Title: Intrigue [Merlin/Harry Potter crossover] (7/?)
Word count: 7,428
Characters/Pairings: Merlin/Arthur, Harry, Hermione, Ron/Luna, Draco/Ginny
Spoilers: Harry Potter ~ takes place about three years after the final battle
Merlin ~ A week after "Le Morte D'Arthur" (Series 1 finale)
Disclaimer: The show "Merlin" is property of the BBC. Harry Potter is the property of Warner Bros. and J.K. Rowling. I don't own the show "Misfits" either. No money being made.
Summary: Arthur and Merlin, unwittingly, go forward in time and they find themselves in the wizarding world. In the wizarding world, Merlin is god. But, what he doesn't know is that there's a secret hiding in plain sight. And it's about to be unraveled.
Chapter summary: With Luna, Merlin and Arthur go to Diagon Alley wherein they meet Harry's godson, Teddy. Merlin learns more about his future selves at Flourish & Blotts.
Upon realizing Hermione's true identity, Ron proceeds to freak out...
A/N: There was a question regarding how an immortal incarnation of Merlin (aka Nathan) could have another incarnation follow him.
I explained this in Chapter 6, but basically, a person needs to die for the same person (in a different body/form) to be reborn. After gaining his immortality, Nathan has already died at least once, so his first death caused the reincarnation process to continue along with the next incarnation of Merlin, that is, Hermione, being reborn in 1979. The way it goes here in the story is that Nathan can still actually die, but the death is only temporary since he comes back to life due to his immortality.
The reincarnation process will proceed with Hermione when she dies. But any more times that Nathan has died will not result in another incarnation of Merlin being reborn - Nathan is done, essentially. He has been removed from the reincarnation process since Hermione exists and she's mortal, so she can insure another incarnation of Merlin will be reborn after her death (and upon her successor's death, the next Merlin will be reborn and so on…).
So Nathan is still an incarnation of Merlin with the uniqueness of being the only immortal one. He has another important difference that will be ventured into within the story.
Also, a reminder that this story takes place only a week after the S1 finale, so Merlin at this point in time, doesn't know anything about his father. His future incarnations though are, of course, a different matter.
Chapter Title: Heart's Desire
Arthur and Merlin went to see Diagon Alley with Luna. Hermione apologized that she couldn't take them, but there were things that she had to attend to. She assured them that it didn't have to do with them being incapable of setting off on their own.
Unfortunately since they were so well-known within the wizarding world – Merlin especially – that it was a necessary evil to have a 'guide' to accompany them. And anyway, they would probably be confused by where to go within this world – it was ultimately the wisest decision to not leave Arthur and Merlin to their own devices.
Arthur was more frustrated about the situation, feeling rather trapped in this time and place. He wished he were back in Camelot, back home, and not being forced to be escorted around because he didn't know this strange place. On the other hand, Merlin didn't mind how they got to Diagon Alley or with whom – as long as he had the chance to see an actual part of the wizarding world. Where others like him – that is, those who possessed magic – went to shop for goods. He was excited to see the magic-containing items that were available.
Luna Apparated all of them straight to Diagon Alley, saying that they'd be too overwhelmed by the modern appearance of the Muggle World with all the vehicles and modern conventions. Merlin was intrigued by seeing the changes of this future time, but Arthur was personally relieved to not see anything that would unnerve him. So to be in Diagon Alley was comforting, almost familiar, with its cobblestoned streets and quaint storefronts.
Diagon Alley was not too busy during the early afternoon time. Luna told them it was a bit busier over the summer when children were on holiday from school. As it was now, school had begun a few weeks ago and that had left a slight lull in the activity at Diagon Alley.
When Luna mentioned Quality Quidditch Supplies, where they could see the flying brooms used to play Quidditch, Merlin was all for it.
Arthur was interested as well. After all, he couldn't deny being curious about a magical sport that involved a broom being able to fly. Ron's discussion of Quidditch had piqued his interest for better or for worse.
Before they could enter the store, an older woman with a small brown-haired boy at her heels approached them.
"Hello, Luna dear," the woman greeted her with a quiet smile.
The young boy - who couldn't be more than three years of age, maybe almost four - stood there staring at both Merlin and Arthur. His gaze kept returning to Merlin, Arthur noticed and he frankly wasn't surprised. Merlin was more well-known in this world of magic after all. Children must have been told stories all about Merlin – not just his incarnations, but the Merlin Arthur knew – the "original" Merlin apparently. At least as far as Arthur was aware, he didn't believe his Merlin had been reincarnated.
"How are you, Mrs. Tonks?" Luna said to her graciously. She embraced the older woman, Mrs. Tonks, reminding her that Luna could call her Dromeda, none of this formality nonsense.
"And these must be the pre-reincarnated Merlin and Arthur," Dromeda concluded. Then she gently reprimanded the boy, "Teddy sweetheart, staring is just as impolite as pointing."
The boy, Teddy, nodded. "Yes, Grandmother. I'm sorry. Is that really the first Merlin though?" He wondered in amazement.
Merlin had never elicited a reaction of such awe. He cherished the moment while it lasted.
Luna introduced them. "Oh yes, he is," she answered Teddy. "Merlin, Arthur; this is Andromeda Tonks, Dromeda for short," she told the pair.
Merlin and Arthur smiled politely back at her.
Andromeda looked pleased to see them. She put her hand on the boy's head. "And this little one is my grandson, Teddy."
Luna informed them. "Harry is Teddy's godfather."
"My mummy and daddy died in the war. They're in heaven now," Teddy said a little sadly.
Merlin's heart went out to the boy – being orphaned at such a young age was terribly unfortunate.
"That was during the final battle three years ago," Luna informed them. "The one where Harry defeated Voldemort once and for all."
"My daughter, Nymphadora, and her husband, Remus, died as heroes fighting against Voldemort's forces. Teddy should be very proud," Mrs. Tonks said with feeling. She sighed, her eyes momentarily downcast before she faced them with a small smile. "But Harry has been so helpful. He's a good man, and I couldn't ask for a better godfather for Teddy. Even though he does like to spoil Teddy rotten," she confided, looking like she didn't mind the spoiling much at all. She ruffled Teddy's hair affectionately.
Teddy grinned at Merlin and Arthur. "Could I have your names on paper?" He asked them.
"Your first autographs," Luna declared with a smile. "Normally I don't think it'd be a wise idea since it would lead to a crowd assailing you two with the same request. Yet since it's Teddy…" she trailed off.
Merlin wondered how Harry would react if he'd found out that Merlin and Arthur had turned down his godson's request for their signatures. If Harry indulged the boy – understandable considering Teddy's situation – then he certainly wouldn't be pleased about the refusal.
Either way, Merlin couldn't possibly think of rejecting a simple request from a small boy.
"I'd be more than happy to do it," Merlin said, smiling warmly at Teddy.
Arthur shrugged. "All right. I'll do it too."
Teddy's grandmother retrieved a small notebook and a quill from her purse. "I truly appreciate you two doing this. It's such a rare occurrence to have a visit from such well-known figures from the long ago past. You'll be making Teddy's day."
Merlin took the notebook and quill offered to him and he signed his name on the blank sheet of paper, addressing it, "To Teddy."
Arthur then signed his name below Merlin's. He gave the notebook and quill to Teddy, who smiled when he saw the names.
Andromeda took the notebook and quill back from her grandson, and Teddy couldn't help hugging Merlin.
Surprised, Merlin returned the gesture, patting him on the head.
Arthur had always thought Merlin's friendly demeanor came through without him even making a real effort. And anyone even children was taken in by Merlin's usual cheerfulness. Arthur counted himself a part of that group – there was just something so charming about Merlin that had even Arthur wanting to keep him around.
Yet upon discovering that Merlin possessed magic, Arthur couldn't deny that his opinion of Merlin was now conflicted. He needed more time, which he didn't think he could get here in the wizarding world. He felt like he was being forced to accept Merlin now because to reject Merlin in this world would prove disastrous for him. Arthur hated being trapped like this, but he could do little about it at the moment.
"Thank you!" Teddy said to the both of them with a big smile.
His grandmother said her farewells to the three of them, and taking Teddy by the hand, she walked away with him.
Luna led them inside the Quality Quidditch Supplies shop. After they got a firsthand look at all the equipment involved in the sport – particularly the flying stylish-looking brooms on display – Luna suggested that Merlin would like to go to Flourish and Blotts, a bookshop with a section on Merlin.
She left Merlin at Flourish and Blotts with Aidan, a shop employee she was friends with. Luna told Arthur about a shop he'd be interested in. The shop carried ancient magical weaponry with an emphasis on medieval weapons. Arthur was enticed enough to check out the magical weaponry shop with Luna. Merlin was all too happy to look into what he could learn about his future incarnations at the bookshop.
Aidan was helpful and quite easy to talk to. As Merlin surveyed the section on himself and his future incarnations, Aidan informed him that in actuality, there had been only seven incarnations of Merlin after him – the original Merlin. Though technically, it was more like six since the current incarnation's identity was a mystery.
Merlin found it somewhat ironic that with all the magical possibilities of this world, no one could pinpoint Hermione – a close friend of a well-known figure within the wizarding world – as the current incarnation. But he held his tongue knowing that Hermione still wished to have her true identity remain a secret.
He learned that his first incarnation was Merlyn who was best known for his prophetic abilities and impressive artistic talent. Thanks to his mastery of art, his first incarnation designed the original interior appearance of the Crystal Palace.
Merlin hadn't expected to learn that he would build the foundational structure of this palace later on in his pre-reincarnated life – the life he was living now. And his successive incarnations continued to work on the Crystal Palace beginning with his first incarnation's, that is, Merlyn's artistic vision.
Each incarnation of Merlin added their personal touches to their respective bedrooms. He wondered if Hermione had her own bedroom in the Crystal Palace as well.
"Each incarnation of yours has a different personality," Aidan explained to Merlin. "No matter if at heart, each is essentially the same person, they are still individuals with their own eccentricities and preferences."
"What were the names of my incarnations following Merlyn?" Merlin asked him.
"Well," Aidan began smoothly, pleased to show off what he knew. "Let's see: there was Edmund, then Artemis, Myrddin, Caspian, and Nathan. The current one is still unknown, but I personally think we're due for a second female incarnation of Merlin. What do you think?" Aidan asked Merlin.
Merlin was so thrown off by the question that he almost stumbled over his words. He didn't think anyone would be considering that the current Merlin would be a female. Then again, it had been centuries since Artemis, so Merlin could understand that some might speculate that another female Merlin would be born.
"I uh… I think it makes sense. Though with the trend being one female compared to five males, then it seems less likely," Merlin said slowly.
Aidan nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, yes. You're right. Ah well. I just think it'd be interesting to have a female incarnation of you in this modern age. Don't mind my speculation. I can't help it sometimes," he confided in Merlin a bit sheepishly.
Merlin smiled back at him reassuringly. "That's okay. You have a right to think whatever you like."
"Thank you," Aidan said to him. He continued on, "Now there were sometimes long gaps of time when the wizarding world was without a Merlin. Reincarnation is a tricky process and for some incarnations, it took decades for them to be reborn after their predecessor died. I believe the gap in time between Merlyn's death and Edmund's birth was the longest."
"So wizards can survive without a Merlin around," Merlin concluded.
"Well yes…I suppose so," Aidan acknowledged, sounding a bit unsettled by Merlin's conclusion. "Magic can do nothing to make the reincarnation process more agreeable. But of course, wizards feel much better, maybe safer, when a living incarnation of Merlin resides at the Crystal Palace and resumes his official role within our world. It makes most wizards feel like our world is protected from the forces of darkness such as Voldemort. Fortunately, Harry Potter killed him. Good thing there was a prophecy in his favour, I say."
Merlin nodded distractedly. "Yes, I agree with you there," he said. He honestly felt like he was being watched.
Then a familiar voice spoke inside his head. He couldn't mistake the voice for Nathan's as it had that undeniable Irish lilt to it.
"Hey, I'm nearby and invisible, so just act normally."
"Are you watching out for me?" Merlin silently wondered, unable to avoid the touch of annoyance in his tone. He had magic and he could look after himself well enough even in this future time.
"No, of course not," Nathan countered easily. "I just happened to wander into the bookshop and…oh, this is perfect!"
"What?" Merlin asked silently in return, curious to know what Nathan had discovered.
"It's a cookbook with recipes for chocolate lovers. My life is complete," Nathan said in a mock serious tone of voice. As if sensing Merlin's discontent, Nathan assured him, "All right. Just pretend I'm not here. I'll stop talking to you."
"Thank you," Merlin told him.
After that, Merlin felt the mental communication quiet between them.
Merlin knew what he wanted to ask Aidan now. "Aidan, could you tell me more about Nathan? What was he like?"
Aidan appeared momentarily surprised at the question, but he answered easily after he regained his composure. "Oh okay then. Nathan…He was born with the name Nathan Young. From what my parents and grandparents have told me, he was a well-liked incarnation of you. Quite the entertainer, though as all incarnations of you, if you got on his bad side, he let you know it. My grandfather told me that Nathan had a similar personality to Edmund who - during his lifetime during the 1400s - was known as the Mischief-Making Merlin. Nathan was an experimenter as well. It was a shame he went missing in 1971. Most of the wizarding world was enamored with him. Though I think it was largely due to all the great parties he threw at the Crystal Palace, inviting everyone it seemed to these celebrations. My grandparents attended one of his yearly Christmas parties. They thought that the party was absolutely brilliant. But after Nathan went missing, the palace was sealed off from public access. It is believed that Merlin's echoes put the palace under lockdown."
"Wait…what is Christmas?" Merlin inquired, having never heard the word before. "Is that a holiday?"
"I should've remembered that you may not be aware of it," Aidan admonished himself. "It's a winter holiday, specifically. It's akin to celebrating the winter solstice or midwinter, I would say."
Merlin nodded. "I understand now. So he was a good person?" He concluded.
Merlin didn't feel like he knew Nathan that well after only meeting him briefly. That future incarnation of him was an unknown entity…as well as Hermione and all his other future incarnations. They were mysteries to him, and maybe that was the point – he would only properly understand his future selves once he was reborn as them. He couldn't even begin to imagine what they had all gone through.
'Yes, definitely," Aidan assured him. "All your future incarnations are, I believe. I don't know from firsthand experience as I've never met any incarnations of you, but people over the centuries have said the same things about you: that you're friendly and helpful. Some incarnations may have been more serious and no-nonsense, but at the end of the day, they were good-hearted. Of course, Dark wizards may have been against you, as you can understand, but there are always dissidents. You did the best you could to appease as many of our world as possible."
"I'm glad to hear that," said Merlin, grateful to hear that he hadn't had tendencies to practice Dark magic in one of his future lives.
Aidan pulled out a book from the Merlin section and he turned to a page. "Here's a picture of Nathan on his nineteenth birthday in 1970, his last birthday before he went missing. Coincidentally, his birthday was on Christmas Day, so he was known to be especially fond of Christmas. He enjoyed throwing Christmas parties, like the one my grandparents went to. As you can imagine, it was unsurprising that Nathan became known as 'The Christmas Merlin.'"
Merlin looked at the picture of Nathan shown to him in a book entitled, "The Christmas Merlin." The Nathan he had met didn't look much older than this older picture of him. In the picture, Nathan was wearing a grey suit with a silver tie and grey top hat on his head. He was sitting in a dark blue chair and holding a shining silver cane in his hands. The picture was a moving one as all pictures seemed to be in this world and Nathan tipped his top hat forward as Merlin looked at the picture. Then he stood up from his chair and walked out past the picture's edge.
"That was his usual outfit – there were some variations, of course, but he traditionally appeared in public in such a suit. The cane and top hat were eccentric touches. I don't think he really used the cane to aid in walking. Each incarnation had their eccentricities actually."
Merlin thought the outfit looked good on Nathan. And he could understand keeping to the same outfit as he himself didn't have many drastic changes to his wardrobe. He had grown rather comfortable in his daily outfit.
"What about his parents?" Merlin asked.
"That's quite a story there too," Aidan began as he put the book away. "Nathan's father was a pureblood wizard who fell so in love with a Muggle woman that he chose to live in the Muggle World instead of the wizarding world to be with her. After they married, they had a lot of trouble conceiving a child. It became quite a touching story within the wizarding world when they finally had a child, and it ended up being the next incarnation of Merlin. And for the baby to be born on Christmas Day – you can imagine how much celebrating was going on in the Wizarding World in honour of the occasion. 'The Christmas Miracle' he was called."
Learning about Nathan's parents made Merlin think of his own mother back in Ealdor and the absent father he knew nothing about. But his mother had always assured him that she had loved his father very much even though she was quiet on what exactly had happened to him.
"Are his parents still alive?" Merlin wanted to know.
"As far as I know, Nathan's father died when Nathan was young," Aidan informed him. "And most believe that Nathan's mother is still alive, but no one knows where she could be. Nathan cared a lot for his mother as any incarnation of you did…and I would hope he insured she was well-cared for before he went missing." After a thoughtful pause, he added, "After all, she didn't possess any magic and yet she was forced to live in the wizarding world due to her son's importance. It was undoubtedly a shock to her to deal with such a change. I'm sure Nathan realized that and made sure she was comfortable in case anything should happen to him," he confided in Merlin.
"Yes, I would hope so," Merlin agreed.
Curious to find out if Aidan's assumption was correct, Merlin asked Nathan silently – hoping he would answer, "Is your mother all right?"
Fortunately, Nathan did reply, "Oh yeah. She's alive and well. Enjoying her retirement. I just didn't want anyone bothering her so I made sure her location was kept secret." Then he asked suspiciously, "Are you trying to find out as much as you can about me?"
Merlin's "No," in reply was rather unconvincing and he could hear Nathan chuckling inside his head. He told Merlin that he didn't mind the intrusion at all. He then jokingly told him that his favorite colors were a tie between a light grey and dark blue because they reminded him of the night sky.
Merlin met up with Arthur and Luna to eat lunch at one of Diagon Alley's cafes. They sat at a table outside. A brightly colored umbrella shaded the table, though the sun wasn't too bright as it was autumn now.
They were interrupted by Draco approaching them. He looked upset and Merlin wondered if it had to do with him sneezing like he had a cold.
"Taking a trip to Diagon Alley?" Draco asked, but without waiting for an answer, he continued to speak, "I've just been to bloody Antarctica. Do you even realize how cold it is down there? I think I'm going to die."
Luna stared at him, a question in her eyes. "Why were you in Antarctica anyway?"
Draco sneezed again. Frowning, he said bitterly, "It wasn't by choice, mind you. Someone sent me there because I annoyed them…it's always the same with them. And then, the even better part is I was knocked unconscious by the forced magical trip. I couldn't Apparate back home right away. I was lying there in a place known for its freezing temperatures without the bloody proper attire for the better part of an hour. And now, lucky me, I've gotten a cold."
Luna gestured to the empty chair beside her for Draco to sit in. He did. "I'm sorry. At least you made it back safe and sound. The cold will pass," Luna said, hoping to make him feel better.
Draco sniffed in unrelenting irritation. Then he sneezed again, and he asked for Luna for a tissue or handkerchief as his nose was running.
Luna gave him a handkerchief.
"Draco's an incarnation of the dragon your father's currently keeping locked up underneath the castle," Merlin relayed to Arthur.
Arthur stared at Draco then in shock. "How can a dragon be reincarnated in human form?"
Draco answered, "Don't ask me. I didn't want to be reborn as a human. If this is because I need to be taught some lesson, then clearly I got the short end of the stick. Being human is rubbish," he declared. Then he looked at the three humans at the table and he muttered a rather insincere apology. "At least I have magic and wasn't reborn as a magic-less Muggle. And then there's Ginny. She's my fiance, betrothed – whatever word you would use," Draco added on for Merlin and Arthur's benefit.
"Oh you two are like Romeo and Juliet!" Luna exclaimed happily. "Hermione told me all about them."
Draco gave her a blank look. "If that's a Muggle thing, then it went completely over my head."
"It's about star-crossed lovers, feuding families…" she clarified.
Draco wagged his finger at her. "Yes, we have the feuding families part down. Well, that used to be the case…now it's not so much feuding as forced politeness."
Luna turned to Merlin and Arthur, telling them, "Ginny is Ron's younger sister. The Weasleys – Ginny's family – and the Malfoys – Draco's family – have traditionally never liked each other. Both are pureblood families, but well, it's not the situation anymore, but the Weasleys used to be a poor family."
"Because they had too many children," Draco contributed unhelpfully.
"And the Malfoys were wealthy. Not to mention each family held different viewpoints – the Weasleys were more open-minded and accepting of Muggleborns and Muggles while the Malfoys were not."
Merlin wondered, "Then how did you two fall in love despite those obstacles?" He asked Draco.
"It's simple. Ginny used to date Harry Potter, but she soon realized he was too dull for her. So she needed some excitement in her life. Anyway, Harry's in love with Hermione, and her likewise. Those two are just walking on eggshells around each other since they don't want to damage their friendship if things don't work out romantically between them. They're both mad."
"Merlin told me that Harry wanted me to stay away from Hermione," Arthur contributed, now realizing the full reason why Harry had a problem with him. "I didn't know the extent of what was going on between them."
Merlin told the others, "Harry was a little cold toward Arthur after he caught Hermione when she lost her balance. She could have fallen and hurt herself otherwise. It was like he was in Harry's way in helping Hermione."
Draco looked smug. "Exhibit A: jealousy for no good reason."
"But wait. Hermione is-" Merlin didn't want to say that Hermione was an incarnation of him when it was meant to be a secret. He just couldn't say that out loud in case anyone overheard.
Draco appeared to understand what Merlin was trying to suggest. Merlin guessed that Hermione had told Draco about who she truly was when she had pulled him out of the room earlier that day. "Yes, Hermione is a bit neurotic, I agree. All I can say to Harry is, "Good luck with that one, mate. You're going to need it."" Draco declared.
"You're being quite disagreeable, Draco," Luna informed him.
"Am I?" Draco pretended to look dismayed. "I hadn't noticed."
Merlin was offended by Draco saying that Hermione was neurotic. After all, she was an incarnation of him, so he sort of felt that it was an indirect attack on himself.
Unfortunately, Luna was right. Draco continued to be disagreeable.
What more did he expect, Merlin thought, from an incarnation of the Great Dragon or Kilgharrah as his actual name was apparently? Kilgharrah had been more interested in telling cryptic puzzles over compromising with him.
The only thing he could do for the sake of his sanity was to let the complaint go.
During their Auror patrol, Harry and Ron had tracked down a woman believed to be Nimueh's latest incarnation. She looked every bit the part of the femme fatale – beautiful yet dangerous - that Harry recalled seeing in movies and shows. She was donned in a long blood-red silk dress with a dark velvet cloak over the dress. Her nails were equally blood-red and perfectly manicured. And at least in this incarnation, she resembled her original self quite strikingly – wavy dark hair and unforgettable blue eyes.
Harry wondered if she was on her way to a romantic rendezvous considering the make-up she wore and the sweet perfume he could smell on her. But more likely, Nimueh's incarnation was on her way to stab someone to death with the dagger she surely had hidden somewhere on her person.
On that note, they suspected she was in the area due to the original Merlin and Arthur being displaced in time. It was a ripe opportunity for this incarnation of Nimueh to make trouble. The original Merlin had killed Nimueh in her pre-reincarnated life after all. It was natural for her to consider revenge.
Harry placed a binding spell on her to prevent her from making a hasty retreat.
"You're an incarnation of Nimueh. You're cornered, so tell me now why you're here," Harry demanded of her.
He pointed his wand at her, and Ron did the same beside him.
"It's Nimueh, love," Nimueh corrected carelessly, appearing not to mind being caught by two Aurors. "And no. I know what you're thinking. I didn't transport the originals to this present time. Your training is a bit lacking as you should know that not even I – in any life – have the great power needed for that strong of a time travel spell."
"Then who the hell does?" Ron demanded to know.
"I'm certainly not telling you," Nimueh said smugly. "You've given me no reason to tell you. I require payment for this particular piece of information."
Harry's eyes narrowed. "What sort of payment?"
"None either of you could pay," Nimueh said smoothly with a deceptively sweet smile. "Now I haven't done anything wrong. I don't see why I'm being held in such a manner," she protested.
"Where are you going?" Ron asked her.
"Why of course I'm off to meet with one of my evil minions. A very attractive evil minion, I might add," Nimueh said casually, the sarcasm thick in her words.
"Just tell us the truth," Harry said in exasperation.
"I'm returning home. All the way across the pond. I can't possibly cause any trouble here if I'm all the way in Alaska. Now can I?" She said with a suspiciously pleasant smile. "Your little location detector should tell you that."
"You may not have done anything wrong yet, Nimueh," Harry told her. "But don't think I believe you won't be tempted to."
Nimueh smirked at him. "You will let me go, Harry Potter. Or else I will insure Hermione dies a painful, unbearable death. No one escapes me when I have made them a target. You have my word on that."
"You're bluffing," Harry said to her slowly.
"You're such a bitch," Ron said in annoyance.
"Oh no. I'm deathly serious. Even bound like this, I could still carry out my plans. I can contact my subordinates even under this spell, and they will kill whoever I order them to," she said pleasantly. "I saw the brief look in your eyes, Harry Potter. You should just admit that the thought truly worries you, to lose your friend in such a way. But. Oh wait. She doesn't feel like just a friend to you any longer, does she now?" Nimueh asked with a knowing smile.
Harry swallowed. "I'm releasing you," he declared.
Ron gave him an incredulous look. "Harry…seriously? I know you care about Hermione. I do too. I accept the fact if you two become more than friends. But this is bloody Nimueh here. You can't just release her."
Harry rubbed his brow, lowering his wand. "Are you planning to kill the original Merlin?" He asked Nimueh.
"Of course not," Nimueh said easily. "To have the whole of the wizarding world on me if I do? I'd rather not deal with that unpleasant mess."
Harry looked carefully into her eyes, and then he nodded. "All right. I believe you're speaking the truth."
And Ron's misgivings, Harry lifted the binding spell off Nimueh.
"Thank you," she said. "And since we're all being so cooperative here, I can tell the both of you that your closest friend may just be keeping an extraordinary secret."
And then she Disapparated away.
A moment later, Harry checked his location device. "She was telling us the truth. She's back at her home in Alaska."
He looked to Ron and he was surprised to see the stunned look on Ron's face. "Ron? Everything all right?"
"What Nimueh said – closest friend, extraordinary secret. It has to be Hermione, right?"
"Well, she is our closest friend, yes. But we've known her for years. What extraordinary secret could she be keeping from us?"
"I can't believe I'd forgotten. It was – I was preoccupied at the time. I just forgot and-" Ron paused, and then he leaned on the alleyway as if he had just gone running and his energy was spent.
Harry was alarmed when Ron started breathing too fast. He was hyperventilating. What was causing this reaction in Ron?
"Ron, what is it?" Harry asked, putting his hand on his friend's shoulder. When Ron didn't answer, Harry advised him, "Take slow, deep breaths. Calm down."
Ron took his advice and breathed in and out slowly. After a few minutes spent regaining his composure, he explained to Harry, "When Hermione and I were dating, we had sex… it was my first time, her first time too, I think." Then Ron paused. He looked at Harry sheepishly. "Er…sorry about that considering you're probably thinking of dating her."
"You two were dating. I'd have been surprised if sex hadn't had happened. It doesn't matter. And I don't know what's going on between Hermione and me… we haven't talked about it yet."
"The old 'don't want to ruin a great friendship' obstacle," Ron guessed.
Harry admitted that Ron was right. That obstacle was a worry he had.
"If you really love her, mate, you should go for it. Or at least discuss it with her. Don't let fear get in your way… except, well. If what I believe is true, then you may just have another obstacle to deal with," Ron said thoughtfully. "But I suppose it's not so much as an obstacle as really shocking…"
Harry looked at him expectantly. "Well what is it? Just tell me, Ron. I'll decide whether or not it's an obstacle or not."
"All right," Ron said hesitantly. "You see, there was a moment during sex with Hermione – at the height of it – I saw something unexpected. A ring, a silver dragon ring on Hermione's finger suddenly appeared. Like the invisibility charm had inexplicably worn off and I could see the ring. But then after we had sex, I never saw the ring again like it had been made invisible again. I thought I had just imagined it. Anyway, at the time, the last thing I wanted to think about was some ring. I can't believe I'd completely forgotten about it though. Until now," Ron said, shaking his head. "You know about the ring, right? Growing up in a pureblood family, I had been told about the dragon ring's significance."
"Luna told me about it," Harry informed him. He was feeling shock starting to set in. Because Hermione wearing that dragon ring could mean only one thing. "That it was the one thing all of Merlin's incarnations valued the most. The ring was one of the oldest possessions of Merlin's incarnations since the dragon ring's origin went back to the days of the pre-reincarnated Merlin. The Merlin displaced in time now. And the story goes that only an incarnation of Merlin can wear the ring. That it will only remain a small silver dragon statue for anyone else."
"Yes. And traditionally, the dragon ring is passed on to the next incarnation of Merlin after the previous one has died. By that tradition-"
Harry finished Ron's sentence. He almost dropped his wand in surprise as he unraveled the truth. "The most recent incarnation of Merlin would be wearing that ring now."
"And I kind of thought Hermione wasn't that convincing of a liar… hopefully she had a good reason for her true identity to remain concealed," Ron expressed fervently.
"Wait…so is that why you were hyperventilating? You just realized you had sex with an incarnation of Merlin?"
"Actually, it's more so that I took away her virginity," Ron clarified. "It's just that Merlin is like a god, a spiritual leader, for us and I had sex with an incarnation of him. I suppose Hermione not blasting me into oblivion by now is a good sign. There should be a special place in hell for me.
"There was this one story about Artemis, the first female incarnation of Merlin, where a man tried to force himself on her when she was a young woman – she was a virgin at the time. You can imagine how severely the man was punished. Offended wizards cut off the man's balls and left him to rot in the dungeons, torturing him for days until the man hung himself because he couldn't take it anymore. Artemis was alarmed at the drastic actions taken, but she had no say in that matter. The man had to be made an example of – that what he had done against Artemis wouldn't be tolerated. The one positive is that no one dared do what that man had done to Artemis for the rest of her life." Ron finished, looking ill. "It was different between me and Hermione since it was consensual and everything, yet I still can't help but remember that story. George told me the Artemis story to scare me, and he probably found it hilarious at how terrified I looked. That's George for you. The 1500s – some mad stuff they did back then, huh?" Ron joked weakly.
"It's two completely different things like you said, Ron. What happened to Artemis was terrible, but what you and Hermione did was just a natural progression in your relationship. You are not going to hell, Ron. You'll just need some time to accept the fact that you had sex with Merlin's incarnation. And took away her virginity." Harry said lightly, feeling a bit bad for Ron to be dealing with this heavy realization.
Being Hermione's friend was one thing, but to have dated her and had sex with her; and then after all that, discover she was an incarnation of the wizarding world's spiritual leader…that definitely wasn't easy to grapple.
"I think I may need years to deal with that," Ron quipped with a long sigh. "It's so weird. And with the original Merlin transported to our present time, this whole situation is weird."
"I could ask her about it," Harry offered. "Hopefully she'll confirm your suspicions."
"Yeah, mate. Better you than me. I'd probably start sweating and forget what to ask her. Maybe even forget my own name," Ron figured.
Harry clapped him on the shoulder in sympathy. "You'll be fine. A few days away from Hermione to think things over should help."
"Yeah. I hope so," Ron said a bit shakily.
Unable to wait, Harry decided to go home to Emrys Manor to have lunch. Ron wished him well as if Harry was heading off to war.
Harry felt a bit silly for doing it, but he thought to sneak up on Hermione. Hopefully she would be home and if she wasn't expecting anyone at the Manor, then who knew what Merlinish things she could be doing? And that could prove Ron's deduction once and for all before Hermione attempted to cover it up.
But Hermione wouldn't lie to him about this, right? If he asked her straight out if she was the latest incarnation of Merlin, she would be honest with him. Harry trusted in his friendship with Hermione enough to believe that.
He opened the door to Hermione's bedroom and the only thing he caught her in was a rather nice purple dress with elbow-length gloves. She had done her hair up as well. It was a bit un-Hermione-like to be trying on dresses.
Harry remembered Hermione telling him that she didn't have time to be doing all that girl stuff what with being friends with him and Ron. With all the trouble and danger they had encountered over the years, wearing for the purpose of comfort along with a pair of good trainers was the best way to go. Especially considering all that running they had had to do…
She had told him that either way, she preferred more comfortable clothes versus all the dresses and getting prettied up for special occasions. But Hermione was still a girl. Harry wasn't surprised that sometimes, she would be in the mood to dress up.
"What's the occasion?" Harry asked her with a hint of mischief in his tone.
Hermione turned around with a small gasp. "Harry? What are you doing here?"
Harry pointed to his finger. "Ron remembered a very particular ring that was on your finger. A silver dragon ring. He – well me too, of course – the both of us want to know if it's true. If you're the current incarnation of Merlin – the one whose identity has puzzled the entire wizarding world. That's a quite a feat, Hermione."
Hermione sat down on her bed and Harry took a seat on the nearby desk chair. She removed her right glove and on her finger, the famed silver dragon ring appeared. When she took off the ring, it transformed into a small silver dragon statue and then returned to be a ring as it wrapped around her finger once again.
The undeniable proof was right before Harry's eyes. Hermione was the current incarnation of Merlin. It was a surreal feeling to discover his childhood friend was the spiritual leader of the entire Wizarding World.
"Yes, that is who I am, though I'd like not to be solely defined by that identity. That's why I kept it secret," Hermione told him resignedly. "And actually it's not my doing that had the usual tracking methods proving faulty. My previous incarnation gained immortality. So when I was born, the wizarding world didn't know who I was because the immortality occurrence made the trackers stop working correctly."
"By your previous incarnation – do you mean the one named Nathan?" Harry asked.
Hermione nodded. "When he died his first death-"
"First death? I'd rather not know how many times he has died."
"Yes, well…Nathan is one to attract trouble, but anyway, his first death caused me to be born. Very fortunately, any more times Nathan dies won't result in more Merlins being born. Having Nathan and me being alive at the same time is more than enough."
"So I'm guessing that your death will continue the reincarnation cycle?"
"That's right."
"I wish you had told me and Ron before… we've all been friends for a long time, Hermione. We deserved to know," said Harry a bit crossly.
"I know, I know. I should have trusted the both of you more. I just wanted you and Ron to know me as Hermione, and not as the spiritual leader of the wizarding world. I was worried you both would distance yourself from me – unable to deal with being friends with such a person. I just wanted to be as normal as I could be."
"Hermione, whether you're an incarnation of Merlin or not, you were far from normal. You're not the cleverest witch of our age for nothing. Though I can see where you got that from," Harry deduced, rubbing the back of his head.
Hermione gave him a small smile, having the grace to look chagrined. "I believe in gaining knowledge, and not to assume I know everything. While I do recall considerable amount from all the lives I've lived – information changes and new developments are made. I have to keep up with all of that so I don't fall behind. Knowledge is power. However overused that phrase is, it is still a good one to pay attention to."
"Still the same old Hermione," Harry declared with a teasing smile. She rolled her eyes at him. Then he asked, "What has Nathan been doing since he disappeared three decades ago?"
"He's been in the Muggle world. His immortality caused him to stop aging, so he still looks about twenty even though he'll be turning fifty this December. Nathan sometimes still acts like he's twenty, but that's neither here nor there." Hermione smiled sheepishly.
"I'm guessing there's a Merlin-related reason why you befriended me… did you know about the prophecy?"
Hermione nodded slowly. "It was my main duty to help you on your journey to defeat Voldemort for good. I suppose each Merlin has his or her own special task, and I was born to aid you when you needed it. I do admit that yes, initially I wanted to befriend you to better help you in defeating Voldemort. Despite that, I had hoped that I truly would enjoy your company – and that it wouldn't feel like a frustrating chore to be your friend and aid you in all your trials. Luckily, I found I couldn't be happier to be friends with you. I knew that even without my duty guiding me, I would honestly want to be your friend," she confided in Harry so sincerely that he couldn't help but believe in the truth of her admission.
She continued, "It was your choice, Harry, to befriend me. I didn't force you into it… and if I honestly wasn't fond of you as a friend, then I wouldn't still be here since you've defeated Voldemort already. But I'm staying with you now as a friend because I grew to appreciate you and respect you. I genuinely like you, Harry."
"I was thinking though…if maybe we can be something more than friends," Harry suggested lightly.
Hermione looked startled for a moment, but then she smiled. "I think I'd like that."
Harry smiled back at her. Then his eyes widened as he recalled the encounter with Nimueh.
Damn Nimueh for ruining this moment.
"Before we consider that, I need to tell you, Hermione… Ron and I saw Nimueh earlier. She said she won't try to kill the original Merlin, but I doubt I should trust her."
"Don't worry about it, Harry. Nathan and I will take care of her. I do think she was serious about not killing Merlin herself, but she may have an indirect hand in it."
"I let her go," Harry admitted unhappily, feeling duped. "She was threatening to hurt you, Hermione. I know it wasn't right to let my emotions get in the way, but I didn't want to risk you either."
Hermione hugged him. "It's honestly all right, Harry. Nimueh isn't your problem. She has always been an adversary of mine – that is, my identity as Merlin - and it falls to me alone to deal with her. You did the right thing. I mean it," she assured him firmly.
End of Chapter 7.