Yes, I am on a roll. Jack and Jill rolling down the hill. Rickrolling. Okay, I'll stop.
Okay, so here's chapter 7! Merlin's second year kicks off...
7. Meeting the Fay
Merlin sat with his fellow green-robed students at the long table with the Slytherin crest boldly levitating above it as a timid crowd of children filed into the Great Hall to be hand-picked by the four lords and ladies that founded Hogwarts. He did feel some level of sympathy for the dishevelled newcomers - at least when he had first arrived at Hogwarts, there was no additional audience. Just the four founders and a few frightened children.
Now, the new students were being surveyed by a much larger audience - twice the size of the one that Merlin had faced. Of course, some of the second year students were not very intimidating at all. Merlin met Cliodna's eyes and noticed that she was smiling in a very kind and encouraging manner. However, that could not be said for most of his fellow housemates.
In fact, the only house Slytherin student that actually seemed to be paying attention was Diodorus - who was sitting across from Merlin - but that was probably due to the fact that his younger brother was now facing the scrutiny of the four founders. Needless to say, young Aldric Nott quickly joined his brother. Next to Diodorus, Arcturus made a show of yawning from time to time and fidgeting with the table cloth. Next to Merlin, Solon sat as still and stoic as the gargoyles standing guard on the castle's towers.
In all honesty, though, it was not as if Merlin himself was paying very much attention. That is, until he heard the name that had been haunting his mind for the last few weeks.
"Next," Salazar's voice boomed through the Great Hall. "Morgana Pendragon."
It seemed that Merlin was not the only one that tensed at that name. The Great Hall settled into a deafening and still silence. Even the sounds of the creaking wooden benches, shuffling robes, and hushed whispers between friends seemed to have dissipated. The large hall was filled with a tension so thick that not even Lord Gryffindor's sword could cut through it. Even Arcturus ceased his feigned annoyance and stared slack-jawed as a raven-haired girl in a shimmering purple bliaud approached the front of the Great Hall.
Thanks to Cliodna's warning a few weeks earlier, Merlin was not as surprised as his housemates; however, it was still shocking to actually see the stepdaughter of vicious King Uther within the walls of Hogwarts. It caused an eerie feeling to crawl up Merlin's spine. In any case, he took advantage of his relative lack of surprise and decided to do what Salazar had taught him best - pay attention to details.
Merlin looked up at the levitating table where the four lords and ladies sat. Salazar looked absolutely livid, his fists clenched on top of the parchment that had the names of all of the students. Helga kept glancing uncertainly in Rowena's direction, but made every attempt to remain the picture of perfect poise. Godric looked a bit insulted, his nose wrinkled and mouth contorted into a grimace. Merlin supposed that it had something to do with the fact that any mere mortal would dare call himself the 'chief of dragons.'
As for Rowena, she looked to be the picture of flawless serenity, as she always did.
"Morgana, tell us of your parentage," Rowena prompted kindly.
Merlin frowned slightly. Up until that moment, it had always been Salazar to initiate the questioning. Not only for this particular sorting, but also the one that Merlin had been a part of. Merlin had always thought that it had something to do with Salazar's strict guidelines for what types of students he wished to accept, so it struck him as strange that Rowena should be the one to start the questioning.
"My mother is the Lady Igraine, a pureblood witch, Duchess of Cornwall, and Queen of Camelot," Morgana answered in a clear and projected voice. She did not seem the slightest bit nervous. "My father is - was - Gorlois of Tintagel. His magical status is unknown to me, Lady Ravenclaw."
In that moment, Salazar leaned in closer to Rowena and whispered something. Rowena quickly turned to give him a searing glare before returning her attention to Morgana - an exchange that, while not uncommon between the lord and lady, seemed strange to Merlin. There was definitely something about Morgana that was unsettling for all of the founders, and Merlin had a sneaking suspicion that Rowena was somehow involved.
"And what is your greatest aspiration in life?" Rowena asked.
Finally, Merlin observed with a bit of amusement, Morgana's stony exterior seemed to crack. She looked down as she replied, her voice quieter than before. "I - I wish to explore the healing arts, Lady Ravenclaw, as well as..." Morgana trailed off and nervously glanced around the room before continuing. "As well as... any and all types of magic."
"Then your desire to learn will make you a wonderful addition to house Ravenclaw," Rowena declared proudly. Merlin, however, could not help but think that she was hiding something in her answer.
Morgana bowed stiffly before heading towards the table with the Ravenclaw crest glowing above it and taking a seat next to Cliodna. The druidess looked up in that moment and Merlin found her eyes once more. She looked absolutely pale and frightened, so Merlin gave her a curt nod and a smile, hoping that it translated into some form of a kind gesture.
The sorting of the students wrapped up quickly after that, back to Salazar initiating the rounds of questions. The only other notable addition to house Slytherin, aside from Diodorus' younger brother, was a girl named Natalia Selwyn. She took a seat near the other two girls, Agatha and Annabella, and seemed to be trying quite hard to contribute to their conversation.
Merlin turned his attention to the conversation between Diodorus, Arcturus, and Solon. He did not have much of an appetite after the troubling news of Morgana being sorted into Cliodna's house. He knew how much his friend's family feared King Uther, and the mortified look on her face suggested that she had not expected to have to face Morgana so soon.
"Memory Charms are tricky things, of course," Arcturus' voice broke Merlin out of his thoughts. The boys' conversation was about some Muggle that had stumbled into the grounds of the Black Manor during the harvest season. "The buffoon was a drooling mess by the end of it! Teaches those filthy Muggles to stay away from the Black family."
"Would it not be easier to put up wards against Muggles on your home?" Merlin suggested. The three boys gave him strange looks, so he decided to elaborate on the Charm that Rowena had once taught him. "To keep them out in the first place, of course. The spell is called - "
"Well, Merlin, part of the fun is watching them walk into a trap," Arcturus replied with a wicked grin, interrupting Merlin's spiel on the Charm. "But, of course, you would not know that, being an orphan. Were your parents even purebloods? I bet not."
"Arcturus..." Solon started in a bored tone that Merlin thought was supposed to resemble warning. "He's a parselmouth."
"According to him," Arcturus spat, turning to Merlin with a challenging smirk.
Merlin ground his teeth, his vision slowly turning red. He was a parselmouth. "I can prove it, if it pleases you," he suggested.
Without waiting for an answer, Merlin stood from his seat and stepped up onto the bench. He drew his wand, muttered a quick "Serpentsortia," and in a flash of white light, a snake shot out from his wand. He briefly glanced at Arcturus to see that his smirk had been wiped off of his smug features. The boy was now pale with fear.
"Tease him a bit, but cause no harm," Merlin instructed the snake. "Poke around his hair and such."
The snake turned on Arcturus and did as commanded. It shot back and forth, slithered across his plate of food tauntingly, and in reply Arcturus let out several frightened whimpers that brought much joy to Merlin. However, his mirth did not last long.
"Merlin!" a femminine voice bellowed in anger.
Silence settled on the Great Hall and Merlin turned his attention to the levitating table at the front. Rowena had stood from her seat and was sending him the most murderous glare he had ever seen on the woman's features. Godric and Helga both seemed to be in some type of shell-shocked state, while Salazar...
Salazar was attempting to hide a pleased grin, and failing miserably.
Rowena drew her wand and aimed it at her neck. Her next words were amplified immensely, bouncing off of the stone walls and causing a shiver to travel down Merlin's spine. "This level of disrespect is highly unexpected from you. Report to the Headmaster's Office after supper, and do away with that snake. Right this minute!"
Merlin bowed his head and stepped down from the bench, his face hot with embarrassment as he made the snake slithering across the table disappear. However, a smile managed to break through, and for two reasons.
One, Arcturus flinched each time Merlin looked his way.
Two, Salazar still looked amused beyond words.
"Magic is not a toy!"
Merlin winced as Rowena's voice pierced through his skull. He did feel quite bad for making such a show, but in his defense, Arcturus had provoked him. And it wasn't like he had wanted to harm his fellow housemate - just to have a bit of fun and teach him a thing or two about parselmouths.
"I expected much more from a student of your intelligence, Merlin!" Rowena reprimanded.
Merlin at least had the decency to look ashamed as he met Rowena's challenging glare. She stood behind Godric's desk, on the right side of his seat, with her hands on her hips. Helga was on the other side of Godric, a look of mild disappointment on her soft features. Godric seemed to be perpetually frowning, as if still trying to make sense of all that had happened.
Salazar, standing next to Rowena, looked as pleased as ever. He had started listening in on the conversation the moment that he had heard the Black boy start boasting about the Muggle that his father had Obliviated. He was pleased by Merlin's reaction, to say the least. Merlin clearly possessed pride for who he was, but not an excess of it. He was smart enough to know that it was best to not harm the heir to one of the most powerful wizarding families in the world. A cunning boy indeed.
"Salazar," Rowena started, turning on him with the same glare. "What have you to say to your pupil?"
Salazar moved his gaze to Merlin, who seemed to be quite interested in his feet. "I have to say that I have clearly taught him well," he stated. Merlin's head snapped up in surprise.
"Have enough sense to at least scold the boy," Helga recommended with a frown, effectively cutting off Rowena before she could begin to scream her head off at him.
Salazar scoffed and shook his head. "You three would do well to learn how to understand Parseltongue. Merlin made a point of telling the snake to not harm Arcturus, only tease him. It was all in good fun."
"Magic is dangerous if misused and should not be used as a game over supper!" Rowena exclaimed.
"Yes, I suppose there is that," Salazar admitted in a bored tone. He returned his attention to Merlin as he added, "Do make sure that Rowena does not catch you having fun again."
Merlin pressed his lips together and looked down to hide his amusement at Rowena's livid expression.
"Come now, Salazar," Godric scolded softly. "Show some respect for your colleague. You must see that Rowena is at least correct about Merlin misusing magic."
Salazar sighed in defeat, although Merlin thought it sounded a bit feigned. He seemed to know how to pick his battles. "I do apologize, Rowena. You are correct in that respect," he said. "Merlin, it was rather reckless to let your emotions rule your magic in that way."
"I apologize, to all," Merlin stated modestly. "I should not have allowed myself to get provoked."
He met Salazar's eyes then and could not help but notice the proud glint.
As Merlin turned to take his leave, he heard Salazar say, "Meet me in my chambers tomorrow before we break our fast so we may discuss your future Parseltongue lessons."
Merlin looked over his shoulder to voice his compliance, but his voice faltered at the unimpressed glare of Rowena. The young boy balked and managed to squeak out a "Yessir," before dashing out of the office.
Your loyalties are going to kill us all, Rowena.
Rowena's jaw clenched as Salazar's words echoed in her mind. That was what he had whispered to her during their sorting ceremony, and the reason that the statement still stuck with her was because she feared that it may have held some truth.
However, Rowena could not simply turn away Igraine's daughter. She was dear friends with the woman, and Rowena was her last hope. Her eldest daughter had fled in fear of Uther's choice of husband for her, and her youngest was a Squib. Morgana was Igraine's last hope for a successor to the throne of Avalon.
Avalon was a well-kept secret. Those who spoke of it referred to it as a mere legend. It was the only true safe haven for magical folk - both being and beast. Even gaining passage to Avalon was difficult - it required proof of meaning no malicious intent. The Charms that concealed the place were simply magnificent at detecting those who meant harm and keeping them out. The secret island was often the place to which the wounded would flee, for they knew of the legends regaling its healing environment.
And Lady Igraine was the queen of that island. With Morgause gone and Elaine possessing no magic, Morgana was the only chance at making sure that Avalon would not be lost to wizardkind. If no one ruled Avalon, the wards would simply fade and it would become just another island to be violated by the greedy ambitions of men.
But Morgana was Uther's stepdaughter, raised in the House of Pendragon. Who was to say that she would not spy for the man that so kindly took in a daughter that was not his own? Rowena surely despised King Uther - along with every other witch and wizard - but she knew that the man was smart. Conniving, certainly. She would not put it past him to raise a witch daughter simply to use her as a spy.
"Rowena," Helga's voice called, breaking her out of her thoughts. "You are awfully quiet."
"Simply deep in thought, dear friend," Rowena answered quietly. "Sleep well, Helga. I must attend some matters in the library."
Helga smiled kindly before leaving her friend. As the kind, younger woman walked to her quarters, Rowena's frown deepened with worry.
This was very risky territory that would require a lot of... cunning. Her newfound alliance with Salazar seemed to have been just in the nick of time.
Merlin could not leave the Headmaster's Office soon enough. He barrelled down the stairway and quickly made his way towards the dungeons of the castle and a warm bed to sleep off the excitement of the day. He had hoped that he would be able to find Cliodna after supper and see how she was faring, as well as welcome Cadogan back to the castle, but it seemed that his show of theatrics had made that rather impossible.
Merlin rounded the corner with his thoughts jumbled, not even noticing the person walking in his direction before they nearly collided. He stopped short and gasped in surprise, then he felt his features darken as he recognized the person standing before him.
Morgana.
He gave her a curt nod and muttered, "Good evening."
"Good evening," she greeted in turn, an elegant smile gracing her regal features. "You are Merlin, correct? That was quite a show."
Merlin's eyes widened slightly. He had wished that there would not be much talk of his theatrics. "Oh - uh - y - you noticed?" he stammered.
Morgana nodded. "I think everyone did," she confessed jokingly. "Very impressive. Do you think you could teach me how to do that?"
Merlin frowned slightly. He could teach her, but did he really want to? No, not quite. "Procuring a snake is quite simple transfiguration, I'm sure you could - "
"No, no, I know that. Transfiguration is my strong suit," she interrupted with a dismissive wave of her hand that slightly irked Merlin. "I meant how you talked to it. That snake was like your puppet."
Merlin's frown deepened. Could people learn how to speak Parseltongue? Salazar had mentioned something about his colleagues learning to understand Parseltongue, but was there really a difference? "I... I don't know," he started slowly. "I'm not sure that it is something that can be learned."
"You're not sure?" she questioned in a manner that made Merlin feel rather nervous. She arched an eyebrow up and gave him a rather intimidating glare. A stark contrast to her previous cheery and graceful demeanour.
"Er, well, I - " Merlin stopped his stuttering and sighed. "I can look into it, if you would like."
Morgana's face brightened at that. "Lovely! Do sleep well, Merlin."
On that note, she set off on her way, leaving Merlin to wonder why he didn't just say no.
As Merlin had suspected, the discussion that Salazar wanted to have about their "future Parseltongue lessons" was something of a disguise.
They were talking about the future of their Parseltongue lessons, of course. However, those Parseltongue lessons were beginning to take on a new objective. With the start of his second year at Hogwarts, Salazar planned to start the breeding of the basilisk, which is why on that particular morning, he led Merlin into the secret chamber they had discovered a few months earlier.
"Let's see how much you remember from your readings," Salazar started as he paced around the large chamber. Merlin noticed, with a hint of amusement, that a statue of Salazar's head had been carved out. He seemed to have more in common with Godric than he realized.
"Everything, of course," Merlin replied.
"Then tell me: what is the process of hatching a basilisk?" Salazar inquired.
"One must hatch a hen's egg beneath a toad," Merlin answered.
"And how does a cockatrice differ from a basilisk?"
"A cockatrice can only hatch from a cock egg incubated beneath a toad."
"One more question: how do you differ between male and female basilisks?"
"Males have a scarlet plume on their heads," Merlin answered confidently.
"It seems that Rowena was not wrong in claiming your intelligence," Salazar praised.
"Thank you, Lord Salazar," Merlin replied. "I had a question, if you did not mind."
"Proceed," Salazar allowed with a nod.
"I was only wondering if... is it possible to learn Parseltongue?" he asked quietly. Salazar's features settled into a deep frown and Merlin quickly added, "I was only thinking of what you said in Lord Godric's office." It was much easier for him to lie than he had expected.
Salazar's frown softened, though only by a fraction. "Parselmouths are born, not made," he answered icily. "Few wizards are skilled enough to be able to understand the language, but one must be born with the skill to speak it."
"Oh. Thank you for your answer," Merlin replied politely.
Salazar decided to let the conversation end there. He turned and begin walking deeper into the chamber, motioning for Merlin to follow him. Merlin quickly followed after his teacher and into the mouth of the large statue. Once inside, he caught sight of a small cage. Inside it, a toad sat still on top of a cushion. Salazar turned to Merlin with a faint smile.
"I assume you know what is under that toad," he said.
Merlin could only nod. Suddenly, their plan seemed to be jarringly real.
Once he left the chamber, Merlin was so shaken by the realization that he was actually partaking in the breeding of a real basilisk that he did not even feel his stomach grumble. Thankfully, this meant that he could focus his mind on more important matters - such as finding Cliodna and Cadogan.
Cliodna was fairly easy to find. She was standing in the middle of a moving staircase, madly scribbling away on a piece of parchment. Merlin approached her with an amused smile once the staircase stopped at his level.
"What in Circe's name are you doing?" he asked.
Cliodna jumped, clearly not having realized that he had approached her. Her startled features relaxed a bit when she realized it was only Merlin. "I am attempting to determine if these stairs move in a certain pattern," she explained. "If that's the case, I believe I can save some students much pain and suffering."
"Something tells me it is all very random," Merlin admitted. "Magic can be that way."
Cliodna shrugged and said, "It is worth trying, I suppose. By the way, I need to tell you something."
"Yes?"
"Never again boast your talents as a parselmouth in such a facetious manner. One might mistake you for belonging to house Gryffindor."
Despite the joking smile on Cliodna's face, that did a better job of making Merlin feel embarrassed of his actions than Rowena's yelling ever could.
Just wanted to make sure that you all know where I'm going with this: the story will be following Merlin for quite some time, and the plan is to take about 6 chapters per school year. As for his life after Hogwarts, I have it split into two distinct parts, but I'm starting to think that those will be longer than 6 chapters.
All right! Don't forget to leave a review :)
