Merlin and Arthur shifted in their spots. Arthur looked to Merlin, hoping he had some explanation for why they were on the sixth floor. "We were…uh… we were looking for a room," Merlin said, silently begging Professor Snape not to pry.
"A room," Professor Snape repeated. He waited but neither said a thing. "Get to the point Mr. Potter. I do not have all day."
"A room to study," Merlin clarified. Professor Snape raised an eyebrow at him. "The library gets rather crowded and Madam Pince is always breathing down our neck." It was a lie. Madam Pince liked him and Arthur and Ron. They were respectful of the books and quiet.
"So, you chose the sixth floor," Professor Snape said slowly.
"Not many people come to the sixth floor," Merlin said with a shrug.
Arthur looked back and forth between the two. Was Merlin's plan going to work? Professor Snape turned his attention to him. Arthur mentally groaned. "Nothing to say Mr. Longbottom?"
"No sir," Arthur said. "Harry covered it."
"Very well," Professor Snape said. It was hard to tell if Snape believed them. "Dinner will be starting soon. I suggest you make your way to the Great Hall." The two boys nodded and turned to leave. "And boys," they turned, "next time do not confront something that you don't know."
"Yes sir," Merlin said with a nod.
Merlin and Arthur quickly hurried back to the staircase. They needed to drop off the book before going to dinner. "That was weird," Arthur wheezed. Merlin glanced at Arthur. "It's just Snape hated you, remember the first Potions class?"
"Yeah," Merlin said. Their first class Professor Snape called on him to answer some questions. He didn't know the answers and Professor Snape had taken points because of it.
"Well Snape was… almost kind today," Arthur said. "Plus, he didn't say anything about what he saw. He would know that Uther is not my father in this life seeing as he went to school with Frank Longbottom, yet no questions."
"I'll ask Professor Flitwick to keep an eye out, just in case he says something to the professors," Merlin said. They got to the fifth floor and made their way to Merlin's room. Arthur didn't go inside. He stood outside the door while Merlin dropped off his book. With the book once again secure they made their way to the Great Hall.
"Harry, Neville," Ron shouted when they got to the Entrance Hall. He ran over to his friends. "Thanks Merlin, you two are okay." He blushed. "Eh, you know what I mean."
"What's wrong Ron?" Merlin asked.
"When I was walking back to the dorm I saw these images," Ron whispered. "It was a woman with green eyes and long black hair. She was uh…very pretty." Arthur and Merlin froze. There was no way Ron could possibly know that. "Then there was this man. He was dressed up like a king or something. Then the images disappeared." Ron glanced at his two friends. "What?"
"We ran into a boggart," Merlin began. "The images you saw were our greatest fears. Morgana and Arthur's father, Uther."
"But, how did I see that?" Ron asked confused. "I've never seen them before. How would I know what they looked like?"
Merlin shook his head. There were too many people around. "We'll talk later," he promised.
Dinner was quiet and uncomfortable. Each of the three boys were lost in thought. Merlin was thinking about Ron. What he appeared to be experiencing was familiar and it made him extremely nervous. He silently vowed to not make the same mistakes he did the last time.
Ron was thinking about what he seen and what it had meant. He didn't understand what had happened. How had he seen Morgana and Uther? He didn't know what they looked like. Ron stabbed in potato in frustration.
Arthur, however, was thinking about his father. Since finding Merlin on the train and unlocking his memories Arthur really hadn't thought much about his father. Gwen and his knights sure, but not his father. But after seeing him, thanks to that boggart, Arthur couldn't think of anything else. Would Uther hate him?
Arthur already knew the answer. Yes, yes he would. Uther hated magic more than he loved his son. Arthur was certain of that. As much as Arthur had loved his father, he was glad he didn't have to deal with him in this life. The world was changing and there was no way Uther would have changed with it.
Hermione studied the three boys. They were the closest thing she had to friends. She watched as none of them spoke, which wasn't normal for them. They didn't even pay attention to each other. She wanted to ask about it but didn't. She wasn't close enough to them to ask questions.
Toward the end of dinner Merlin saw Flitwick get up and head out of the Great Hall. Merlin pushed his plate away. "I'm going to head to detention," Merlin announced. He leaned over to Arthur and whispered, "Meet me at Flitwick's office in an hour. Make sure Ron comes."
He nodded. "Sure. Are you going to tell him?"
"I don't know," Merlin said honestly. "I think I have to." The last time he kept something like this to himself it went badly.
Merlin made his way to Professor Flitwick's office. Like usual he walked right in, not bothering to knock. "Merlin," Professor Flitwick greeted.
"Professor, have you heard about the stone?" Merlin asked curious.
Professor Flitwick nodded. "Yes, Professor Dumbledore called a meeting first thing this morning."
"How did he react?" Merlin wanted to know.
"He was nervous," Professor Flitwick admitted. "He can't figure out how the stone went missing. He glanced at Quirrell a lot but Quirrell just looked angry."
"Quirrell, why would he…" Merlin trailed off as his eyes widened in horror. "Quirrell," he exclaimed. "Quirrell is working for Voldemort. Of course, why didn't I see it?"
"How can you be sure?" Flitwick questioned.
"His reactions to me using magic… He was jealous. The dark magic coming from his head. He's working for Voldemort. I'm certain of it," Merlin said.
Professor Flitwick wasn't convinced but he trusted Merlin's judgment. If he said Quirrell worked for Voldemort then he believed him. "What do we do?" Professor Flitwick asked. Did Merlin have a plan? If so, what was it?
"I don't know," Merlin said honestly. "I don't want Voldemort, or Quirrell, knowing that we know about them. I also don't want to put anyone in danger."
"We can't allow a Death Eater to be in this school," Professor Flitwick stated.
"I agree," Merlin said with a nod. "It will have to be after the holidays. Quirrell hasn't done anything yet so I imagine it will be safe until there." There was a knock at the door. "Must be Arthur and Ron."
Professor Flitwick got up to let them in while Merlin summoned an elf for tea and biscuits, and a calming draught, just in case. "What brings you boys here?" Professor Flitwick asked. Not that he needed to ask, they were always together.
"Merlin told us to come," Arthur answered.
Merlin nodded and stood. "Have a seat Ron."
"Is this about the images?" Ron asked. "Do you know what it is?"
"What images?" Professor Flitwick asked concerned.
"Yes I do," Merlin said ignoring Flitwick for the time being. "I have seen something similar to this once before, with Morgana."
Ron and Flitwick gasped. "Morgana," Ron repeated in horror. "So I'm evil?"
"No," Merlin said firmly. "Morgana…" He took a deep breath. "Morgana was a seer. She saw the future through dreams. She thought they were nightmares since they generally involved Arthur dying."
"A seer," Professor Flitwick repeated. "I don't recall hearing about a seer having visions."
"That's because this is a power of the Old Religion," Merlin responded.
"I thought people couldn't learn the magic of the Old Religion," Arthur said.
"They can't," Merlin said. "But it seems Ron was born with this power."
"Does that mean I can learn to do magic like you?" Ron asked excited at the thought.
Merlin hesitated. "Yes and no," he said slowly. "It is very possible you can learn the magic of the Old Religion. And yes, I will teach you. But you need to realize that my power is not an accurate representation of magic. My power surpasses what most can do. You will need spells to do magic." He paused. "You must take your training seriously. It can be extremely dangerous. Do you understand?"
"I understand," Ron promised. "Does this mean Arthur can use that magic too?"
"No," Merlin said confidently. "He never had access to magic before. The only reason he has magic now is because he was born to a family with magic."
"Are you sure Ron is a seer?" Flitwick asked.
"Honestly, no, not a hundred perfect sure," Merlin admitted. "But I won't know for sure unless I train him. These visions, they're so much like Morgana's…yet so different."
"We do have seers here," Flitwick pointed out.
Merlin snorted. These so called seers were poor imitations of the real thing. "It's not the same," Merlin said. "Most seers nowadays are fake. The real ones give prophecies but they don't see the future."
"You think I can see the future?" Ron questioned.
"Maybe," Merlin said. "Try to write down your dreams. They may come out like nightmares and if it is a true vision of the future you will always remember it."
Ron nodded. "I will," he promised.
"Before you leave Merlin, there's something I need to talk to you and Arthur about," Professor Flitwick said.
Ron looked between the two. "Should I leave?" he wondered.
Professor Flitwick shook his head. "You can stay Ron." He glanced at Merlin and Arthur. "Professor Snape mentioned the two of you had found a boggart. He also mentioned the forms they took." Merlin and Arthur's eyes widened. "He didn't know who they were. Just that it was two people he didn't recognize. He'll ask questions though," Flitwick warned.
Merlin sighed. "We'll deal with it, although I have no idea what to say. Do you know why Snape's boggart is my mother?"
"Lily?" Flitwick squeaked. Merlin nodded. "No," he said honestly. "I know they were friends in school but I don't know anything else. You would have to talk to Professor Snape, or perhaps Professor McGonagall. She was close to both of your parents."
"I will. Thank you," Merlin said gratefully. He yawned. "We should head back. Unless I'm still needed for detention."
Flitwick laughed. "No, go get some sleep. You boys look exhausted."
"Professer, professer," Hagrid, the Gameskeeper, yelled bursting into the office.
"What is it Hagrid?" Professor Flitwick asked calmly.
"There's another unicorn," Hagrid said after his breathing returned to normal.
"Unicorn," Merlin repeated his head snapping up. Arthur too, was surprised at the mention of a unicorn. "What about a unicorn?"
"Unicorns have been killed recently," Professor Flitwick answered.
Merlin and Arthur exchanged horrified glances. "How?" Merlin choked out.
Hagrid was reluctant to say. But that didn't stop Professor Flitwick. "We don't know exactly. It looks like a severing charm. The Centaurs had said there is some type of creature drinking their blood."
"What?" Arthur asked concerned.
Merlin stood and ran out of the room, with Arthur and Ron right behind him. Professor Flitwick and Hagrid ran after them after a minute. "What is Harry thinking?" Hagrid huffed. Despite his large size he was having trouble keeping up. Professor Flitwick was having an easier time but he wasn't trying to catch Merlin, he was simply following.
Professor Flitwick caught up to Arthur as they crossed the grounds. "What's going on?" Flitwick asked Arthur.
"Unicorns are a part of the Old Religion," Arthur explained. They slowed down as they got to the edge of the Forbidden Forrest. "In my youth I killed a unicorn and caused a curse upon Camelot. It wasn't until I was ready to sacrifice myself for Merlin that the curse was lifted and the unicorn was reborn." He glanced at Professor Flitwick. "Merlin feels responsible for all creatures of the Old Religion. To have someone, or something, killing unicorns… he's going to take that personally."
It didn't take Merlin long to find the dead unicorn. He sank to the ground beside it. His hand rested on the unicorn's head. There was nothing he could do to help. Even his power wasn't that strong.
"Harry," Professor Flitwick said softly.
He didn't get a chance to say anything else. He heard the ground rumbling. Something was approaching and it wasn't Hagrid. Speaking of Hagrid, Professor Flitwick turned around and rushed off to send Hagrid away.
"Professer," Hagrid huffed.
"You should head home," Professor Flitwick told him. "I will get the boys back to their dorms."
"But…" Hagrid started to protest.
"But nothing Hagrid," Professor Flitwick said firmly. "You look tired. You need to rest."
"Okay," Hagrid agreed. "Be careful, Centaurs are restless. Send word if ye need me."
"Merlin," Professor Flitwick said moving to the boy's side. He could see tears falling down Merlin's cheeks. Arthur was right. Merlin was taking this hard. "Merlin." He put a hand on Merlin's arm. "The Centaurs are approaching."
Just as he said that an arrow flew past them. Professor Flitwick had been wrong. The Centaurs weren't approaching, they were already here.