Merlin was loving Hogwarts, and that was something he had never expected to. He missed his mum, who wrote him vague letters very now and then, but he was happy. Gwen and Gwaine had become the best friends Merlin had ever had. The Quidditch team was becoming a family for him, and every time he flew, he fell more in love with it. Fawkes had slowly started inching closer, enough so that if Merlin was outside with some food, Fawkes would nibble a bit of his hand before flying away to a nearby tree.
Yet with everything that was happening, something still gnawed away at Merlin. Two things actually. First, the philosopher's stone. It was something that stuck in Merlin's mind, the idea of immortality. It was not something he wanted, but something intrigued him about it. And then there was the dragons, Aithusa and Kilgarrah. Neither had tried to contact him since the whole accidently reviving Aithusa incident. How had he done that? How could he have the power needed to do that? And if with that power, what else could do?
"Heads in the cloud again?" yelled Arthur from the Quidditch changing room as Merlin walked in. The entire team to face him, and they all laughed.
"He looks more nervous than Elyan did his first match!" yelled Leon, shoving Elyan in the ribs.
"Hey!" protested Elyan, rubbing his stomach slightly. "I was nowhere near that shade of green," he mumbled, embarrassed that his nervousness had been raised as an issue once more.
"Don't worry Merlin, you are good. You've got something none of the Slytherin team do," said Lancelot, trying to calm him down.
"Brains?" suggested Percival.
"Heart?" suggested Elyan.
"A working conscience?" added Gwaine.
"A natural talent and instinct," finished Lancelot, shutting the three of them up. "Arthur wouldn't have let you join the team unless he knew you could do this. Trust in your instincts Merlin, they will lead you right," whispered Lancelot, tapping Merlin on the shoulder. Merlin liked Lancelot a lot, they seemed to understand each other on a level that very few people ever got Merlin. He understood that Merlin clearly had a burden, a secret, on his shoulders, but he didn't pry, didn't prod, just respected that it must be difficult for Merlin.
"Thanks," whispered Merlin, colour returning to his cheeks as he took a deep breath. Arthur stepped across.
"Listen, we don't exactly have a great track record against Slytherin. Haven't won a match against them in near on twenty or so years. I got the job as captain because literally no one else wanted it, everyone thinks our team is cursed. How about we prove them wrong?" suggested Arthur, a grin on his face.
When Merlin had first met Arthur, he had met a pig headed, arrogant, self-absorbed and entitled boy. Not one of those things were true in reality though. It was an image he put on, because it was what was expected of him, by his father and by the school. He was the son of the greatest Dragon Hunter, and therefore had a prestige about him. Half the students would bow before him if he asked, because of respect in some cases or fear in others. Merlin felt sorry for Arthur, with his family reputation to live up to. And today was going to be a lose-lose situation for Arthur. If he lost, his father would be so ashamed and probably punish him. But if he won, he would beat his father's prized Quidditch team. Out of the two though, Arthur wanted to beat them, and he wanted to beat them badly. He wanted to prove for once that he was the better of the two.
"Alright team!" he yelled, gathering the troops for war. "We can do this. Forget about the supposed curse on us. Let's go out there and prove that Gryffindor house is back, and better than ever. Let's take those Slytherin arseholes down!" he screamed, and the rest of the team joined in the cheer. As they headed down the entrance to the pitch, Arthur leaned across to Merlin. "Focus on you, and that snitch, don't worry about us. You can do this Merlin, I believe in you," he whispered, and Merlin smiled. Arthur didn't seem to trust many people, and it felt as though he was beginning to trust Merlin. Gwaine slapped Merlin on the back as the trumpets sounded and they all mounted their brooms. One by one they flew out following Arthur. With a deep breath Merlin left the tunnel last.
The cheering was thunderous, the clapping and stomping deafening. Loyalties were easy and obvious, a quarter of the school wore the silver and green, a quarter wore red and gold. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff though were clearly on the side of Gryffindor. Better to support them and have them lose then support Slytherin at all. The Slytherin team emerged, vicious looks on their face from the moment they hit the pitch. This was no game to them, it was a hunt. Morgana flew across and hovered opposite Merlin.
"I promise I won't' go too hard on you!" she yelled, a mischievous grin on her face. Morgause looked across to her. Merlin blocked them out. So Slytherin knew he was good, that was the only reason they would try to psych him out. Merlin intended to show them exactly how good he was.
"I won't make the same promise!" he yelled back, earning cheers from his fellow teammates. Madam Hooch slowly stepped out onto the pitch, towards the box. First went the bludgers, soaring up into the air ready to cause carnage. Very quickly followed the snitch, fluttering over to Merlin first, and then Morgana before disappearing off. Finally she launched the quaffle up into the air, and chaos ensued.
Merlin's training had not prepared him at all. Everywhere he looked went streaks of red and green, balls soaring through the air, bludgers to duck around. But the adrenaline kicked in, and Merlin loved every second of the match. The chasers led by Arthur, were doing well, keeping the score even with Slytherin, who if it wasn't for Lancelot would have double the score. In the corner of his eye Merlin caught a hold of Morgana, and zipped towards her. She herself had darted off, but Merlin managed to catch up, bumping into her.
"I would think you were trying to knock me off my balance, but you are too clumsy to do that!" she yelled at him, shoving him back. This was turning into a grudge match very quickly. With both teams keeping a similar pace with the goals, the snitch was going to decide this match.
And Merlin was going to win. He caught a golden glint in the corner of his eye, quickly veering off after it, Morgana hot on his tail. He blocked her out, blocked the war surrounding him out, blocked the crowd cheering and booing. This was his moment to prove that Arthur was right in putting him on the team, that he deserved to be there. The snitch was fast, but Merlin moved just as quickly, soon losing Morgana off his tail. The snitch began to dive bomb and Merlin without a moment of hesitation followed it. The crowd went silent, if he didn't pull up soon, Merlin would be a splatter on the ground. But Merlin trusted his instincts, and kept going, one hand reaching out for the snitch. As the ground got dangerously close, Merlin quickly pulled up, soaring back up into the air. The game stopped as everyone turned to face him. He unfurled his hands, the wings of the snitch gently fluttering in his hand.
"Merlin Emyrs has caught the snitch!" yelled the announcer. "Gryffindor wins!" he screamed and most of the audience stood up. Merlin had done it, he had won the game. The team quickly swarmed him. The next ten minutes was a blur, people stormed onto the field, Gwen among them. He had broken the curse, the losing streak of Gryffindor. Slowly the stadium began to empty, until only the team and Gwen was left.
"Come on, we've got a party in the common room waiting for us," said Percival, shoving Arthur in the shoulder. Arthur laughed and smiled.
"I'll meet you guys there," replied Merlin.
"You sure?" asked Gwen, reaching for his arm.
"Yes, I'm fine. Just need a minute on my own," he whispered back, receiving nods from everyone. They all walked off and Merlin took a deep breath. Things had changed so much for him in such a small amount of time. He was a wizard, and one that cause fear. But the whole Quidditch thing had seemed to overrule that in the minds of the students. If you could play a sport well, it didn't matter that you could kill everyone around you by accident. Sounded almost too much like the muggle world.
"Merlin," he heard a voice mutter. Merlin quickly glanced up to the stands. There was a man, with long black straggly hair, a rugged and well-worn coat. He looked down at Merlin, and for some reason Merlin could feel a connection between them. But as soon as he saw him, the man was gone.
"You played well today Merlin," he heard another voice say, and he turned to see Professor Dumbledore standing there. He walked over to Merlin, and Merlin got nervous. When Dumbledore was around there was always a reason. "Gryffindor may stand a good chance with you helping," he added, chuckling to himself.
"Sir," started Merlin. "I don't mean to be rude but, why are you here?" he asked.
"I would not say that asking that question was rude Merlin. It is a fair question," replied Dumbledore, looking around the pitch. "You have such a natural talent for Quidditch, they could not have trained you to that level in such a short amount of time. It seems as though you learn new things very quickly. Quidditch, magic," continued Dumbledore, and Merlin realised he had got to his point.
"You told me you would be keeping an eye on me sir. I know Fawkes has been watching me for you," said Merlin.
"I have been keeping an eye on you, I will not deny that Merlin. However Fawkes has not been doing that for me, that bird has a mind of its own, and very rarely listens to me," added Dumbledore. "Fawkes seems to have taken a liking to you, if he is watching you, it is because he wishes to," continued Dumbledore.
"Sir, I have to go," Merlin interjected, desperate to get out of this conversation. While he was not lying to Dumbledore, he was not telling him the whole truth, and he felt like Dumbledore could see into his soul and that he was lying. That man would make a great detective.
"Ah yes, the celebration. You are right, I should not keep you from that," he said, walking away from Merlin.
"Thank you sir," replied Merlin, running off.
"But Merlin," yelled Dumbledore. Merlin froze, slowly turning to face him. "Is there anything that you wish to tell me?" he asked, glaring at Merlin over the top of his half-moon spectacles.
"No sir," replied Merlin, trying to keep his face as blank as possible. Dumbledore nodded and Merlin quickly ran off. He ran up into the castle and started to head for the Gryffindor dormitory.
"MERLIN!" yelled a voice in his head, and he gripped it in pain. He quickly went down a corridor and hid, he didn't need anyone to see him like this.
"Once again, you shall have to forgive Aithusa," said another voice, and he recognised it as Kilgarrah. "I am trying to train him, but he is proving difficult to train," he added, and Merlin could almost hear a scowl at the end of that sentence.
"Why did you contact me? I thought it was dangerous to talk to me?" asked Merlin, keeping his voice to a very hushed whisper.
"There is an urgent matter at hand. I have heard word that a sorceress who sides with evil is trying to obtain a magical item that could give her the power to live forever," explained Kilgarrah.
"The Philosopher's Stone," replied Merlin.
"Exactly. I know it is at Hogwarts, and you can be sure that she also is aware of the location of the stone. You need to stop her," said Kilgarrah.
"How?" asked Merlin, how could he stop a sorceress? He could barely manage to hide his powers in class, and in a situation like that, he would probably lose all control.
"You do not understand young warlock. Destiny has always had a plan for you, one that you will learn soon enough. That stone's fate and yours are intertwined. Do you think it a coincidence that it was moved to Hogwarts the year you arrived? There are forces at play Merlin that none of us can control," explained Kilgarrah, his tone as serious as Merlin had ever heard it. "You must claim the stone, once you claim it, it will be of no use to anyone else, it will respond to your call and yours alone," he finished.
"How do I claim it?" asked Merlin, scared of where this was going.
"You need to steal the stone from its resting place. You need to get past every trap, challenge and test to get to it. You need to go to the third corridor, and take the stone before the sorceress gets to it, or people will pay with their lives," finished Kilgarrah, and Merlin felt the dragon leave his head. Merlin had so many more questions he needed to ask him, so much more he needed to know. But at the end of the day, if it came down to saving lives, Merlin knew what he needed to do.
Merlin was going to steal the Philosopher's Stone.
I am so sorry about the wait, I hit a rock with the story, but I have figured out where I want to take it and I hope you will not have to wait too long for the next chapter! Thank you for being so patient!
