A/N: Wel, you can thank my aunt's evil computer for this chapter. After hours of searching for Merlin Season 2, I finally found a site that would play in Brazil… Only to find that the computer's sound system isn't working, God knows why. So I decided "Fanfic it is, then!".
A/N 2: Just fyi, Hermione is from an au of the book cannon. Hermione was spending her 7th year at Hogwarts with Harry, Ron, and the rest of the non-graduated DA members. I am not yet sure if Dumbledore and Sirius are alive or dead, but you can ignore most of Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows.
Hermione entered the dining hall, which reminded her of a smaller version of the Great Hall back at Hogwarts. Instead of the many tables however, this hall had only one. It was a massive, extremely long table made of a dark wood, which held silver and brass plates, goblets and candles, with space for what Hermione could only assume would be filled by the food once everyone was settled.
At the head of the table sat a middle aged man, with brown hair peppered with grey. Arthur sat to his right, and Merlin stood behind him.
"You can sit with me, Hermione," Morgana said quietly, leading her to the seats beside the king on his left.
"Ah, Lady Hermione! Father, this is the young woman I was telling you about!" Arthur exclaimed happily when he saw Hermione trailing behind Morgana.
"Lady Granger. I must admit I have never heard of your lands or your family before. Please, sit. Tell us about your home. Why have you travelled so far to Camelot?" King Uther asked her as she sat down, and motioned to a servant to begin bringing in the food.
"Oh. Um, let's see. I'm from a village called Hogsmeade in the kingdom of Hogwarts. I had to come across the sea, from the mainland to reach Camelot, that's how far my home is. I'd never seen the sea before, or even heard of it until I came to the shore where I took the boat that brought me here. I'm the daughter of a Duke, but I live in a small village. You see, our kingdom is in danger of being overrun by a dark sorcerer known as Voldemort.
He was a Baronet in our King's court, but he turned to the Dark Arts in search of power. He's become all but invincible, and has increasing support, as the only choices he gives are to join him or be killed. He has been killing all the nobility, we don't know why. My friends and I, being children of the nobility of highest rank, were sent to Hogsmeade for protection.
Recently, we received word Voldemort had killed my parents and learned of our whereabouts, so each of us left in opposite directions, attempting to get as far from the kingdom as we possibly could. My companion, my faithful servant Dobby, was killed by Voldemort as we fled the outskirts of the kingdom. I barely made it out with my life."
"You have my greatest sympathy, Lady Granger. We share your views on sorcery here at Camelot, and you are welcome to stay here for as long as you believe you require before it is safe for you to return," King Uther said.
"Your land forbids magic?" Hermione asked surprisedly. What was the world coming to? Merlin and Guinevere were servants; magic wasn't allowed… what next? Merlin and Morgana weren't really sorcerers?
"That surprises you?" Uther replied.
"A little. I don't know why. After all, there are no sorcerers running about."
"Indeed not. Sorcery is outlawed in Camelot. Sorcerers and anyone caught helping them are to be put to death, under our laws. You need not fear magic while in my kingdom."
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Hermione had been given a room by Morgana's own bedroom. That night, lying in bed, she contemplated what she would do now. With magic being forbidden, she could hardly ask Merlin or Morgana for help, in case the legends had got that wrong as well. She couldn't outright ask for help, and couldn't even use her magic when alone, in case someone caught her.
After much tossing and turning, she fell into a fretful but dreamless sleep, only waking when the sun managed to sneak through the window and warm her face. Soon after waking, Gwen came in to help her dress, and lead her to the hall for breakfast.
The morning was turning out to be rather boring. As a noble, she was not expected to do any work other than painting, sewing, or arranging flowers. Hermione had never been good at crafts. By mid morning she had taken to wandering the castle, exploring its enormity and praying for something, anything, to do. Walking down a torch lit windowless corridor, she saw a semi open door with a warm light filtering through. Peeking through the crack, she saw an old man, hard at work at making some sort of potion. Potions. Now, this she could do!
She knocked gently. The older man looked up surprised, smiling softly when he saw her lingering by the door.
"Ah, come in my dear! There's no need to be shy. You must be the visitor from far away I've heard so much about. I'm Gaius, the court Physician."
"I'm sorry, I was walking through the corridor, and the door was open. I saw you were mixing potions, and I couldn't help but be intrigued... I've always had a knack for it myself… I'm sorry for intruding, I can see you're hard at work," Hermione said shily.
"Nonsense!" Gaius said happily, "it's never a bother to make new friends, especially from someone interested in potion-making. Feel free to drop by anytime, if ever you need anything. I was just preparing some liverwort balm. It does wonders for healing headaches. Would you like to help?"
Hermione's face lit up at his offer, and the morning then flew by, with Gaius teaching her not only how to make the liverwort balm, but also how to make a potion to help with one's eyesight, and how to tell the difference between St. Peter's wort and St. John's wort. She begun attempting to reproduce the balm she had helped the elderly physician make, when Merlin burst through the door.
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"Gaius, I have to eat quickly today, Arthur wants me to help him practice his sparring, then I'm sure he'll want me to clean the swords, you know how he gets when –" Merlin cut himself off when he saw who Gaius had in his company.
The odd young noblewoman he and Arthur had rescued from the forest stood by the physician's work table, a vile of purple liquid in one hand and a small iron measuring spoon in the other, hair tied back in a messy knot.
She looked just as surprised to find him here as he was to find her. She was here, in his home.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were with somewone. Lady Hermione, how are you? You look much better rested," he started babbling.
Hermione blushed, "I'm fine, thank you. Please, call me just Hermione. Lady Hermione just seems so… formal."
"Very well. Erm, lunch should be served shortly, so perhaps you might want to leave now if you don't want to miss it. I could take you if you want."
"Thank you. I'm bound to get lost if I go by myself," she said with a laugh, "Gaius, may I come back to help you after lunch?"
"Of course."
Hermione put down the vial and spoon, and turned to Merlin, indicating for him to lead the way.
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A/N: Tadaaaa! Chapter three! I hope everyone's liking the story so far. Thank you for the lovely reviews. =) It makes me run around the house bragging to everyone who'll listen. XD Chapter four may take a bit longer because it's being very stubborn. Then again, I might get a sudden flash of genius and get it to work with me. ;-)
