I do not own Harry Potter books or Merlin or Rise of the Guardians or Frozen.
Chapter 43: Don't forget to be a student
Merlin watched the sun rise over the mountain peaks and marveled at its serene beauty. Maybe it would be a nice day. No sooner he thought those words when clouds moved in, covered up the glowing orb and turned the world into a murky grey again, undoing all its work. He could relate to it.
He ate his breakfast silently while next to him Jack was trying out Fleoge to call various foods to his plate. It actually wasn't the best spell for a delicate action like that but that didn't stop the boy from trying. He was determined to master it and Merlin observed it with pleasure. If everything else failed, at least he found new pupils to pass his knowledge to.
He got another surprise that morning as Harry's trio came over. The boys sat across from him, Hermione sat next to him. This was the first time that they joined him for a meal, he was usually the one who sought them out, so they had his full attention.
Hermione stared at Ron until he rolled his eyes and recited in a monotone voice, "I'm sorry that I made fun of your beliefs. I'm a rude and inconsiderate troll."
That was the most insincere apology Merlin had ever heard and he couldn't help but smile at it. It had Hermione written all over it. She was an excellent mediator.
"Apology accepted," he answered and Ron sighed in relief.
The tension at the table deflated and everyone got busy with food.
Jack resumed playing with the Fleoge spell and Merlin had a feeling that he was showing off. Harry was in a good mood and tried the spell as well, but the sandwich he tried to make fly fell apart and spread all over the table.
Merlin chuckled, pulling ham out of his mug, and encouraged the boy anyway. It was going to take them a lot of practice before they both mastered it.
A small group of Hufflepuffs passed by, they gasped and started whispering loud enough for them to hear.
"That's Potter. Quick! Quick, before he sees us."
Harry gripped his fork tighter and kept his eyes on his plate, making an effort to not notice them. His mood instantly changed. He was clearly under a lot of stress even though he tried to hide it. The faster they found the real Heir, the faster Harry would be released from the suspicions.
Not far from them at the Slytherin table, Malfoy sat with his goonies so Merlin took the opportunity to listen in to his thoughts.
Look at Saint Potter surrounded by his gang of idiots, Mudbloods, freaks, and losers. This year at least no one talks about his Quidditch since they all hate him. Serves him right. And Flint still points out how I didn't catch the Snitch first. He could take a bloody break. It wasn't my fault. Ah, look at that Mudblood Granger with her rabbit teeth...
Merlin got out of his head, so disgusted from listening to him, he could actually taste it on his tongue, and found everyone at the table staring at him. He looked around, bewildered. Did something happen while he was busy mind-diving?
Harry and Ron exploded in snorts and giggles. Even Hermione covered her mouth to chuckle.
"What?"
Jack pulled his mouth back in disgust. "Stop dipping your cinnamon bun in mustard sauce. Just watching it makes me gag."
Merlin looked at the half-eaten bun in his hand and a yellow sauce it was covered in. That would explain the foul taste in his mouth.
He drank his entire mug of water to wash out the flavor while the four kids had their laugh at his expense. What could he do? To not appear like a zombie while listening to someone's thoughts, he had to do something with his hands, and mishaps like this one were bound to happen. He was glad he didn't finish this unfortunate flavor bomb.
"When you dipped it, I watched if you would really eat it and you made this face," Harry demonstrated by squishing his features, "If it was that nasty, why did you keep dipping it?"
"You're bonkers, Ealdor," Ron said while trying to pick his next sausage.
Merlin tried to save whatever sense of dignity he had left.
"I was thinking."
Harry was still chuckling. "Your thinking is hazardous to your health."
"How are we doing with the potion?" Ron asked Hermione in a whisper.
She shot a worried look at Jack who was ignoring their presence at the moment.
"Lacewings are nearly done. Then, we just need the full moon and we can finish it. So, soon, we're nearly there."
"So what's our plan for getting the… personal ingredients?" Harry asked.
"We could make a Sleeping Draught," Hermione volunteered.
"Is that difficult?"
"I can do it."
Merlin decided that it would be best if he monitored how she made it before she poisoned someone. "I'll help you."
Hermione grinned while Ron and Harry sniggered and whispered to each other while looking at him. What was with those two?
The Weasley twins walked by and Merlin overheard part of their conversation.
"I just finished it. My hand aches from all the writing. I hope I never have to write about moonstone and frog brains again."
The twins said a quick greeting to Harry and the gang while Merlin experienced a sinking sensation as he realized that he had forgotten to be a student.
"Uh-oh. I forgot about that frog brains essay."
"Merlin!" Jack exclaimed at him. "I reminded you yesterday! Do you want to have detentions again?"
He shrugged. With all the excitement of the previous day, it flew out of his head.
"We also had a moonstone and frog brains essay," Hermione said. "I wish you had told me. We could've written it together."
Merlin didn't care about his grade. He was now more focused on the peculiarity that the first-years, second-years, and fourth-years were all given the same essay assignment. Was Snape getting lazy? He was starting to resemble Lockhart now. So much for redeeming himself.
When they got to their Potions classroom, all students dropped off their essays and Merlin approached the grumpy Professor.
"Professor, can I be given an extension? I'll have the essay ready later today and will deliver it..."
"No. Five points from Gryffindor, Ealdor," Snape said all too eagerly. "And detention tonight. Come to my office at seven."
Merlin walked back to his table and tried to avoid the "I told you so" glare from Jack. He didn't care anyway.
When he showed up for detention later that day, Snape pointed to a desk for Merlin to stand by where several pieces of parchment, ink and a quill were waiting for him. There was no chair. It seemed that Greasy Git thought that if he wasn't allowed to sit then no one should be.
"You requested an extension, you get it. Write your essay now."
Merlin resisted an urge to roll his eyes. Any other student would probably be mortified at the idea of writing an essay like this without having any reference materials on hand but he didn't have to worry about that.
"Thank you, Professor."
He knew that he wouldn't get a good grade anyway, so, to spite the Potions Master some more, he wrote an incredibly detailed and rich paper, worthy of professional publication. He handed it in just half an hour after starting and Snape narrowed his eyes into slits.
"You can't possibly be finished already."
Merlin tried to look innocent.
"I'm a fast writer."
Snape paused, making Merlin hold his parchment in the air for a while but finally took it and unrolled it. While he inspected it, Merlin glanced at the essay Snape was in the middle of grading. It appeared that some words were vanished from the paper. Why was he doing that? He hoped that Greasy Git wasn't planning on changing that student's essay to fit the grade he wanted to give it.
After seeing that the essay satisfied his length requirements, Snape stared deep into Merlin's eyes. Merlin was ready with barriers in his mind and pictured eating a mustard-covered cinnamon bun to discourage further legilimency attempts. He was tempted to retaliate and invade the Potions Master's mind to find out why he was vanishing words but didn't want to risk getting caught.
Snape grimaced and it took all of Merlin's restraint to not burst out laughing. It tasted even worse than it looked.
"In that case, you have time for another. I want two feet of parchment describing the twelve uses of dragon blood."
Humor drained out of Merlin. He was a Dragonlord, their protector. In his eyes, using the blood of these noble creatures was equivalent to cannibalism.
Snape mistook his mood change for fear. "Problem, Ealdor?"
"No problem, Professor."
Merlin went back to the table and got started. Oh, he would write him an essay but not about the discoveries made by Dumbledore. There was only one use for dragon's blood.
The mountain peaks in the distance were white-coated already, symbolizing that the Queen of Winter began her reign. Mother had her magic back and was now surely using it to search for them. Would she charge the school in a full-on offense or would she come peacefully to demand that her children be returned?
Elsa liked it here. She wasn't ready to let go of it all. She wanted to have an escape plan and their father was it.
Elsa caught up with her brother on the way to class.
"We should go soon."
"You're saying this like there's an option. McGonagall will be furious if we're late."
"I don't mean class."
He stopped in his tracks and smirked.
"You wanna skip class? Elsa," he waggled his eyebrows, "have you got the naughty bug?"
Oh, how quickly his mind jumped to mischievous thoughts.
As if on cue, Peeves materialized and giggled.
"Jack-Friend, are you ready for fun?"
She clarified, "I don't mean skipping either."
"False alarm, Peeves," Jack shrugged at his poltergeist friend. "Got my hopes up for nothing."
"The fairies, Jack. This weekend, we're going."
"Can I come?" Peeves asked, bouncing up and down, his hat jingling.
"Can you leave the castle?" Jack asked.
Peeves pouted and blew a raspberry at them.
She was glad the spirit couldn't follow them. She didn't think fairies would appreciate a guest like that.
The rest of the week went by quickly and Saturday morning Jack found her at breakfast so they could leave while everyone else was still eating. The grounds were quiet, crisp air greeted them, satisfyingly refreshing and energizing.
"I wore shoes this time," Jack joked while leading her to the forest. "Watch out for those thorny brambles."
Elsa looked at the long line of trees awaiting them.
"So how will we know where to go?"
"Reed, the fairy I met, said that we'll be able to feel their magic and can just follow it."
Elsa heaved a long sigh. She put all her hopes on his ability to find the fairies and assumed that he knew where they were, but in fact, he had no idea. Why couldn't he ever plan anything properly?
She pulled out a piece of parchment from her pocket and gave it to him.
"I tried to draw the blue fairy I saw in the mirror. Maybe they will be able to recognize it. What do you think?"
He looked at her drawing while walking. The longer he was silent, the more she was becoming convinced that he was judging her. She tried to do a good job. Luna probably would've drawn it better.
"It looks nothing like Reed," he finally spoke up. "Nice drawing."
He gave it back to her and she rolled it up quickly. She hoped that fairies wouldn't feel offended at her drawing skills.
"That's what they looked like in the mirror."
They reached the edge of the forest and he looked in both directions while scratching his head.
"Well, how about I go right and you go left? It will be faster."
"How will I recognize the trail?"
"You can't miss it. Fairy magic feels awesome."
She grumbled under her breath but turned left and walked slowly by the tree line, peering curiously inside. The tall trees were obscuring a lot of light, making the forest floor seem menacing but if delicate beings like fairies lived there, it couldn't be all bad.
She passed by the Gamekeeper's hut and hoped he was still in the castle, eating breakfast. The forest was forbidden to the students. She would likely get detention if she was caught lurking about it.
She was growing impatient and wondered if there would even be a trail to follow. Fairies were flying creatures. What if their magic trail got swept away by the wind?
And then she felt it. It was like a smell that she could feel within her whole body instead of her nose. It made her feel warm inside, it compelled her to follow. She sent Jack a signal to call him over and stepped inside the dark forest.
Fallen leaves crunched under her feet as her legs moved on their own accord, guided by the invisible hand of magic.
Someone took her hand and she startled. She sighed in relief, seeing her brother's smiling face.
"I told you we'll find the trail."
There was no more breeze, the air was still and earthy. They walked in silence, appreciating the beauty of the nature magic around them. It was in each creaky tree, rotting log, the soft ground under their feet, even the air felt magical.
There was also some presence nearby. She looked around her but could only see trees.
"The centaurs are watching us again," Jack said quietly.
"Should we be worried?"
"We're new here. They don't know what to expect of us so let's not give them a reason to think we're a threat. That time I hurt my foot, a centaur actually helped me find my way back, so they can be nice, but also, he complained that we caused that winter day before. Remember when we played in the Courtyard? It's not your season," he mimicked a deep voice and giggled at his poor impersonation.
Elsa huffed. "We're Winter Spirits. They can't blame us for sticking to our nature."
He chuckled at her. "Don't say it like that if you're facing one of them."
A loud sputtering noise interrupted them and they both looked in the direction of where it came from.
"Is that… a car?" Elsa asked incredulously.
She couldn't think of what else it could have been. It was a blue car with the headlights on, slowly making its way through the trees. It was scratched up, dented and partially covered by green moss. The front windshield was broken and it looked as if vines were growing out of it.
"No driver," she mused as it passed by.
"That is one magical creature I did not expect to find here."
They watched it disappear behind the trees and were rooted to the spot even when it was quiet again. A sound of a crow overhead woke them from their stupor and they resumed their trek.
The deeper into the forest they went, the thicker the undergrowth became. Mist hung low over the ground, and even less light penetrated down to the ground. Massive exposed roots were splayed out like fingers, supporting trees so tall, she couldn't see their tops. They walked under them and Elsa felt tiny as if each step she took shrunk her a little more. She squeezed Jack's hand who held on to her firmly and smiled at her with reassurance.
"You didn't want to search for our father before," she remembered how unenthusiastically he helped her research. "What changed your mind?"
"You did."
A herd of deer stopped running not far from them, turned their heads and stared at them while turning their ears in different directions. Jack waved at them and they scattered.
He continued, "You reminded me that family is most important. He's our family too, right?"
They stopped when they met with a wall of thick growth, which was taller than a few men and too thick to even peer through. They found that it was too large to go around and yet the trail definitely led them there. They had to find a way through this ominous thorny bush.
"They probably just fly over it," Jack said and pulled out his wand. "We could just blast it."
She grabbed his wrist to stop him.
"It could be a defense, Jack."
"Oh, you think it will attack us if we try to destroy it?"
"They built a wall so forest creatures wouldn't wander into their colony. I think they will not appreciate it if we make their home vulnerable."
Jack smiled at her and put his wand away. "It's nice to have a smart sister. So, what do you propose?"
She took a few steady breaths. She knew what she wanted to do but was scared that she would fail. Could she control it well enough to not get them hurt? She had been practicing this spell all week and had great success with it. She couldn't think of any other solution at the moment.
"Tell me what you see when you're up there."
He blinked in confusion. "Up where?"
"Fleoge," she said and made him fly up in the air.
"Whoa," Jack cried out but then laughed.
Her hand shook as she pointed it at where she wanted him to fly to.
He hovered in place and pointed at the ground. "You were right, it's a wall. Just set me down there."
She directed him above the wall and slowly lowered him down. It became difficult once she couldn't see him.
"Are you far from the ground?"
"Just a little more."
She strained to keep control of him and felt it slip. He yelped and she heard a thud as he hit the ground.
"I'm okay," he confirmed and she sighed in relief. "How will you get over?"
"Fleoge," she directed the spell at herself.
An involuntary little squeak escaped her throat as she felt the magic take hold of her body. The higher she flew up, the tighter the knot in her stomach became. She made an effort to not look down but only at the wall of thorns. Her body was rigid with fear and she wanted to get this over with quickly before she lost control of the spell. She whimpered as she floated above the brambles, worried how painful it would be if she fell down into them. On the other side, she saw Jack on the ground.
"You're almost there," he encouraged.
She sped up her flight, impatient to get down, but then didn't know how to slow it down. His eyes were wide as he saw her fly right at him but did not move out of the way. Instead, he caught her and they both tumbled to the ground.
She held on to him tightly and panted.
"You did it! You were amazing, Elsa!"
Her fingers were frozen stiff as she clutched his robes and her eyes were still closed. At the moment, she just wanted to stay like that. She did not like using that spell on herself, that was certain. She wanted to promise herself 'Never again,' but then remembered that they would probably need the same means to get back.
"Elsa?" he whispered. "You should open your eyes."
She took one long breath and released him, ready to resume their search for the colony.
She got up but didn't even get a chance to shake the leaves off her robes as a hundred tiny glowing spears surrounded them.
A/N: The fairies! Finally.
Also, yes, you will get to read Merlin's essay on 12 uses of dragon blood later.
