathed. Whoa was definitely the correct word to describe it. Looking at it now, I was amazed we hadn't ever seen it before. I supposed there must be enchantments placed over it that prevented anyone from seeing it from a distance, otherwise there would have been no way of missing it, even from a distance.

"Look," Percival pointed. Nearby, there was a lake, and under a tree next to the lake a red-headed boy was reading. That's not what Percival had pointed towards, though. What he'd brought our attention to, was the two other redheads creeping up behind him with handfuls of mud. In unison, they sprang, both landing direct shots to his face before running off. He shouted angrily after them, but didn't pursue. Instead, he grabbed some sort of stick and waved it in the direction of his face, muttering something as he did so. To my astonishment, as well as the astonishment of the others, the mud vanished without a trace.

"Magic," Arthur whispered, though he didn't sound angry or accusing. We stayed silent after that, none of us knowing what to say.