A/N

Bookybookworm: Thank you and I have added a thing about the electronics at the end of the last chapter.

WhistlingWolf: I also think that wizards and witches should learn to use more technology. They may not be able to use a computer and a mobile in Hogwarts, but they can use them at other places. And that would be hilarious, Harry going around with a picture of Voldemort on his phone, saying, he's risen, here's the proof, haha. Merlin likes all animals, no matter if they are an evil cat, haha. I might add a scene in future chapters, where Merlin and Hagrid tell each other about all the magical creatures they've encountered. Bit I'm not sure if I should do it before or after Hagrid knows who Merlin really is.

ILikeHotDogs: Well, it is the truth.

agirlgeek144: Thank you for liking this. And yes, when I wrote Aithusa the first time, I unknowingly made her seem like Saphira and I just rolled with it. I love Saphira as a character so why not make her a indirect part of this story. Merlin and Ron's relationship was also something that just happened, but it worked and I thought, why not. And I wanted to make something a bit different with Merlin. i didn't want to make another story where he's a student and everyonbe get's suspicious about him because he doesn't use a wand etc, etc. Hopefully this will work.

Sparky199: Thank you

IndiaMoore: I wish so too, but it wouldn't work with how I have planned the story, sorry. Thank you for liking the chapter.

NightsAnger: Yeah, I mean, he is immortal so why not be associated with Death. He can't be killed.

SpriteBlazer: I think it was in chapter 14 or something 'The One With The Truth'.

Female whovian: I'm glad you picked that up. It's fun to play with that because soon Hermione and Ron will have their falling out over Lavender, and Hermione will need someone to talk to, haha. But I'm not saying they will be a couple or anything, you'll have to wait and see about that, ;)

Lady Flurryous: Just two more chapters ;). I thought so too, haha. Cats and Dragons have a lot in common, I would think. The horcrux thing is all down to Slughorn's memory, as in the book, but hopefully afterwards, when they go and search for them, he may be of some assistance. I don't want to heal Dumbledore, because his death is an important part of this story. I'm going to use it for something that I can't tell you about, sorry. Dumbledore will tell someone (with Merlin's permission, of course) and someone else will find out unintentionally, but I can't tell you who. Not yet.

Coolestbee: Thank you. The a**kicking parts will take some time. Just as in the books, the bamf stuff happens in the end of every school year. But hopefully you'll be satisfied with the following chapters, because it will stir up some things in the pot.

consultingsorcererof221B: I don't know if you've read all the chapters yet but I hope you like it. I am a huge Sherlock fan, along with several other fandoms. I'm probably part of over 20 different fandoms, some more than others. But Merlin is my favourite when it comes to fanfics.

BreathingMagic: Yeah, Aithusa is still a bit affected by her time in the well. Both emotionally and physically, which is why she doesn't speak out loud. I try and make the character's be as in characters as possible, but I get a little more freedom with Merlin, because he has changed so much since his time in Camelot, except for certain details about his view of authority, haha. I like writing from Dumbledore's POV, because he's such a complex character and it's fun to sometimes know what goes around in his head. And he should view Merlin with awe, he deserves that, haha.

Guest: No, this is not a reincarnation fic, even though they have some similarities with the Camelot characters.

This chapter is un-beta:ed.

Chapter 19 The One With the Time-jumps

The following month and a half went by quickly for Hermione, but that didn't mean nothing out of the ordinary had happened. It was the opposite actually. Of course, it had happened ordinary things as well, or as ordinary as it gets at Hogwarts. Harry had begun his lessons with Dumbledore; apparently he was looking into memories of Voldemort's past.

Harry had also; it's always Harry; found a mysterious book. Or at least she thought it was mysterious, Harry and Ron just thought it was a regular Potions textbook that somebody had scribbled in. The Half-blood Prince, he called himself, or she, you can never be certain. And of course, Harry; why is it always Harry? He won a bottle of Felix Felicis, which he hadn't used yet.

Marcus had successfully passed three classes already; Astronomy, Charms and DADA, much to the amusement of Harry and Ron, who enjoy seeing Hermione, be put out by not being the smartest in school any-more. He was on his fourth subject now; Herbology.

There were also Slughorn's parties. They were so much fun but Harry insisted in not going. So you could say it was only her; and Ginny of course. It's never only her. Well that's not true. These things, these out of the ordinary things which had happened, those were only for her. For now at least. Soon they would be for her and Marcus. She wasn't sure what she would do afterwards.

She had found out a lot and she wasn't sure how she would handle it. She stood outside of Marcus's chambers around midday on Halloween. She knew he would leave later that day so she had left Harry and Ron behind in the common room, so she would have time to talk to him.

But what was it that made her so impatient to talk to him. Well, it all started a month and a half earlier, a few weeks after the start of term. But no wait, it actually started the same day as their first day back in class. It was on the evening after their talk with Marcus in his chambers. It was nothing really but Ron told her, mostly as gossip she supposed, that Marcus listened to music when he cleaned the castle and he didn't hear them walking up to him.

Hermione didn't make much of it at first, not until a few weeks later when she was on her way to the library. She heard someone talking and when she peeked around the corner she saw Marcus and his cat, Aithusa. He was busy polishing an old armour and he had his headphones on. He was talking to someone but she couldn't see anyone else there. So she crept a little closer and hid in an alcove so she could hear. She sat down and started listening.

"...not the point, Aithusa. You can't come with me in the forest. Hagrid would find it weird." Marcus voice was filled with amusement.

"No, I don't think he would take that well. You would scare the life out of him." He chuckled.

"Yeah, he did actually, now that you mention it. What was it called? Nora, Nobby...no it was Norbert."

"Haha, but that was only a baby. You're a lot bigger than that."

"You know what, I will take you there myself one day. Let you stretch your wings a little."

She heard footsteps and then there was only silence. She peeked around the edge of the alcove to see what was happening. She was greeted with an empty hallway and no sign of Marcus or Aithusa. She knew he could do mind-talk; he had done it with Ron. But with a cat? Hermione was starting to get confused.

The second thing happened only a few days later. It was on the day of the Quidditch tryouts. They had decided to visit Hagrid afterwards and when they got there they saw Marcus and Hagrid standing beside Buckbeat in front of Hagrid's hut. They were petting him but when Hagrid saw them he abruptly walked back inside the hut. Harry and Ron followed after but Hermione stayed behind and watched Marcus.

Buckbeat had gotten a bit agitated by Hagrid's sudden departure and had started acting up. He was just about to make a move towards Marcus, when Marcus calmly put a hand on his neck and said something to him she couldn't hear. Buckbeat immediately calmed down and even nuzzled his face. Hermione had never seen anything like it before. She knew that both Hagrid and Harry had a special connection with him, but even they couldn't calm him down so fast.

She made her way to Harry and Ron before Marcus noticed her looking. Harry was in the middle of blowing Hagrid's door open but she barely registered it.

The third thing happened halfway into October, the day of the first and probably last Hogsmead visit. She, Harry and Ron was on their way back when Katie Bell and her friend, Leanne, were having an argument that ended up with them ripping open a package that Katie held. Katie was suddenly lifted up in the air with an empty expression on her face, she started screaming after a while and fell down again.

Everything happened so quickly after that. Harry ran away to find help and came back with Hagrid and Marcus. Marcus took one look at Katie and the package and immediately took over the situation.

He crouched down beside Katie and held his hands over her body. He started chanting something with his eyes closed, and when he opened them they were a startling gold and a blending light erupted from his hands. The light engulfed her entire body and she started to convulse and a dark smoke erupted from her and then disappeared without a trace.

It was over after only a few minutes and when the light disappeared, Katie was lying still on the ground. She was breathing slowly but she was alive. Marcus told Hagrid to bring her to the Hospital Wing and then he went over to the package. He took of his neckerchief and used it to pick up, what was now revealed to be a necklace, and followed Hagrid and Leanne, who didn't want to leave Katie, back up to the castle.

Hermione and the others were left alone and Harry started immediately accusing Malfoy for what had happened. But Hermione didn't really listen to him; she was still a bit stunned at the Magic display Marcus had shown. She knew he was powerful but she had never felt anything like that before. It had felt comforting, like when she did her own Magic, but a lot more powerful. It felt right somehow.

McGonagall came shortly after and they told her everything that had happened, including Harry's theories. They didn't find out about what happened to Katie until that evening. They had decided to go and talk to Marcus and he told them that he had been able to drive the curse away from her but she would need a few weeks to recover because it had taken its toll on her body.

They returned to the Gryffindor tower with heavy hearts that evening, but Harry had a new resolve in him after their talk with Marcus. He had listened to Harry's theories and agreed to investigate how the necklace had ended up with Katie.

The forth thing happened only two weeks ago. She was sitting in an empty classroom, testing some spells, when she heard footsteps outside the door. She quickly hid inside a cabinet, just as the door opened. It was Marcus and Snape.

"This takes me back." She could hear Marcus chuckle a little.

"What does?" Snape drawled.

"Being pulled into secluded areas." Marcus answered and walked up to the front desk and sat down atop of it. "Mind you," He continued and pointed a finger at Snape, or she guessed it was Snape. He was still out of view, from where she was hiding. "I'm more used to alcoves." He grinned.

"I don't think you understand quite how serious the situation is, Marcus." She could almost feel Snape's glare.

"I'm guessing Dumbledore told you then?" Marcus playfulness was quickly replaced with a serious expression.

"Told me what?" Snape said nonchalantly.

"About me." Marcus said matter-of-factly.

"Why would you think that?" Snape went back to his drawling tone.

"Well for starters, the fact that you practically dragged me into an empty classroom." Marcus levelled Snape a smug look before continuing. "Unless, of course, you have something else in mind." He put his hands up. "I'm flattered but you're not exactly my type, sorry." He gave an apologetic look. "Secondly, the way you said my name as an insult, not that I'm not used to it." His pulled up in a half-smile and he had a faraway look in his eyes, like he was remembering something.

"Oh, get over yourself," Snape almost growled. "And don't try and be clever, it doesn't suit you."

"But he has told you?" Marcus asked seriously.

"Yes."

"And you obviously know about the other problem?" Marcus asked, then he started to ramble a little, mostly to himself probably. "I mean, why wouldn't you? You were the one who told Dumbledore about it, obviously, who else?" He looked into space until Snape opened his mouth. Then he immediately locked eyes with him.

"So?"

"How's that going along? Not great I've heard. Thankfully I was there and could stop it before something terrible happened." He didn't break eye contact the entire time. Hermione was impressed by his resilience of Snape's glares. She couldn't see Snape, but she had spent enough time with him to know how he worked.

"Yes, lucky us." He didn't sound happy. Neither said anything for a while, they just eyed each other.

"But we're not here so I can question you. You dragged me in here; what do you want?" Marcus broke the silence.

"I simply want to tell you to mind your own business." This time he growled. "I don't believe for a second that you are who Dumbledore says you are. You may be powerful, there's no denying that, but that doesn't give you the right to interfere with my business. Is...that...clear?"

"Crystal." Marcus glared at him.

"Good." She heard how Snape moved away towards the door but before he opened it. "Goodbye, Mr Embrose." And then the door opened.

"I'm going to prove you wrong though." Marcus said just as the door was closing.

"I can't wait." And then the door closed.

"Prat." She heard Marcus say, then he shook his head and sighed but he seemed amused at the same time.

Soon Marcus jumped down from the desk and walked toward the door. Hermione could hear the door open and close and she was alone in the classroom again. She opened the cabinet and checked to see that she was really alone. She didn't know what to think about what had just happened and decided to leave the classroom before anyone noticed she'd been there.

The fifth and final thing happened just the day before. She, Ron and Harry had been talking to Marcus in his chambers during lunch, and he had told them that he would go home to his Mother the next day and celebrate Samhain. He would leave sometimes during the day and come home the day after. They had just come up to the fifth floor when she remembered that she had forgotten one of her books in his chambers. She decided to run back down alone and let Harry and Ron continue up to the common room. They had a free period after lunch so she had time.

She had just arrived at the second floor when she saw Marcus walking away from her with Aithusa. She remembered he had told them that his job for the day was to dust all the paintings on the three lowest floors and the dungeons. He had already finished the dungeons and the ground floor before lunch. He had on his headphones, so he didn't hear her when she called. But she noticed Aithusa stopping and looking at her.

For some reason, unbeknownst to herself, she decided to try and reach out to him with her Magic, just as Aithusa stopped. She had never done anything like that before; she didn't even know that she could do that. But she felt her Magic make a connection just as she saw Aithusa turn her attention to Marcus.

"Merlin." She heard someone say. She looked around but didn't see anyone except for the two before her.

"Merlin, wake up. Hermione is trying to contact you." This time she could feel the voice coming from Aithusa. But what had she just called Marcus.

"What?" He yanked his headphones off and turned towards Aithusa. "What is it?"

"Hermione wants to talk to you, Merlin." Aithusa said to Marcus, no Merlin, Hermione corrected herself.

"Hermione!" Marcus, no Merlin, turned around and walked over to her. "I didn't hear you there." He beamed at her like nothing was wrong. Like her world hadn't just been turned upside down.

"What's wrong, Hermione. You look white as a sheet. Did something happen?" He asked her and put a hand on her shoulder, but she jerked away.

"I...I...you...no...it can't be...no." She couldn't form a coherent sentence and then she, completely out of character, turned around and ran away, leaving a very confused Marcus, no Merlin, behind her. She ran all the way back up to Gryffindor tower. She composed herself before she entered the common room and sat down beside Harry on the sofa.

"Did you get the book, Hermione?" Harry asked her.

"The book?" Hermione asked, temporarily forgetting about the reason she went back. "Ah yes, the book. No I didn't. Mer...Marcus had already left."

"Maybe you can catch him tomorrow before he leaves." Harry said, with a hint on concern in his voice.

"Yeah, maybe I can." Hermione mused. "Now, how long have you come with your essay?"

So that is why Hermione found herself outside of Marcus's chambers on Halloween. She had stayed up late, putting two and two together and contemplating what she would do with her new information, until she finally decided that the best course of action would be to confront him head on.

She was just about to knock on the portrait when Marcus came walking down the hallway towards her.

"Hello Hermione." He greeted her. "What are you doing here? You don't have any classes today, right?" He looked at her with the same concerned look he had had the day before.

"I need to talk to you." She said without meeting his eyes. He was quiet for a while before responding, just watching her with a contemplative look.

"All right," He finally said. "Why don't we go inside? It's more private." He said and opened the portrait and indicated for her to walk in. "Why don't you sit down? You look like you're ready to topple over at any minute." He chuckled and then walked her into the living room.

She didn't sit down; instead she started pacing in front of the sofa. Marcus watched her for a while before shrugging and sitting down on the sofa.

"I only have a few hours before I need to go, Hermione. So if you want to tell me something, you better do it now." She stopped for a second and stared at him, nodded and then started pacing again.

"Good, good." She said a bit frantically.

"Does this have anything to do with why you ran away yesterday?" Marcus asked her when she didn't continue.

She didn't answer him, she just sort of, beeped or yelped or something.

"I have noticed weird things since I met you and I didn't make much of it until yesterday." She started after a few minutes of silence. "I just sort of shrugged it off as part of your personality and demons from your past. I mean, you have lost a lot of people in your life." She chuckled darkly and looked at Marcus. He didn't say anything but his look had shifted. Before it was filled with concern and curiosity, now she could also see something dark in there, something similar to fear. It was fleeting but she could see it. She swallowed a few times before she continued.

"It all started really the first day you came to Hogwarts. I could feel that you weren't any ordinary Wizard. You felt powerful, no matter what you told us. And when you finally admitted to being a Warlock, I wasn't surprised."

"But I never thought you would be something else. I would probably never have figured it out if it weren't for Aithusa. Where is she anyway?" She stopped pacing and turned towards him. She hadn't noticed the lack of the white cat before, not until now.

"She's with Mrs. Norris." Marcus said with a dead calm, almost a scary calm. "They seem to get along really well." Hermione nodded once and started pacing again.

"Okay...okay...right...well, but the first real clue I got was actually two weeks after start of term. I came across you when you polished an armour, on my way to the library. You were talking to someone, but I only saw Aithusa there. It struck me that it was her you talked to. I never knew it was possible to mind-talk to a cat but I figured it was because you are a Warlock." She paused a little before continuing.

"The second thing was when you calmed down Buckbeat, that day when we came to see Hagrid after the Quidditch tryouts. You calmed him down with only a touch and a few words. Not that I know what you said. But just as the first time, I shrugged it off as a warlock thing." She cast a quick glance at him.

"Then it was the time with Katie. You displayed some real powerful Magic then. And I know that you said that you weren't as powerful as you would have been if you'd been alive at the height of the Old Religion. But that felt very powerful to me. I could feel the Magic; it was like a warm blanket covering me. It felt comforting and very, very powerful. But like the other times, I thought that maybe this wouldn't have been considered powerful if you'd been alive back then. What would I know? I'm only a regular Witch from the 20th century." She grimaced.

"But then, two weeks ago, I overheard a conversation between you and Professor Snape. I don't know what you talked about but the dynamic between you felt weird. The way you talked to him like you were his equal or superior. And the things you said." She shook her head. "That one left me with a slight headache, trying to figure out."

"Of course, I would never have put two and two together if it weren't for yesterday. You know, if I hadn't forgotten my book here I would never have guessed it, never in my life." She shook her head frantically and pointed to the book lying on the table. "I called you but you didn't hear me, so for some reason, I decided to reach out with my Magic and try and contact you. But I don't think it was your Magic I connected to, it was Aithusa's. I didn't know a cat could have that kind of Magic and I heard her call you something. It stunned me completely. It took all my power to run away from there."

"So I stayed up for quite a while last night, trying to figure out if what I heard could really be the truth. But when I went over everything that had happened around you, it all made sense. The way you disappeared when we were cleaning the house before Harry came, the presence I felt one night in the Burrow, like someone was reaching out with their Magic. It felt like when you did that spell on Katie. And all those stories you told us about your past, it made sense too, but in a different way. Especially one part," She stopped and turned to look directly into his eyes. "Arthur."

"So you figured it out?" Marcus said quietly and bent his head down. But not before Hermione could see that the fear, concern and curiosity were gone from his eyes, instead there were only one emotion there, resignation.

"I think I did, yes." Hermione almost gulped when she watched him. He looked like a kicked puppy.

"Then, please tell me, what is my name?" He said quietly and met her eyes.

"Your name is..." She swallowed. "Your name is Merlin."

A/N

I hope you liked the way I wrote this chapter. I wanted to skip ahead a few months, but I also didn't want to skip over some of the things that happens during that time. I got the idea of flashbacks when I read another fic, which I don't remember the name of, and I thought I should try it out.

So, Hermione know Merlin's secret. What do you think about that?

And what do you think about Snape knowing it as well, even if he doesn't believe it? I wanted him to know, because Dumbledore rely so much on him so I figured he would convince Merlin to tell him.

Anyway, have a happy week filled with happy moments.